She peeked over the newspaper she was holding, staring unbashedly at the man in front of her. She tried not to look too suspicious, going to read the newspaper once in a while to seem less guilty about what she was doing.
Tiana had skipped school that morning to follow this gorgeous man she was now spying on. Not that she had intended to skip school entirely at the beginning but the moment she set eyes on him and her heart did the little tumble where you knew you were already a gonner even before you knew the person, it had been clear as day to her that she needed to know exactly who this man was in order to know her next move.
So here she sat, wanting to gather as much intel as she possibly could on a total stranger. A gorgeous stranger. It made her giggle a little at her own thought.
She saw him beckon the waitress over. It was about time. He had sat there without ordering anything for a good 20 minutes. Tiana just deduced it was probably part of his itinerary and had already taken note of it.
Throughout his conversation with the waitress, she kept blushing, acting even more coquettishly by tucking her hairs behind her ear. She couldn't exactly blame the girl for her reaction.
The man was too handsome for his own good and she feared he didn't know the effect he had on people because he didn't seem to notice the girl's fidgeting. This brought a smirk to her lips.
It meant he wasn't easily impressed by women. It made her want to pursue him even more. He lifted his eyes to look in her direction as if sensing the scrutinizing eyes on him, but before he could make eye contact with her, she ducked behind the newspaper, berating herself for almost giving herself away.
He didn't look like an ordinary man and she wouldn't be surprised if he had sensed her gaze on him a very long time ago. After a few more seconds of hiding behind the spread out newspaper, as if that in itself wasn't suspicious (because who read newspapers nowadays), she slowly raised her head and her eyes widened in shock.
Sitting right in front of her was the man she had been spying on, his grey eyes doing much of the querying as they bore into her very soul. She gulped, trying to play it cool as she straightened herself.
Of course she knew he had taken notice of her but what she didn't expect was for him to approach her like this. With him sitting so close she could smell his cologne and she tried not to breathe too much.
She smiled at him, as big and bright as humanely possible but it did nothing to the man in front of her. If anything she seemed to have annoyed him more, if that was even his current state since she couldn't exactly tell how he was feeling.
Kaian stared hard at the girl. She wasn't someone he recognized so he wondered why she was so invested in him enough to pull a stunt like this. He gave her a pointed look and she smiled at him again. Kaian almost rolled his eyes.
She didn't look like one of those girls his mother set him up with nor did she look like an actual stalker that was fetishly obsessed with him so he wondered what her mission was towards him.
"You've been stalking me." He said, like both of them didn't know that already. He arched an eyebrow as he waited for her to say something. She coughed.
"Stalking is kind of a stretch Mr..." She tried fishing for his name at the end but he wouldn't give it as he continued to give her that judgy, pointed look. It made her overly aware of his eyes on her and she tried to remain calm.
Regardless, he was still a total stranger. "So you haven't been stalking me for the past 2 hours?" He raised a brow and her eyes widened for the second time.
How did he know the exact time she had been spying on him for? Was he some kind of detective or did he work with the CIA? Oh she was fucked. Looking back at him, she put her elbows on the table and placed her chin on her interlocked fingers, raising a brow herself.
"You seem pretty interested for a guy who's supposedly being stalked. If I didn't know better I would think you noticed me first. Y'know since you've calculated down to the time I've been around you."
Tiana gave him a smirk and her words might have intrigued him because she saw a ghost of a smile appear on his lips but it quickly disappeared as soon as it came.
If she wasn't paying attention to his gorgeous face, because honestly who could resist looking at such an artwork, she would have missed the little reaction from him.
Whatever jitters she had earlier had long been shed. She wanted this beautiful creature in front of her and she was going to get him.
"And you seem pretty relaxed around a stranger you know nothing about. I could be a bad guy or worse a murderer," if it was possible his eyes gleamed when he said the word 'murderer' and it sent shivers down her spine. Not the spooky kind. Tiana chuckled.
"I could say the same for you. Also isn't being a bad guy and a murderer considered the same things?" She asked, tilting her head to the side almost slowly, sending a sultry signal. His own chuckle rumbled through her and oh boy did it sound so reverberating.
"Baby, the first one gets you a fine at most, whiles the latter makes you a prisoner or worse a dead body." Tiana was so stuck on him addressing her so endearingly she failed to properly grasp the words that tumbled out of his mouth. When guys that tried to woo her called her 'baby' she'd cringe so hard, it would make her want to barf.
But with this man, she didn't know that word could sound so sexy coming out of a person's mouth. She was sold. There was no going back. "I'll keep that in mind from now onwards." Kaian grinned at her statement. He didn't think he would find himself indulging her when he had come to sit with her but for some odd reason her presence wasn't irritating.
"Here's your coffee sir." The waitress had brought his drink. "Anything else you need?" She asked, her voice a little monotone as if insinuating something else entirely.
"Not at the moment," Kaian said, his eyes not straying from the woman sitting in front of him. The waitress noticed and she clenched her hands. She looked over to the girl he had suddenly come to sit with.
She was gorgeous. Tiana raised her head to find the girl standing, drilling literal bullets in her head. For her to look at her like that over a man they both didn't know was crazy.
Tiana realized she had the chance do the pettiest thing ever and she took it. With the girl still staring at her, she gave her a smug look but she didn't look like she was going to back off any soon.
Smiling mischievously to herself, she placed her hand on the man's that was already on the table, and so slowly and painfully, like how one would make sure you were overly aware of a situation, wrapped her fingers one after the other around his hands.
Being even more petty, she gave the waitress a victorious grin. She could tell she was fuming inside because she looked from the man to her to their interlaced hands that he hadn't bothered to pry away and looked back at him again as if by doing that, it would make him aware that a woman had her hands around his but he didn't seem to care because not once had his eyes strayed to look at the waitress.
She stood there a few seconds and with a harrumph walked out of there. Tiana giggled after she left. Coming back to her senses, she noticed what she had done in her quest to being petty. With a nervous chuckle towards him, she pulled her hand away.
Kaian's hand flexed when the warmth of her palms left his and he grabbed his other hand, as he went to place them on his lap.
He was amused at the little exchange. For as far as he could remember, his life had never consisted of anything interesting but whatever had transpired since meeting this girl was worth remembering. "What?!" She gave him a look when she realized he had been looking at her for more than necessary.
"What is your name?" He ended up asking instead. "Isn't it common courtesy to give your name first before asking for someone else's." She smiled at the look he gave her as if he couldn't exactly believe a girl like her was real. "Says the girl that has been stalking me." Tiana glared at him. "I told you I wasn't stalk— a call interrupted her.
Kaian saw the caller ID and his mood suddenly turned serious. He picked the call and he hummed instead of saying hello as if to let the other person know he was listening. His eyes darkened after a while and she could tell whatever conversation he was having meant real business.
She saw him tilt his head, a murderous glint passing his eyes and Tiana prayed for whoever was going to be at the receiving end of his growing anger.
He got up from his seat, still intently listening to what was being spoken on the phone. Before Tiana could grasp that he was leaving, he was already out of the door with her hand outstretched in an attempt to stop him. Kaian's driver saw his boss making his way to the car in long strides and he knew something was up. He opened his side of the door and he sat down almost immediately. Kaian smiled.
The driver who knew what that smile meant couldn't help the shivers that crawled along his spine. "Where to, boss?" The driver who had noticed him end the call asked.
Kaian's smile widened, mirth filling his grey eyes. "My favorite cousin just invited me for some fun. Let's go meet dear cousin shall we."