10. Mingling 101

Deciding to take Tony up on his offer to join the others during lunch, Ella grabbed her flask and peeked through Kaiden's door to see if he wanted anything.

Once again he was on the phone, back facing her deep in conversation with the other person on the line.

He always sounded like he was giving them a lecture, and she prayed she'd never been on the receiving end of that anger.

Once out of the elevator she let out a much-needed breath, letting the rancorous voices and sight of different people fill her senses. Staying on the VIP floor all day with a very quiet boss was very stifling, and she was just happy she had some time to clear her lungs of the familiar muscular scent that followed Kaiden.

"Hello, Stranger!" She barely had enough time to turn around before Tony flung an arm over her shoulder, the same charming smile on his face. He had a half-eaten apple in his hand and had covered his wild blonde locks with a Big Hero Six cap. "Glad to see you're as smart as I thought you were." He bumped her playfully when she rolled her eyes and playfully shrugged his hand off her shoulder.

"So what did Bossman have to say about you joining the rest of us mortals down here?" He questioned as he bit into his apple chewing noisily, making it obvious he just wanted to irritate her.

Ella moved towards the serving table and felt her mouth water at the delicious spread of Chinese food laid out in an impressive setting on the table. "I didn't try asking. He can be terrifying when he wants to be."

Her answer seemed to surprise him, and with a hearty laugh, he called the attention of other colleagues who were getting their lunch. "Well, well, Snow-White, seems you're not unsalvageable after all."

She rolled her eyes again having filled her plate to the best of her stomach's ability and waited for Tony to do the same. He grabbed a few items and joined her. Noticing her questioning look he explained his scarce choice of food. "I'm on a new diet. And I have to give the ladies what they want. Can't lack on the manscaping."

A wave of nervousness came over her at the sight of the almost filled table with her colleagues chatting animatedly amongst themselves. The conversation stopped immediately when she and Tony reached the table.

"Mortal men, meet Annabella Hart our most intriguing and mysterious employee as of now." He faced Ella. "Ella meet the mortal men. The redhead Ed Sheeran look alike over there," he gestured to one of the guys who had a cute smile on his face, he looked younger than most of them at the table. "is Clay. The cornrow beauty there is Mimi." The dark-skinned beauty waved. "The K-pop girl group singer there is Sun-hi, and there's, Naz, his twin Jaz and the comedian of the group, Cole. And you've met me, the head of this group of delinquents and the most charming." His self-appraisal earned him a few boos from the group and he playfully flipped them off.

Shyly, Ella waved and took a seat Tony had drawn out for her. She fixed her attention on her California rolls aware of every eye watching her.

Tony sat beside her and clipped his chopsticks before he started eating. "Now I know a lot of you have a lot of questions for Ella here, but please go one at a time so you don't scare the poor thing."

Ella frowned at this. Why would they want to ask her questions, and what type of questions? Before she had the chance to voice her thoughts, Mimi spoke.

"So what's it like, working for him?" She had a slight tilt to her accent, something between French and British. It made her sound formal and exotic.

Ella stared confused before she reiterated her question. "Kaiden Blaq, what's he like?" She said more enthusiastically.

Sun-hi poked her arm. "Not so loud Mimi, what if somebody heard you?"

Mimi rolled her eyes and bit on a piece of tofu. "Come on, it's not like everyone isn't thinking it. I'm just the only one with the balls to actually ask it." She ignored Sun-hi's disapproving stare and smiled at Ella again.

Ella looked around the table, finding all pairs of eyes on her. Did they really expect her to answer the question?

"Don't mind them, they're just curious," Naz reassured. His voice low and slightly intimidating yet he had a slight smile on his face. His blue-eyed twin signed something and Ella realized she was deaf. She'd tried learning ASL a few years back when her grandma developed hearing problems but it was a little more difficult than she thought, so she'd given up.

Naz nodded at his sister and turned towards Ella. "We are all a little curious though. There has been a lot of rumors about him."

Cole continued. "And we just want to know-"

"If it's all true." Mimi ended with a light shrug.

"We don't want to pressure you," Sun-hi stated with an apologetic look on her cherubic face.

"He's just been a bit of a mystery to us." The last part came from Clay. Who contrary to his face and the light blush had a deep and manly voice, it took her off guard.

"Well - Uhm, I really - I mean he's okay," she winced at her choice of words. "okay, I guess. I mean we don't talk a lot, like normal people working together..."

Mimi nodded with her chopstick to her lips. "So you admit he's not normal?"

"She never said he's not normal," Sun-hi turned to her. "Did you?"

Cole smacked the table. "Of course he's not normal. The man has an IQ of 209, that sounds normal to you?"

"I thought it was 192?"

"I heard it was 218."

"Bullshit! It can't be that high. I heard 189."

Her eyes flew back and forth from each person and their contradictory statements. She was second-guessing joining them. They just wanted to know about their 'mysterious' boss.

Well, she wasn't going to disappoint.

"He's a bit of an ass."

The whole table went quiet as all turned to her wide-eyed.

Tony seemed taken aback by her question and had to clean off the bits of tofu he had unceremoniously spat out from his mouth.

Seeming to come to his senses first, Clay asked. "What?"

Nonchalantly, she toyed with one of her California rolls. "He's a bit of an ass. He doesn't talk much, and the very few times he does, it's usually to reprimand you for something. He's also a work maniac. Always on the phone, on the floor-"

"The floor!" Mimi gasped.

Ella nodded. "I've seen him work on the floor once. It seemed natural to him. And he gives me strikes for anytime I do something wrong."

Cole burst out laughing. "The fuck!"

"That's disappointing." Naz translated for his sister who signed.

Tony flung an arm over her shoulder again. "Told you she's the only one we can rely on."

Mimi who seemed deep in thoughts dropped her chopsticks. "I don't think he is. I mean the man is crazy smart, not to mention sculpted like a Greek god statue, influential and crazy confident." She quirked a brow at Ella. "I don't think he's an ass. Just misunderstood."

Ella shrugged. "It my POV. It's how he seems to me, sexist, arrogant, and-"

Her phone vibrated in her breast pocket shocking her and eliciting a little squeal from her. She pulled it out and saw she had a message from Kaiden.

"How did he get my number?" She mumbled to herself but it didn't fall deaf on her companions.

"Probably hacked your phone." Clay said.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Or he got it from her employee files like any other normal person."

Clay thought about it for a second with a thoughtful look on his face. He shook his head. "Nah, probably hacked her phone.

Where are you? The text read. Three simple words. She looked at the time, seeing she still had ten minutes to go yet packed up her rolls and other belongings before saying goodbye to the guys at the table.

As fast as she could, she sped to the elevator, put in the pin, and counted the seconds to when she would reach her destination.

In record time, the elevator doors opened and she rushed out only to be stopped in her tracks by the sight of Kaiden, arms crossed watching her with the most intense gaze he had ever given her.

"Uhm - I th- do you..." She stopped short when nothing of sense could leave her mouth and stood fidgeting trying to look anywhere but him.

His eyes narrowed at the pack in her hands. "Glad to know at least one of us had something to eat." He muttered, low and slow.

Ella flinched back as he'd slapped her. "I'm sorry, I didn't- I thought, I - I, I'm sorry." She finished with a pitiful sigh at herself.

Unmoving, Kaiden watched her with his hawk-like gaze, his eyes turning darker by the second.

He moved a step closer making her five foot four seem lesser than that as his shadow covered her.

"Thin ice, Annabella. Very thin ice."

Then he turned and walked back to his office, leaving her stunned and terrified in the dimly lit hallway.