The Minx
Chapter 31

I never had to want with anything with Kieran. He taught me how to take care of myself and keep myself sustained while caring for me and teaching me about his company at the same time. After a few months, I knew everything there was to know about Rom Deck. After shadowing Amanda, I did eventually shadow Kieran as well. The reason being, Kieran planned to leave to try to look for Gemma and Caitlyn again and he wanted me to be the interim CEO while he was gone. I was willing to do it, but to be honest, I would miss Kieran while he was gone.

I sleepily walked downstairs. It was the middle of the night but I couldn't sleep for some reason, and I heard Kieran shuffling around downstairs. I saw him in the kitchen, placing something on the counter.

"What are you doing?" I asked groggily before I yawned. Kieran smiled gently at me before showing me what was on the counter.

"I've been collecting my venom in vials to sustain you while I'm gone. I don't know how long I'll be gone but there about 50 vials here. You'll need to be more diligent about pulling energy from humans yourself while I'm gone. I really don't want to leave you alone, but I also don't have a choice," he said as he took my hand in his. I was a little upset with him leaving too. I'd gotten so used to him being around.

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" I asked. Kieran sighed before pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him as my eyes closed.

"I'm going to miss you too," he said softly. He pulled away before cupping my cheeks in his hands gently.

"So you were just going to sneak away in the middle of the night?" I asked. He smirked before placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

"I figured it would be easier than doing the whole... goodbye thing," he said. I took one of his hands in mine with a sigh.

"Sneaking off isn't an option. Don't ever try it again," I warned him. He smirked slightly before nodding.

"Okay, I won't do it again," he promised before letting go of me.

"I made ready meals for you that should last you a while. Amanda will stay by your side, working as your assistant at the company. Hopefully, I won't be gone too long, but I need to replace Gemma and Caitlyn. I need to make sure that the lab didn't restart in order to try to keep you safe," Kieran said seriously as he walked to the living room. I sighed before following him and sitting on the couch.

"Just... come back soon," I said as I rested my head against the arm rest. Kieran put his jacket on before touching my cheek gently.

"I'll try to be quick," he said before he left. I sighed heavily before I ended up falling asleep on the couch.

It was hard being at the office without Kieran. He had become such an integral part of my new start that I felt empty without him. I didn't question whether we were mates or not anymore. I knew we were. I could tell by how much I missed him. I could tell by how worried I was, how distracted I was, how much my heart ached.

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked. I was swiveling in Kieran's chair in his office as I fiddled with a pen.

"I'm fine," I lied. Amanda only chuckled at me.

"You miss him that much?" She asked, seeing right through me. I clicked my tongue at her before I stood quickly.

"Well help me get busy then. Isn't it time for the morning meeting?" I asked. Amanda only giggled as she followed me out of the office. The staff was all told in advance that I was filling in as the interim CEO so they welcomed me and we didn't have any issues. The morning meeting went smoothly. Besides me missing Kieran like crazy, at least I remembered to use the people around me for energy. I only ran into a hiccup on my first day when Taylor came into the office. She was clearly upset as I saw her arguing with one of the agents through the glass windows of Kieran's office. I watched for a moment before going out to see what was going on.

"What seems to be the problem?" I asked, stopping her mid-rant. She glanced at me before she scoffed and crossed her arms.

"One of the chapters of my book released earlier than it was supposed to. That didn't give me enough time for ads or livestreams. Someone needs to be held responsible for this! I want to talk to Kieran," she yelled. I smirked slightly before folding my hands in front of me. Such a minor issue... was it really worth this big fuss?

"That's Mr. DeVoss to you, and he's out of town at the moment. I'm representing him as CEO for the time being. I'm sure we can come to a mutual agreement for this matter. Would you like to come to my office?" I asked calmly.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me how you're going to fix this!" She yelled. I only smiled at her. She wasn't worth my anger.

"I have a few options for you. One, we can agree that this is a minor oversight on our part and let this go like civilized human beings. Two, we can take the whole book off of the app and call it a day. Three, we can extend the next chapter release an extra week to make up for your 'lost time'. Or four, my personal favorite, cancel our contract with you entirely since you seem to be interested in doing nothing but causing trouble anyway. I've read your works, and honestly, they're subpar at best. At least in comparison to the temper tantrums you always throw when you come to our place of work, and the fact that you keep trying to blatantly hit on my husband, your works pale in comparison. With all the drama you like to create around you, I really thought you would be better at writing it. Sorry, I'm getting off track. Which option would you prefer?" I asked calmly with a smile on my face. The employees had a mixed reaction of snickers and discreet high fives. Taylor was a pain in everyone's butt here. It was about time someone put her in her place. I couldn't understand how they tolerated her for so long.

"You can't talk to me this way! Kieran would never stand for it," she retorted as her cheeks went red in embarrassment. I chuckled as I got close enough to speak directly into her ear as I touched her shoulder. Discreetly taking energy from her while I was at it.

"My Kieran would walk across a bed of nails barefoot if I asked him to. He's my husband. What makes you think he would do anything for you? I would stop dreaming now because trust me, my bite is worse than my bark," I said lowly. I smiled before taking a step back.

"Time's up. New option, actually it's the only one now if you wish to continue working with Rom Deck. You'll need to sign a new agreement stating that you will not cause a scene inside or around our place or work. You will not throw a fit over unreasonable issues. You will treat my agents with respect from now on and communicate properly; no more yelling. And you will resolve any issues that may arise calmly with my agents, without unnecessarily bothering the CEO. It's either that, or you can get the hell out. Which would you prefer?" I offered with a smile. Taylor was stunned into a silence. She actually looked scared.

"I'll sign it," she muttered after a while.

"Great, we look forward to collaborating with you. As the CEO, I'll be happy to let one of my agents help you with the rest," I smiled politely before turning on my heels and walking back to the office. I sat back down behind the desk before letting out a breath. Maybe I was just a little more agitated than usual because Kieran was gone but I didn't have the patience for Taylor's antics today. Amanda came into the office, closing the door behind her with a huge smile on her face as she shot me a thumbs up.

"I wish I got that on video. That was absolutely legendary! What did you whisper to her?" Amanda asked. I closed my eyes briefly as I leaned back in my chair.

"I told her to stop having wild thoughts about my husband. It's never going to happen," I paraphrased before I got started drafting up the new contract for Taylor.