CHAPTER 166: CHAPTER 166

Kira’s POV

Eddy. Eddy is here. Right now. In this club. Watching me.

The paper crumpled in my grip as panic, confusion and guilt crashed over me.

He’s here. He’s been watching me dance with Damien. He saw everything.

"Kira?" Damien’s voice seemed to come from very far away. "Are you alright? You look pale."

I looked up at him - at my boss - and I started asking myself questions.

What am I doing?

Why am I sitting here, laughing with my boss like it’s a normal thing?

Damien doesn’t date girls like me - I know because I’ve seen the kind of girls that leaves his penthouse in the mornings - so he’s probably looking for a one night stand with me.

So, if I knew all these, why the hell am I sitting here, giggling with my unattainable boss while the man who probably loved me watched from the shadows.

I can’t do this.

"I have to go," I said, standing up abruptly. "I’m sorry, I... I have to find someone."

"Wait..." Damien reached out, but I was already moving, already searching the crowd desperately for any sign of Eddy.

Where are you? Show yourself. Please just show yourself so I can explain...

But even as I thought it, I realized I had no idea what I was looking for. I’d never seen Eddy’s face. Never heard his voice. How was I supposed to find him in a crowded club?

I pushed through the crowd of people dancing, my eyes darting everywhere, the note now tucked somewhere safe.

I wasn’t falling for Damien. I wasn’t. It was just dancing. Just conversation. Nothing more.

But even as I told myself that, I knew it might have looked like more from the outside. Knew that if I’d been watching Eddy dance with another woman the way I’d been dancing with Damien, I’d be heartbroken too.

Think, Kira. THINK. How do you find someone you’ve never seen?

And then it hit me. A crazy, stupid, absolutely humiliating idea that I would probably regret for the rest of my life.

But I didn’t care.

I pushed my way toward the DJ booth, fighting through the dancing crowd with single-minded determination. When I reached the stage, I climbed up, and tapped frantically on the DJ’s shoulder.

He pulled off one side of his headphones, looking annoyed. "What?"

"Please!" I practically shouted over the music. "Cut the music! I need to find someone!"

"Lady, I can’t just..."

"PLEASE!" I pleaded desperately, keeping a pitiful face.

Then, with a shrug, he faded out the music.

The sudden silence was deafening. Hundreds of people stopped dancing, as they turned toward the stage in confusion.

Oh God. What am I doing? What am I DOING?

But I was committed now. I grabbed the microphone with shaking hands.

"Hi everyone!" My voice boomed through the speakers, and I winced. "Sorry to interrupt, I just... I’m looking for someone. His name is Eddy."

The crowd looked at me in confusion.

"Eddy, if you’re here - and I know you are, I got your note - please show yourself. Please. I need to see you. I need to know who you are. I’m tired of the suspense. I’m tired of not knowing. Please, just... please show yourself."

Silence. Complete silence as hundreds of eyes stared at me and I scanned every face desperately, looking for someone to step forward.

"Eddy?" My voice cracked. "Please?"

Nothing. No one moved. No one spoke.

The embarrassment enveloped me like a cloth.

What was I thinking? What did I expect, that he’d just magically appear because I asked nicely on a microphone in front of hundreds of strangers?

"Sorry everyone," I mumbled into the mic. "Go back to dancing. Sorry."

I practically threw the microphone back at the DJ and climbed down from the stage as fast as my heels would allow, my face burning with humiliation.

That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. The absolute stupidest...

I glanced toward where Damien had been sitting at the bar, but he was gone. Probably scared off by my psychotic behavior.

Good. Better he thinks I’m crazy than figures out I’m Kyle.

I made my way back to where Olivia was sitting, my legs shaking with adrenaline and mortification. I collapsed onto the couch beside her.

"Kira..." Olivia’s voice was gentle. "Why did you do that?"

"Eddy left me a note," I said miserably, pulling the crumpled paper from where I’d shoved it in my bra. "He said watching me with... with that guy was too heartbreaking. He’s here, Liv. He’s watching me. And I just needed to know who he is. I’m so tired of the mystery."

