I Can See You - Chapter 9
Kendall Roy Masterlist
Pairing: Secret Office Romance Kendall Roy x Female Reader
Word Count: 11.6k (really sorry for the length, had some fun focusing on dialogue in this one)
Chapter Summary: You and Kendall learn to navigate friendships while still maintaining the secrecy of your relationship.
Warnings/Tags: Age gap (reader in her 20s, Kendall is 39), swearing, jealous Kendall, misogynistic remarks/views, very light smut (making out, foreplay, mentions of sex) (18+ MDNI)
A/N: Deviation from canon: this chapter is loosely based on the episode where Kendall goes to the journalism gala but I've changed it to be a charity event for a hospital and Stewy is there instead of Shiv. Also introducing jealous Kendall in this one which is something I'm planning to explore a bit more in a future chapter.
Chapter Theme Song: Thinking of a Place by LonelyTwin
*No use of Y/N
"Well, now that that's settled, should we get into something a little stronger?"
Stewy discreetly pats a spot on his blazer where Kendall knows a little baggie of coke sits hidden inside an inner-jacket pocket. The subtle gesture isn't needed though - at least not at a place like this.
Kendall sits opposite Stewy at a buzzing cocktail bar in the upper east side. Which bar exactly, he can’t remember. So many of these ‘trendy’ places have started to blend together now that they all follow the same uninspired formula: install dim mood lighting, decorate the room with velvet and gold furnishings, and jack up the prices of even the most basic drinks. Hit those 3 notes and the yuppies, instagram influencers, and old men with young mistresses will swarm.
The clientele here tonight are concrete proof of it. Chances are that 99% of the people in this crowd are carrying their own baggies of coke and if not, that they couldn’t care less if someone else is. In fact, Stewy could probably place his baggie right on the table and the worst thing that would happen is someone comes over to ask for a bump.
It's the last place Kendall wants to be. Staying clean is hard enough without surrounding himself with opportunities to break sobriety.
Or a friend encouraging him to start using again.
"No, c'mon man," Kendall responds as nonchalantly as he can manage. "You know I don't do that shit anymore."
"Right, right, of course," Stewy concedes, leaning back in his chair as he crosses one leg over the other. His tone is far from apologetic. "Just thought you deserved to blow off some steam after all that. I don't sway easily.”
He's not wrong. They've spent the last half hour negotiating how Kendall can get Sandy (and Sandi) to back him in his battle against his dad. Having finally settled on an agreement that Stewy thinks he can sell to the Sandies, Kendall is ready to wrap this up but it’s clear that Stewy won’t make that easy for him.
"Yeah, well, you're worth the work," Kendall dismisses, "but I think I'm ready to call it." He looks around for their server, hoping he can flag her down for the bill.
Stewy raises an eyebrow at him. "You're not trying to blow me off, are you Ken? You're gonna dip now that you've gotten what you want from me?" He gives a sarcastic huff of disbelief. "Shit, this must be how every girl I've ever fucked has felt."
Kendall gives a half-assed smirk. "Yeah whatever. You know it's been a long fucking week for me and no offence dude, but your feelings don't break the top 20 on my list of priorities right now."
Stewy gives a mock wince of hurt. "Ouch, that's no way to talk to a friend who's trying to save your ass," he tuts.
His gaze suddenly slides past Kendall to something at the far end of the room. "But you know what... you can make it up to me by joining me over there."
Kendall turns his head just enough to catch a glimpse of two women sitting at the bar behind them. They're wearing tight dresses, stiletto heels, and are heavily made up. One of them is coyly posing with a cocktail while the other takes photo after photo of her.
Influencers - young, attractive, fun. Stewy's favourite.
Kendall turns back to Stewy. "All you man," he says, shaking his head to indicate his disinterest. "Last thing I need right now is a TikTok about the uh, shape of my fucking dick or something going viral."
He hopes that's enough to get him off the hook, but Stewy waves off his excuse immediately.
"Ken, I'm not going over there alone. If you can't get high, I have to help you loosen up somehow." He eyes Kendall up and down judgementally. "Like Jesus Christ dude, you're basically tearing apart at the seams. I'm fuckin' stressed out just looking you."
