Bedmates Soulmates
CHAPTER 414

After breakfast, Kira stood up and was about to start clearing away the dishes when Austyn stopped her.

'Jesse, you're on clean-up duty," he said to the doctor slouching in the chair, rubbing one hand over his belly.

'But I don't want to!' Jesse protested. "These hands are meant to hold a scalpel, not a sponge. I've never washed a plate in my life!

He sounded proud of this particular achievement. 'In fact, I've never stepped foot in a kitchen before. How can you ask the chief physician of Stamford General to wash dishes? You do it.' "Now that's one spoiled man-child," Kira thought. "I bet he has never held a broom, either."

She sat down.

Jesse saw that. 'Kira, back me up here. Isn't the kitchen a woman's domain? That includes doing the dishes, right?"

Kira rolled her eyes. 'Any person, man or woman, can wash the dishes if they have two hands."

She took a page from the doctor's playbook, leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. 'I cooked; you didn't. So now it's your turn to do the dishes.'

'But Damian and Austyn didn't cook, either. Why can't they do the dishes?"

'Because they already helped. One set the table and the other brought out the dishes. You're the only one who did nothing"

Jesse stared at her, speechless.

Kira smiled at him. 'Come on. Time's a-wastin". Chop chop!"

Jesse didn't want to move.

ab

Kira taunted him. 'Are you scared you'll do a bad job? Scared to let others know the genius doctor can't even handle a simple dish-washing job? Jesse fell for it. 'Who says I can't? I'll show you!"

He stood up, pushed back his chair, rolled up his sleeves and marched into the kitchen

Thirty seconds later, a loud crashing sound came from the kitchen

Followed by another, and then another.

Kira shook her head and sighed, feeling sorry for her host.

Austyn remained silent.

Damian inade a mental note to go shopping later.

There probably wouldn't be many intact dishes lett after Jesse was done.

Two Kiras

Kira sneezed when she got in the taxi.

Austyn scrunched his nose, his germaphobia acting up.

But he still touched her forehead with one hand. 'You have a cold.'

Then he added, "Serves you right."

Kira shrugged and ignored him.

She was feeling a little dizzy, but she didn't think she was sick.

'Take the day off. Go home and rest

'I'm fine," she said. "I don't want to go home. I have work to do.'

Austyn scowled. 'Work can wait'

Kira offered him an ingratiating smile. "I'm fine, really. I took a couple of days off last week. I can't do that again. The manager's going to kill me.'

'Paul?'

"Uh-huh."

Austyn took out his phone and typed a message, 'I told him you're not coming to work today."

Kira stared at him, open-mouthed. "But you...you can't do this!'

Austyn ignored her.

The driver looked at the squabbling couple in the backseat and smiled. 'Where are you two lovebirds headed off to?"

Kira blushed.

She and Austyn were not lovebirds!

She opened her mouth to explain, but Austyn got there before her. 'Office building of the M Group."

'Ooh, that's a big company. Like, the biggest in Stamford. Are you guys working there?"

The driver, who didn't spend much time on tabloid websites, did not realise he had the M Group's president in his car. Austyn didn't like how chatty the driver was.

He was about to tell the man to shut up and drive when Kira grabbed his hand.

'Don't be mean to the driver,' she said with her eyes.

Austyn held his tongue.

The driver started the engine.

"Where's your car? Kira asked Austyn.

She was amused by the sight of the man hunched awkwardly in the cramped space of the taxi.

There wasn't e

enough room for his long legs.

The Hummer was a behemoth, in contrast.

Austyn huffed. 'I had to abandon it on the roadside when a certain someone refused to let go of my arm. I couldn't drive, so I had to get a ride from Damian".

Kira winced, embarrassed by the memory of last night.

She wasn't herself whenever there was a thunderstorm.

She must have been quite a mess

The sight of Austyn had been such a relief.

All she remembered was clinging to him like glue to paper.

nstop here,' she said when the taxi was four blocks away from the office building

You can stop

Austyn followed her out of the car with a dark look on his face.

Her eyes darted around like she was a thief on the lookout for cops.

"You should go ahead. I'll wait for two minutes.'

"Are you afraid to be seen with me?' Austyn asked, annoyed.

'We went over this the last time,' Kira said, hiding herself behind a lamppost like an amateur spy, 'I don't want to be drowned by gossip, and I don't want my picture on the front page of Stamford Daily. So, please, can you go first?" Austyn stared at her foedly for a few seconds.

When it was apparent that she would not come out from behind the lamppost till he was gone, he spun on his heel and lett.

Kira kept an eye out for familiar faces.

When she didn't see any, she started jogging

Lead was there in the office ahead of her. 'Kira! How are you feeling?"-

'I'm, uh, fine, thank you."

'It's so nice to see you back on your feet, Lexi said. "Paul told us you were hospitalised. What happened? We were so worried."

'Er...' Kira didn't know what to say.

She wondered what fake illness Paul invented for her.

'It was nothing, really. Just a misdiagnosis. I'm fine now,"

Her nasal voice and her pale face convinced Lexi that she had really been out sick

More colleagues arrived at the office and gathered around her, showing concern, gossiping.

Kira thanked them, feeling guilty,

Mariana called her to the office.

Her supervisor's attitude had gone an about -turn.

Instead of hauling Kira over the coals, she asked how Kira was doing.

Then she tried to fish for information on Kira's relationship with Paul.

The manager had come into Mariana's office first thing in the morning and asked for leave on behalf of the intern.

It made Mariana curious.

Kira had to improvise.

She said she ran into Paul at the hospital when she was there for a check-up.

The kind-hearted manager offered to apply for leave for her.

Mariana didn't look convinced, but she knew she wasn't going to get anything more out of Kira.

So she just gave the intern some platitude about work-life balance and asked her not to overtax herself.

Kita thanked Mariana and lett.

As soon as she got back to her cubicle, Lexi rolled her chair over. 'I just got a call from Revency. They want us to go over there this afternoon to discuss the brand ambassadorship deal. Says they want a status update." Kira was reluctant to go.

Revency was owned by Liam

She'd promised Austyn not to have any further contact with the man