“Oh no the girl’s a stripper!” Jace cried dramatically.
Kianna fell into fits of laughter. “Come on, Jace,” she laughed harder. “Ain’t nobody wants to see me naked, much less pay for it. Come to think of it, I think they would pay me to keep my clothes on.”
“So explain,” Jace pleaded.
“Well remember a few months ago I stepped out of my box and applied for a job at Red Dragon?”
“The job you didn’t get.”
“Uh-huh. Well last night I got an email from Dao Zhi himself saying he had a personal assistant spot open at Red Dragon. So this morning, I called him and asked if it was for real and when he told me it was, I was so shocked, I almost dropped the phone. So anyway, he asked if I could come in for an interview and of course I dove at it. I mean, come on! It’s Red Dragon! I would have taken a janitor’s job there if I had to. Guess who’s the new PA for Dao Zhi!”
Jace squealed and hugged her friend. “Oh my lord! You!”
Kianna nodded as they laughed. “Oh yah! I’ll be his personal assistant. Apparently, where he goes, I go—sorta like a tail. And the best part is, I’m going to be making way more than I ever made so I may still have my trip after all!” Kianna began flailing happily because it was as though the true value of it all was just seeping into her.
“Don’t you see?” Jace questioned soberly. “This means that because he’s into mostly Asian music and you’re his personal assistant that you travel with him.”
That, Kianna hadn’t thought about. She was so happy at that moment, so absolutely overjoyed
that she fell into silence. She was rendered speechless. She looked at Jace and shook her head with tears welling up into her eyes. “This is good for me, Jace. But there’s just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want to screw this up,” Kianna confessed. “I mean he’s going to give me a cell phone that leads directly to him so he can call me when he needs me. That means I’m on call and you know me and my temper. I’m afraid that at one of the times he calls, I’ll tell him to go screw himself and hang up.”
Jace started laughing.
Kianna was so confused that she tilted her head to one side like a child who couldn’t figure out how something worked. “What? It’s not funny because we both know it could happen!”
“This job means too much to you, Kiki,” Jace admitted. “You’ll never do that until you can find something better. And where are you going to find something better than being Dao Zhi’s personal assistant?”
Kianna nodded.
“All your life, Kianna, you’ve put everyone else ahead of you,” Jace explained. “I mean, you’ve worked ever since you were sixteen just so you could afford to go to China. You’ve always been obsessed with the culture and what did you do? Because your parents were irresponsible, you had
to give up that dream to pay for their funeral— and not just any old funeral. You went all out for those two.”
“Jace…”
“No. There’s no other word other than irresponsible. But here’s what I’m going to do. If I ever see you getting cranky or irritated with this job before you’re able to save enough, I’m going to remind you that this is for something you’ve always wanted.”
Kianna smiled. “Thanks baby girl.”
“Good, now we have to celebrate. I have ice cream and cheesecake in the fridge, what’s your poison?”
Kianna purred, “Both! Now, stop holding out!
Gimme!”
The moment Dao placed his head against the pillow, the dream came back. The last time he dated an African American woman, she had left him and took his heart. Yet he had tender thoughts for Kianna Sanderson. It was too early to even have those kinds of thoughts. She hadn’t dressed provocatively or even tried to give him a peek of her breasts. All she did was dress in a way to leave sexual views to the imagination. Dao’s mind had taken that and ran with it. He rolled
over on the bed and snuggled into his pillows. His eyes drifted shut again and the dream returned.
Dao gave Mishawn’s hand one last kiss before taking a deep breath. She kissed his lips and he smiled at her. It was all he could do to hide the butterflies that danced in his stomach. He had to be strong because he couldn’t let these people believe he was no good for their daughter. In his culture, if the man showed weakness, he was dubbed not fit for his fiancée. He had to show that he was man enough to protect her and hold her above all else. The exact wrong thing to do at that moment was wimp out at the last minute. That would not be the way to win their hearts. Dao Zhi licked his suddenly dry lips, adjusted his tie and nodded.