Kendall stops himself from heaving a sigh. He's not gonna get out of this without a really good reason, which unfortunately means telling Stewy the truth of why he won't go with him. He'll have to avoid giving specifics though - professional always comes first over personal with Stewy, and the last thing he feels like doing right now is attempt to justify the massive professional risk he's taken by dating you.
“You're not gonna get me over there Stewy, I’m actually... I’m uh, I’m not single anymore,” he offers awkwardly.
As much as he doesn't want to get into this conversation, he's surprised by how nice it feels to openly admit he's seeing you - even without Stewy knowing who you are.
He's equally surprised to see Stewy's brows furrow and a look of exasperation form on his face.
“Fuck, don’t tell me you’re back on the Rava Express man,” he sighs, “I thought we’d agreed you were done with those trips to hell.”
“No, no, it’s not Rava,” Kendall interjects. He doesn't doubt that he must've described his relationship with Rava as 'hell' at one point, but that description feels unnecessarily harsh now that he's so removed from the situation. “No, I’m uh, seeing someone new.”
'New' is the magic word; Stewy’s expression morphs to curiosity, and his tone is immediately lighter. "Ohhh shit! Okay Ken, making all kinds of big moves lately, aren’t we?”
As expected, Stewy isn’t one to let a development like this go by without prying a little further. He turns more directly in Kendall’s direction. “Tell me more," he presses, "what genre are we dabbling in this time?"
The fucking genres.
Back in college, Kendall and Stewy had developed a juvenile set of categories they could secretly sort their conquests into. There were four:
Showdogs: girls who came from money and weren’t impressed by Kendall and Stewy’s wealth
Moles: girls who came from dirt (i.e. no money) and were easy to impress with their wealth (and more often than not, looking to be impressed)
Parakeets: airheads who looked good and could be shown off
Raccoons: girls they were fucking but wouldn't dare be seen with in the light of day
By those standards you’d be sorted into the raccoon group, which is how Kendall knows the system is incredibly flawed.
"Jesus dude, you're not still using those, are you?" Kendall chides. "Should we move you out of your place and into a uh, fucking frat house or something so you can feel more at home?"
Stewy rolls his eyes. "Answer the question or I'm gonna assume she's a raccoon."
Kendall feels his blood begin to boil. It hits a little too close to home.
"She's not any genre, you fucking misogynist," Kendall responds, doing his best to keep his tone chummy. "She's..."
Fuck, where is he supposed to start? She's a decade younger? She's a Waystar employee? She's his immediate subordinate? All terrible options.
"She's chill. She just moved to the city a couples months back and she's... she's younger but - I don't even - I don't know, it doesn't feel like it. It's different, she's not like Rava or Naomi or anyone else I've been with and I feel like that's what I really fuckin' need right now."
Stewy begins to watch Kendall with wary eyes as he listens. He squints, his head cocking slightly to the side when Kendall finishes. "Okay..." he starts slowly. "So... what aren't you telling me, Ken?"
Kendall freezes. He's never been a good liar but he didn't know he was that obvious. "What the fuck dude? What's that supposed to mean?" he says and quickly realizes that he's gotten too defensive too fast.
"Well you're acting fucking sketchy so you must be hiding something about her. So what is it? Is she 18 or something?" Stewy probes.
Kendall momentarily wonders if you being 18 would've somehow been more acceptable in Stewy's eyes than you being a direct employee. He probably would've seen it as more of an understandable midlife crisis rather than an incredibly irresponsible professional liability.
"No you fucking pervert, she's not 18," he responds, trying to keep his voice steady.
Stewy uncrosses his legs and leans forward on the table. "Okay, then what is it? " he presses.
Kendall looks at his friend, wondering where to go from here. Stewy won't let something go when he knows there's a bigger story, and despite Kendall’s best efforts, he can’t think of a believable lie in the moment. He looks down, weighing his options.
"Oh my god dude, can you just tell me?" Stewy says exasperatedly. "It can't be that fucking bad."
Kendall shakes his head. Maybe it's not that bad. After all, you're two consenting adults, you met before you started working together, and you're both doing everything you can to keep the relationship under wraps.
"Yeah fuck, okay, well... she uh, she works at Waystar."
Stewy leans back immediately, shaking his head slightly.
"Oh shit..." he looks at Kendall with raised eyebrows. "Didn't think you had it in you Ken," he says lightly, his tone mostly casual but there's an edge of judgment underneath it. "Normally I'd be all for you pulling from the Waystar pool, but that's a risky fuckin' move to make right now."
