Chapter 12: A small favour
623 Words
By Wednesday, Amara had settled into a comfortable routine.
Wake up.
Go to work.
Survive Noah's terrible jokes.
Try not to annoy Kian.
And go home before she started thinking too much about the mysteries surrounding Blackwood Holdings.
It was working.
Mostly.
“Amara!”
She looked up from her computer.
Noah was standing across the office with an expression of complete panic.
“What happened?”
“I need your help.”
“That sounds serious.”
“It is.”
He hurried over and lowered his voice.
“I accidentally sent the wrong attachment to Mr. Blackwood.”
Amara stared at him.
“How wrong?”
“Very wrong.”
“What was it?”
“My grocery list.”
She blinked.
“Your grocery list?”
“I had two files with similar names!”
Amara tried not to laugh.
“What did it say?”
Noah looked embarrassed.
“Milk. Bread. Eggs. And... six packets of noodles.”
She burst out laughing.
“You're finished.”
“I know.”
Before Noah could say anything else, the phone on Amara's desk rang.
She picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Blackwood's office.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Yes?”
“Come upstairs.”
She looked at Noah.
He immediately shook his head.
“Don't leave me.”
Amara ignored him.
“I'll be there.”
She hung up.
“You're coming with me.”
“No.”
“Coward.”
“Absolutely.”
She left him behind.
When she entered Kian's office, he was holding a sheet of paper.
He looked at her.
“Is this yours?”
Amara looked at the paper.
It was Noah's grocery list.
“No.”
Kian's expression remained completely serious.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He held up the paper.
“Because apparently, our company urgently requires six packets of noodles.”
Amara pressed her lips together.
“Maybe it's an executive necessity.”
Kian stared at her.
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
It was small, but unmistakable.
Amara smiled too.
“Is Noah fired?”
“No.”
She sighed in relief.
“But he is responsible for ordering lunch for the entire department today.”
Amara laughed.
“That might be worse.”
Kian handed her the paper.
“Make sure he learns to check attachments.”
“I will.”
She turned to leave.
“Amara.”
She stopped.
Kian reached for something on his desk and held it out.
Her notebook.
“You left this in the conference room.”
She took it.
“Thanks.”
Their fingers briefly touched.
It was nothing.
A completely ordinary moment.
Yet Amara suddenly became aware of how quiet the room was.
She pulled her hand back.
“I should get back to work.”
“Yes.”
She walked toward the door.
Behind her, Kian watched her leave.
His expression changed.
He didn't know why he had noticed the little things about her lately.
The way she laughed.
The way she argued without being disrespectful.
The way she tried to hide when something bothered her.
It was becoming difficult to see her as simply the daughter of a man from his past.
And that was dangerous.
Because he had promised himself he wouldn't get attached.
Not to her.
Not under these circumstances.
Downstairs, Amara returned to her desk.
Noah was waiting.
“Well?”
“You're buying lunch.”
His face fell.
“I knew it.”
She laughed.
For the first time in weeks, the day felt completely ordinary.
Neither of them noticed the man standing across the street from Blackwood Holdings.
He was watching the building.
And in his hand was an old photograph of Amara's father.
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