The Best Friend's Contract

He seems to have caught the sudden change of expression on my face which causes him to clear his throat, "Clearly... there's something else bothering you. You really want her to go with you, don't you?" He asks, eyes piercing into mine; seeking for answers. I quickly cross my arms before running my fingers through my hair while avoiding any eye contact with him, "What do you mean?"

Yes, I want Kenna to go with me to Dallas. Not just to celebrate my parents' anniversary but to spend more time with me. Together. It has been years ever since I went back to my parent's hometown and it would be great to show Kenna around-spend time trying to have more memories together than just keeping ourselves busy with work. It feels as if nothing has changed ever since we got married.

Then again, why does it have to change? We're just pretending to be in love with each other even thought we're legally married. She can do whatever she wants and I can do whatever I want but there's just something going on in my mind... bothering me.

"Dude, you just got married a few days ago and you're already falling for her." He continues to speak, leaving me confused-falling for her? That's bizarre and very out of topic.

"That's nonsense. I'm not falling for my best friend," My eyes wandering around the room while we both speak about my feelings. "Why would I ever fall for Kenna? She didn't do anything to make me feel attracted-she's just... Kenna. Besides, we're best friends, there's no such thing as falling in love with your own best friend." I say.

"It happens all the time in the world," He shrugs. "And, why do you have to keep on saying the word 'best friend"?"

Just as I'm about to answer, Flynn enters the room with Joanne one of the employees here who works in the Proposal department which immediately attracts Dimitri's attention. Both of his eyes wander down her body as his lips curve up into a smirk, leaving her to look at him with surprise.

Joanne is no doubt beautiful. When she first came to work at my company, I was quite surprised at her humbleness even with all her facial perfections. Then again, she's also known to be shy around strangers but as soon as she knows them better, she's more comfortable.

"Mr. Ashton, it's time." She says, glancing up at my direction and completely ignoring Dimitri's gaze.

Both of my hands grab onto my coat before fixing my tie and make my way towards the door, Flynn and Joanne behind me. My eyes wander back to Dimitri who won't stop eyeing her with a sly smirk plastered onto his face which causes me to clear my throat, "Don't you have a hotel to run?" I ask, shoving my left hand into my slacks' pocket.

He starts to stand up, "Hotels... to run," Then, he makes his way towards Joanne as she tries her best to avoid any further eye contact with him. "What's your name, beautiful?" He asks, leaving me chuckling softly. "Joanne," She replies, her voice almost inaudible.

"Joanne... a very beautiful name. I'd like to take you out for dinner," He grabs onto her hand before placing a kiss at the back of it-both Flynn and I watch the entire scene with our lips curved up into a smile; completely enjoying this. She smiles. "Unfortunately, sir. I'm engaged," She replies before pulling her hand away and lifting her left hand, showing the ring.

Dimitri's eyes widen at the sight before turning to look at Flynn and I who has already burst out laughing, expecting a rejection. It's quite new for Dimitri when it comes to handling rejections because no one has ever let him down before... which leads him to clear his throat, fix his coat and take a few steps away from her.

"He must be a very lucky man," He clenches his jaw, covering his embarrassment.

"The luckiest and I'm a very lucky woman," She responds with a smile on her face before walking out of the room after nodding at me leaving me lean my head back as I laugh.

"Remind me again to never come here," Dimitri says, rolling his eyes as he makes his way out and straight towards the elevator, ignoring all of the other employees here which is quite an enjoyment for me-seeing him attracted to such beauty and being let down, unfortunately.

"Shall we, Mr. Ashton?" Flynn asks, gesturing for me to step out.

The whole day is being spent busily at different departments-it's something I do once a month to catch up with my employees. I'm known as someone who takes things seriously when it comes to work but I'm also very close with my employees. Then again, they're never brave enough to make any mistakes as I can't seem to control my temper.

"Mr. Ashton, here's your coffee." Flynn says, entering my office before placing it on my desk.

My eyes wander down to glance at my wrist watch, seeing that it's almost nine. Almost all of the employees have returned home a few hours ago, leaving Flynn and I.

"Flynn... you should go home. It's

late," I mutter under my breath

before taking a sip of my coffee. Then, I go through the files again, scrolling down on my laptop-trying to finish this before I go home, even though I know that it's quite impossible because of the amount. "You should never stay this late. I

told you to stop working over-time," I

add, slowly.

He looks up at me, "You shouldn't stay up too late, either. Kenna is probably waiting for you at home," He replies.

A soft chuckle escapes my lips, "It's funny you mention that when she's probably taking other people's shift tonight. She can get a little bit too . addicted with her work," I answer and Flynn smiles, leaving me to realise that I should probably head home. Besides, this job won't be finished tonight, either.

"We should head home," I say.

"Goodnight, Mr. Ashton." Flynn replies before walking out of my office, leaving me all by myself-turning off my laptop and close the files, leaving them on my desk.

It doesn't take me long to reach home before parking my car next to my other three. I look up at the currently occupied spot-where Kenna usually park her car and realise that she's home instead of being at the hospital, working the hours away.

I push my front door open, seeing Kenna laying on the sofa with earphones plugged into her ears as she holds onto her phone. As soon as she sees me, her eyes widen and she starts to make her way towards me while I make my way upstairs, ignoring her. "Aidan," She calls out.

"I'm talking to you... not to the

walls," She adds as I enter my room, loosening the tie around my neck and place it on the bed before

unbuttoning my shirt-prene

not being in the same room as Kenna. "Are you seriously ignoring me? Are you giving me the silent treatment?" She asks, standing in front of me.

Still pretending not to see her, I walk towards my walk-in closet and pull out a plain shirt with shorts before throwing them on my bed.

"Unless you want to talk about Dallas, we're not talking." I reply with a slight smile on my face as I enter the bathroom-being followed by Kenna, leaving me looking at the mirror and see her standing behind me, her eyebrows furrowed and her arms crossed. "Get out. I want to take a shower," I say as I turn to look at her.

"No, I'm staying here." She replies, stubbornly.

"Fine," I lean towards her before taking my shirt off, leaving me shirtless as both of her eyes focusing into mine while I proceed with my pants-only standing with my underwear as she tries her best not to look at anywhere else but my eyes.

As soon as she realises that I'm going to be standing naked in front of her, she starts to turn towards the door; not wanting to look at me while I smirk, quite enjoying to be uncomfortable around me in situations like this.

"I want to talk," She says as I shower, the warm water easing me and relaxing me.

To my surprise, she stands still and quietly until I'm done showering. As stubborn as she can be, her ego is just too much, sometimes. "What do you want to talk about?" I ask, standing behind her, purposely letting her feel my warm breath near her neck as I stand with only my towel wrapped around my torso.Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

She turns to look at me, "About Dallas."

Droplets of water continues to drop down onto the ground from my hair while I run my fingers through it, my lips curving up into a smile before chuckling and walking out of the bathroom, Kenna following my every step.

"What about Dallas?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

It takes me awhile to realise that both of her eyes were wandering down to my body before quickly looking up into my eyes again as I stand still, shirtless in front of her. Deep down, there's something building inside of me... letting me feel my heart skip a beat as they fasten.

My eyes look down at her lips, seeing how they're naturally pink-attracting me. If we're not standing a few feet away from each other or if I'm not holding myself back, I would've closed the distance between us and cup onto her face just to meet her lips, knowing how soft they would be against mine.

"I'm going to Dallas with you," She replies.