Olivia nodded slowly. "I understand. Trust me, I understand completely." She sighed, looking equally miserable. "I’ve had so many opportunities to figure out who my stranger is. So many times he’s been right there, and I could have just... I don’t know, grabbed his hood or followed him or something. But I didn’t. And now I feel like I’ve lost him forever."

"We’re disasters," I said, leaning my head on her shoulder. "Complete and utter disasters."

"The worst."

We sat there in misery for a moment, and I was just about to suggest we go home and drown our sorrows in ice cream when I noticed something odd.

There was a guy sitting just behind Olivia’s side of the couch, watching our exchange with interest. He also looked strangely familiar in a way I couldn’t quite place.

"Liv," I said quietly, "who’s that guy behind you?"

Olivia turned, and her expression immediately shifted to something uncomfortable. "Oh. That’s Ken. He’s a colleague from the office."

Ken gave a little wave, his smile sending creepy vibes down my spine.

My eyes widened. "Wait, a COWORKER knows about your identity? Olivia, what the hell..."

"It’s... complicated," Olivia said quickly, shooting Ken a dark look. "He caught me recently. By accident. And he’s been..."

"Blackmailing her," Ken finished cheerfully, leaning forward to look at me directly. "Into having sex with me. Or I tell Maxwell everything."

I was on my feet before I’d even consciously decided to stand, fury flooding through my veins. "YOU WHAT?"

"Kira, no..." Olivia grabbed my arm, trying to pull me back down. "I’m handling it..."

"Handling it?!" I tried to lunge at Ken, but Olivia held firm. "This creep is sexually harassing you and you’re HANDLING IT?"

"Kira, please..."

"You disgusting piece of SHIT!" I shouted at Ken, who was now looking less confident. "Who the fuck do you think you are? You think you can just blackmail someone into sleeping with you? Are you MAD!"

"I haven’t touched her..." Ken started.

"Because she hasn’t agreed yet, you SCUMBAG!" I was still struggling against Olivia’s grip. "Let me at him, Liv. Just five minutes. I just need five minutes to..."

"Kira, STOP!" Olivia finally managed to pull me back down onto the couch. "I’m handling it! I told Ken about my boyfriend. About how my boyfriend beat up my ex-boyfriend David when he threatened me. And Ken believes me. He’s backing off."

I stopped struggling, though I was still glaring daggers at Ken. "He better. Because if you touch her, if you so much as LOOK at her wrong, there are people who will make you disappear. You understand?"

Ken held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, but he was still smiling that creepy smile. "The only reason I’m believing Olivia’s story is because Julian also mentioned that someone was protecting her. He didn’t give me a name, but he seemed pretty convinced this person was real."

Olivia’s head snapped toward Ken. "Julian said that? Really?"

Ken nodded. "Yep. Said you had someone watching out for you."

"Okay, great," I said, still furious. "So you believe her. Which means you can buzz off now. Girls just wanna have fun, and you’re killing the vibe."

Ken raised his hands higher, standing up. "Alright, alright. Message received." He started backing away. "Enjoy your evening, ladies."

The moment he was out of earshot, I turned to Olivia. "Please tell me you’re not actually considering his blackmail."

"Of course not!" Olivia looked horrified. "I’d rather lose my job than... than that."

"Good. Because if you need help dealing with him, you tell me. Understood?"

"Understood." Olivia said, squeezing my hand.

I settled back into the couch, my adrenaline finally starting to fade. "God, what a night. Mysterious boyfriends, sexual predators, public humiliation via microphone..."

"At least we’re never bored?" Olivia said weakly.

"I would happily be bored," I muttered. "Bored sounds amazing right now."

We sat there for a moment, both of us lost in our respective thoughts, when I noticed Olivia suddenly stiffen beside me.

"Oh no," she whispered.

"What? What is it?"

"What the fuck is he doing here?!"

I turned and looked around, hoping it wasn’t another Ken guy trying to ruin our evening.

Instead it was someone much worse.

Approaching our little corner with a purposeful stride was Maxwell Wellington.

And he was looking directly at Olivia.