“Are you ready?” Mishawn asked him. Dao nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Together, they stepped through the door. No one moved. It was as though someone had just set off a bomb in the room and there was nothing but deathly silence after the initial shock. The older woman, who Dao assumed was Mishawn’s mother, had her mouth hanging open. The man, he assumed was her father, had his arms crossed over his chest as though he was ready to deck someone. A younger man stood off to the side, shaking his head from side to side slowly and Dao knew what was coming. But he wasn’t worried. Mishawn was to be his wife and she would be by his side and have his back. He pushed a smile to his lips even though he didn’t feel like it, but couldn’t be rude.
“Mom, dad, please meet Dao,” Mishawn spoke in a voice that Dao didn’t recognize.
“No,” her mother began speaking while shaking her head. “I knew his last name was Zhi, but dang! I am not having any chinks in my family.”
Dao was shocked. His eyes widened and he looked over at Mishawn to see what she was going to say. But her hand slipped from his. His heart almost stopped.
“I hear that,” the father spoke up. “You are not marrying my daughter.”
“You’re not going to say anything,” Dao spoke rather than question. He could not believe what he was experiencing. He had tried his best to be what they wanted for their daughter and here they were calling him a chink? He had tried holding onto his temper, but her betrayal had completely caught him off guard. As he spoke to her, she backed away from him, moving to her mother’s side. He licked his suddenly dry lips while nodding needlessly. The shock was wearing off and reality seeped in on him like an ungodly plague. “A chink?” he turned to Mishawn’s mother. “You called me a Chink. See? That’s the issue with you. You are ignorant.”
Dao turned to Mishawn and shook his head in disappointment. “I have never asked you for anything, but your heart. I never once pushed you to do anything you didn’t want to do. You asked me to wait for sex until we are married and I did. I’ve waited for three and a half years. I’ve remained faithful to you, being by
your side even when these morons were driving you to the edge.”
“Hey!” someone yelled from the room.
Dao continued, undeterred. “I have never once given you a reason to doubt my honour and my sincerity. My parents have done nothing but love you and respect you. In a way, I am happy this happened, because now I see the kind of wife you will be. A dishonourable one. Keep the ring, pawn it for all I care…”
Then he stalked from the room before he said something he really regretted. It was something so horrible that not even he could think of it as he climbed into the front seat of his luxury sports car and sped off down the street.
First thing the next morning, Dao was in his office. He thought he would have been the first person there, but to his pleasant shock, Kianna was already there. She was sitting in his office, with a day planner open on his desk, a note pad and pen while reading through the employee handbook. He stood at the door, watching her, and wondered why such a woman wanted a job like this one. She looked strong, proud, beautiful and deserved so much more. That thought was venturing into dangerous territory again for him so he cleared his throat. The sound caused her to jerk around. Dao instantly felt like a jerk. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay,” she spoke.
Then came that smile that he was rapidly growing addicted to each time she gave it to him. He smiled and sat across from her. “You start working at nine,” he spoke, shrugging out of his jacket. He tossed it with practiced ease and watched it land on the coat hook.
“I know. I just wanted to get some reading done before you came in,” Kianna replied. “Beth-Ann gave me the employee handbooks and stuff. It’s quiet here and at home—well, let’s just say my neighbours believe everyone is a fan of Limp Biscuit.”
“What now?” “It’s a band…”
“I know. It just boggles the mind. I still can’t believe there’s a band called Limp Biscuit.”
She laughed. “Me either. I guess it is better than naming the band Fly By The Seat Of Our Pants. And besides, in this day and age there are pills for that sort of thing.”
Dao chuckled at that. He was better at Asian artists rather than the English ones. But even then, he had heard about the band. They had a few hits that he liked, but other than that, he wasn’t a fan. Shaking his head, he picked up a Blackberry and handed it to her. “This is yours.”
“It’s not my birthday!” She smirked. He chuckled.
“I’m playing. Thank you.”
Dao smirked. “Well, it’s only a Blackberry. I would have to assume the man in your life would get you something that’s worth a little bit more than a piece of technology.” She looked away form him then and he knew she was blushing. He didn’t have to be told. He stood with a smile, walked over to the window and stared out. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at the traffic below him. They were so small. “Right now, I have a new prospective rapper coming in to see me. He raps in both English and Korean and from what I heard, he’s really good.”
