Chapter 3 : Kyle Wright

Kyle Wright, the newly appointed CEO of Wright Diamond Corporation—the biggest company in the city and rapidly becoming one of the best in the country—was finally handed the keys to the family empire at thirty years old.

He was walking down the halls of the Second Diamond Hotel, one of the corporation''s properties, when he suddenly spotted his niece bolting away from the direction of the First Carat conference room.

"Kimberly!" he called out, but the little girl was moving too fast and zipped right past him.

"Kyle, catch her, will you! She''s throwing a tantrum because I wouldn''t buy her candy!" He heard his twin sister Kenzie yell from the doorway, one hand on her pregnant belly. "Please! You know I love you."

There were only four women in his life who could get their way with him: his mother, Samantha Wright; his twin sister, Kenzie Wright-Kentworthy; his youngest sister, Sarah Kate Wright; and his niece, Kimberly. Beyond them, he was a complete ass to pretty much every other woman on the planet.

Hearing his sister''s plea, he replied, "Fine. But tell your husband I need a deal with his company."

He watched Kenzie roll her eyes. "Like you''d ever take no for an answer—go!"

Kyle wasn''t worried. Everyone at the hotel knew their family, including their seasonal visitor from England: four-year-old Kimberly Kentworthy.

His sister Kenzie often made the long trip to Braeton City whenever her husband was away on business, or sometimes the whole family would come visit together.

Reaching the lobby, he scanned the entire area, trying to spot his troublesome niece. One of the security guards approached him and said, "She''s at the candy shop next to the café, Mr. Wright. Roger''s been keeping an eye on her."

Kyle shook his head and walked toward the store, only to find his niece chatting with a stranger and holding candy in her hand.

Oh, he knew this story all too well—his helpless niece being "rescued" by some scheming woman who''d use Kimberly as a way to get to him. He''d been the target not once, but twice! He immediately grabbed the lollipop and scolded the little girl. "Never take candy from strangers!"

To his surprise, however, the woman shot him a disapproving look and snapped, "Mister, you need to watch your daughter! How could you lose track of her? What an irresponsible father you are!"

*Irresponsible father?* That definitely wasn''t how he''d expected this to go. He was ready to put the woman in the sapphire dress in her place, but instead, he was the one getting called out.

For the first time in his life, he was speechless in front of a woman. Before he could even object, the same girl turned her back on him and walked away without another word.

It shocked him that she didn''t even try to flirt with him—not for a second.

"Uncle! You scared the nice lady away!" his little niece said with a frown. "She was really nice."

"We''ll see about that," he answered weakly, his forehead creased. "I''ll be the judge of that."

He returned to their family gathering with the earlier encounter replaying in his head on loop.

The girl in that sapphire blue dress had suddenly become a mystery to him.

After they''d had a lovely dinner, Kimberly bumped into one of the servers, accidentally spilling a glass of juice all over Kyle''s jacket.

"Oh, I''m so sorry, Mr. Wright! I''m—" The server was so scared of losing his job that he stuttered while offering, "Let me—let me take your jacket and get it cleaned, sir."

"It''s fine." Kyle took off his jacket from his seat and handed it to the server. "After it''s cleaned, take it up to my penthouse."

Kyle Wright''s penthouse was on the top floor. He''d been living separately from his parents since he turned twenty-six. They usually only got together on weekends or for special dinners at one of the Diamond Hotels.

"Are you okay, Kyle?" his mother, Samantha, asked from across the round table.

"I''m fine, Mom," he replied, noticing his phone buzzing.

He''d been waiting for his assistant, Mark Esperanza, to bring some documents for him to sign.

He looked up at his parents and siblings. "I need to change, and I might as well meet Mark in the lobby."

Walking out to the lobby wearing just his white dress shirt, he could easily pass for hotel staff. He found his assistant with the documents already spread out on the bar counter.

"Good evening, Mr. Wright. Sorry I''m late. Here are the corrected documents," Mark said.

The two men stood by the bar while Kyle quickly reviewed the papers. After confirming the corrections had been made, he signed them and handed them back to his assistant.

"I don''t want the same mistake happening again, Mark. I''m counting on you to review these documents thoroughly before they hit my desk," Kyle said, hands on his hips.

Mark, still in his office attire, swallowed hard. He felt lucky his boss was giving him a second chance. He nodded repeatedly. "It won''t happen again, Mr. Wright. Thank you for your patience."

Kyle was about to head up to his penthouse and dismiss his assistant when he heard a woman''s voice from across the lobby: "Hey, handsome!"

He turned around and saw the same girl who''d called him an irresponsible father, but unlike earlier, she seemed thrilled to see him.

Kyle immediately noticed how different she looked. Her face was flushed and she had this inviting smile, sparkling eyes—all clearly directed at him.

The woman in the sapphire dress easily made her way over to him and pleaded, "I need your help. Help me out, will you?"

His brain told him to object—push her away! But his eyes were glued to her small face and full lips.

Without waiting for his response, the girl cupped his face with one hand and kissed him outright!

After feeling the softness of her lips, his heart started racing!

Except for the pounding in his chest, everything around him seemed to go silent.

He took a deep breath and savored that sweet scent coming from the girl.

His eyes closed involuntarily as he found himself melting into the brief but electrifying kiss!

When the kiss ended, Kyle''s eyes struggled to open.

When they did, he saw his surroundings were blurry, and the only thing in focus was the woman''s beautiful face.

Kyle was in complete shock. He felt an unexpected stirring below his belt—something he hadn''t experienced since his teens!

He saw her smile at him and heard her say, "I know what a shock it must be to kiss a beauty like me... but consider it a bonus. You must''ve been working really hard tonight."

"Thanks again, handsome." The girl quickly pulled five dollars from her purse, stuffed it into his shirt pocket, and said, "Your tip. Bye! Have a great shift!"

Even after watching the girl walk away, Kyle stood frozen, unable to process the strange and overwhelming desire he''d just experienced.

Meanwhile, his assistant Mark had been covering his mouth with his hand the entire time. After the woman left, he stared at Kyle in shock.

After working for Kyle for over four years, Mark Esperanza had finally witnessed his boss falling weak in front of a woman. His eyes went wide as he slowly said, "Mr. Wright... you... you... you kissed a g-i-r-l."

Kyle simply ignored him. He looked down at his lower body and could clearly see for himself. It hit him that for the first time since he could remember, he was experiencing what it felt like to get hard.