A Step Closer to Love

Kieran took the meal his mom made and left the house after ensuring that she was fine. He knew something was wrong but he could not place his hands on them and since both his parents were hiding the truth from him, there was nothing he could do about it.

“Mom said I should give this to you” Kieran said dropping the bag of food on Arabella’s table.

Arabella looked up at him. His face was in his usual scowl as if he was just back from fighting a bear.

“What?” she asked. She did not understand what the bag was. They were only a few minutes to lunch break so why was he coming into the office with a food bag after storming out earlier?

“I went home and Mom said I should give this to you” Kieran said gesturing to the bag.Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

“You went home?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said nodding before awkwardly walking away.

“What’s that?” Chole asked rolling her chair closer to Arabellea’s table.

“Kieran’s mom sent me lunch” Arabella responded.

“Why would she do that?” Aaron asked.

“Because they live together?” Chole responded in a sarcastic tone.

“They live together?” Aaron was shocked. It was like fresh news to him.

“Boys,” Chole said with a tut. “What’s in there?” she followed up and Arabella shook her head.

“Why am I just knowing this?” Aaron followed up. No one in the office was ready to indulge him in the back and forth of the reason he was just learning of the involvement between Arabella and Kieran.

“I don’t know” Arabella said and Chole nodded with a smile reaching for the bag.

“Let’s check it,” Chloe said as she began to offload the content to check it. “It’s a slice of homemade chicken pot pie, oh you are so lucky, we have to spend our money to get lunch for ourselves but you have such a loving house host”

“I guess” Arabella muremued.

She turned around to see Kieran sitting at his desk. His eyebrows were knitted together as if he was focused on something important. She had tried her best to stay out of his way all day but she had to talk with him.

The team fell into silence as everyone tried to get their work done right on time. “Aren’t you going to have lunch?” Ryder asked popping his head from his office.

“We are” they answered as they began to put on their jackets and stretch.

“Arabella?”

“Oh I have lunch here, I would work a little more before I have it,” Arabella said in a dismissing tone. She did not want to have to explain herself but she did not know how to escape questioning.

“I am buying,” Ryder said in a tone that suggested that he was trying to persuade her.

“I can’t waste this meal” Arabella declined.

“Okay then see you in a bit, by the way, Kieran is not going with us so maybe you two can have lunch together,” Ryder said.

Before Arabella could oppose being left alone at the office she was left all alone with the deafening silence of the office. She wanted to join them because she did not want to be with him.

Kieran looked up from his desk to see Arabella working so intently on whatever it was that she was doing. He glanced at the clock on his desk. It was lunchtime so why was not eating?

He stood up and took up the lunch box his mom had packed for him. He would heat the meal in the kitchenette and also try to invite Arabella to do so.

“If you had the opportunity, you would be a workaholic” Kieran said.

“Shit,” Arabella said whipping around on her seat to Kieran with a shock on his face, her hand on his chest and her face as if she had just encountered a ghost.

“What?” he asked taking cautious steps down from his office stairs to the main floor.

“You scared me” she responded. She had decided to invest herself into the work that she had forgotten that she was left all alone with him in the office.

“Aren’t you going to have lunch?” he asked and she nodded.

“You brought lunch from Everly for me, remember?”

“I do remember, I just wanted to know the reason why you are yet to have it” he asked and she turned around in her seat to face her desk.

“I am busy now, I will have it in a minute,” she said flipping through a file.

For some very weird reason, she could feel him coming up to her. It was like a strange air was coming up to her. She felt her breath hitch in her throat and her eyes widened. She gulped to push down the saliva that had built up in her throat.

“Have lunch now” he said. His voice was all too close and she knew better than to turn around, he would be standing right behind her.

“I would do so as soon as I can get this done with,” she said as she tried her best to sound as calm as possible.

“Have it now” he said his hand was going down on the file to cover up the entire page.

For some reason at that very time, all she could think about was how huge his hands were. It was weird she should be worried about him being so close to her and also worried he was still butting so much into her business but all she thought of was his hands.

“Let me be done with this, Aurora would like to go over it as soon as she gets back” Arabella said trying to pry his hands off the book.

As she felt his skin under hers she paused and waited for a second before she pretended like she did not just feel a weird sensation. She pulled his hand but to no avail, he seemed to be strong, in fact too strong for her.

“Tell her I said you can have lunch when others are having lunch and work when others do so as well”

“How can I tell her that? I might as well be digging my grave” she murmured but he heard her.

“I will tell her myself,” he said and began to lift his hands from her book.

“Don’t” she screamed as she stood up and turned around falling into his hands.