“I thought the great Dao Zhi didn’t want good.
He wanted great.”
Dao chuckled. “You thought right. But still. If he’s half as good as they say he is, then we have a new star on our hands and after the last fiasco, we need some fresh blood around here.” He was excited about the new prospect. It was about time he brought in some fresh blood. He didn’t have time to muse for his phone began ringing. He reached over and hit the flashing button.
“Dao, there’s a long distant call for you on line one—I think it’s your mother.”
“My mother,” he muttered.
“I’ll wait out there to give you some privacy,” Kianna pointed over her shoulder while getting up.
“Thanks,” Dao spoke. His voice was soft for he was truly confused as to why his mother was calling him. Normally, he would call her because he could afford the charges. He would call her every other day just to keep up and because they were so much older, he wanted to make sure they were alright. He wasn’t due to call them until the next day. Something was wrong.
Lifting the phone to his ear, he flopped down in the chair. ”
Mah ma
,” he greeted.
She began rambling in rapid Cantonese.
She was speaking so fast, it made his head spin. “
Mah ma!
” he called in Cantonese. “Slow down. Now, what happened?”
She stopped speaking, then began again.
When she was finished, Dao was on his feet calling for Kianna and speaking instructions into the phone, “Keep him as comfortable as you can. I’ll get on my way from here as soon as I can. Okay, don’t worry. I’ll be there—” By the time Kianna rushed through the door, he had gotten dishevelled and worried as he slammed the phone down. “Could you tell Beth-Ann to have my private jet fuelled and ready? And you need to pack.”
“Pack?” She arched a brow. “What’s going on?” “We’re going on a trip.”
Kianna wanted to ask where they were going, but there was a sadness in his eyes that just screamed urgent. She stood and ran out to deliver the message. It was only when she was halfway home that she realized that she hadn’t made a plan about if she was to lug her things back to the office or if he would be picking her up. Also, it wasn’t until she was at home that she noticed she had no idea where they were going. What was she going to pack? Should she pack tropical, winter? Barging in her door, Kianna shoved her blackberry into the waist of her pants and grabbed her cordless phone. She dialled Jace’s cell phone, tripped up the stairs and frowned. Not only was she in a mad rush, but thanks to her fall, her knees hurt.
“Hello? Anyone there?”
“Jace! It’s me,” Kianna moaned and struggled to haul her small suitcase out from below her bed. She chucked it on her bed and flipped it open. “Listen, I’m going out of town for a while.”
“Erm…what?”
“Well there’s an emergency in Dao’s family and he’s taking me with him,” she explained. “It just happened. I don’t know where we’re going. I just ran home to pack some stuff.”
“I hope everything is alright,” Jace sounded worried. “But why are you going?”
“Personal assistant, remember? I’m his tail, I go where he goes. But he didn’t look so good when he told me to go pack. I guess I’m overreacting—I hope I’m only overreacting.”
“Alright. You finish packing. Gimme a call as soon as you find out where you’re going. And, Kiki, be safe.”
Kianna stopped dropping folded clothes into her suitcase to promise that she would before hanging up and zipping her suitcase shut. Then she packed another bag. Soon she was hauling her suitcase down the stairs when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock and moaned. Who could it be now? And why did they have such horrible timing?
“Coming!” she called. Grunting, she turned and shoved her suitcase and watched it tumble the rest of the way down the stairs. Thankfully, it didn’t fly open. She was sweaty and ruffled by the time she yanked the door open. “Mr. Zhi,” she called, shocked. “Erm, I was just going to head back to the office. Was I gone that long?”
“No, I wanted to pick you up on the way to the airport.”
His eyes were sad. She missed the spark that was in them the first time they had met. His body didn’t look as strong at it did before and she wanted to hold him, to be his strength. But he was her boss, she couldn’t do that. Biting her lower lip,
she gave him a small smile and moved to grab her suitcase. She was struggling to haul it to the door when his hand covered hers on the strap. A shiver sparked down her spine for his hands were warm and large over hers. Looking up, their eyes met and for a brief moment, Kianna could see them together.