He stares into his drink for a moment, thinking. "But," he offers finally, "having someone on the inside while you're battling it out with your dad isn't the worst thing."
Kendall looks down at his lap. The only silver lining Stewy found doesn't even apply.
"Yeah, that's... that's not what's happening here," he says lowly. "She's, uh.... she's an assistant… on my team."
Stewy's eyes widen and he scoffs. "You're fucking joking," he says incredulously. "It’s not Jess, is it? Don’t tell me it’s fucking Jess, dude.”
“No, it’s not fucking Jess," Kendall huffs. "No, she joined, like, right when the Brightstar shit hit the fan. Jess was the one who hired her and uh… we met super fuckin' randomly... just before she started.”
Stewy gives a harsh, short laugh. "Right, of course, very believable. That'll be an easy story to sell when the press gets ahold of it," he says sarcastically before setting a serious look on Kendall. "Ken, dude, have you even thought about how this could be used against you if - no, not if - when this gets out?"
Kendall leans back and crosses his arms in defence. "Yeah man, I have," he says in what he hopes is a confident voice, but he can't help from breaking eye contact and looking down in shame. He knows the story doesn't seem plausible, even if it's the truth. He also knows that it'll be much harder for anyone to believe that he wasn't involved in the Brightstar coverup if word gets out that he's taking part in a similar act by sleeping with a subordinate.
So yes, he's thought about it, but not in the way Stewy wants him to because he's come to the conclusion that it’s a risk he’s willing to take. He knows the consequences he could face as a result of the relationship, but the only thing he can do is accept them; now that he's in it, there’re no valid options that don’t include being with you.
He waits for Stewy to speak again but his friend just looks at him intently, inspecting him as if he's looking at an imposter. After a moment, he sighs.
"And you're not just casually fucking her sometimes? You're actually seeing each other," he confirms cautiously.
"Yes," Kendall answers steadily.
All sarcasm disappears from Stewy’s tone instantly.
“Jesus Christ, Ken," he scoffs, sounding more like a disappointed teacher than his cokehead, sex-obsessed, party-loving friend. "You’re becoming more and more like your dad every day.”
Kendall feels like he's been punched in the gut. It's the lowest of low blows.
"What the fuck Stewy," he snaps, his voice hard on each word. "Fucking uncalled for dude."
Stewy shrugs apathetically. "It's the truth. If you're gonna get pussy drunk on some fucking intern, I'm gonna call it like I see it."
"You know she's not an intern, don't be a fucking idiot," Kendall says harshly, feeling his shoulders tense up from frustration. "You really have the wrong fucking idea dude, you'd get it if you met her."
Stewy crosses his arms over his chest. "Well great, introduce me. Can't wait to meet the fucktoy you're gonna ruin your career for."
He’s never felt the urge to physically harm his friend before this moment.
“Oh real fuckin’ nice man, yeah, thanks for that,” Kendall responds flatly. “Very supportive of you, remind me to ask you to give the best man speech.”
He regrets the jab the second it’s left his mouth.
Stewy raises both eyebrows at this. “Best man speech?” He shakes his head and looks around bewilderedly, as if he’s hoping someone else has heard and is equally as shocked at the shit coming out of Kendall’s mouth. “Well fuck, maybe you’re not becoming your dad - at least Logan has the sense to not elope with his company playmates,” Stewy hisses lowly.
“Fuck you, dude,” Kendall snaps again before quickly realizing he has to back-pedal hard; he needs to keep Stewy on his side if he still wants Sandy and Sandi’s support. He takes a deep breath. “I obviously didn’t fucking mean it like that, it’s still new, I just mean that… no, we’re not just fucking around.”
Kendall looks at his hands, feeling Stewy’s gaze examining him closely. “She’s in the fucking trenches with me so she understands the… the gravity, you know, of my current situation. And she's smart, she's better at being discreet than I am.” He looks up now and sets his eyes intently on Stewy’s. “You know me man, you know I don’t do this shit. I wouldn’t do it just to fuckin’ do it.”
Stewy looks away, shaking his head slightly. He emits a short breath of exasperation but doesn’t say anything, so Kendall continues.
“I don't have many people I can trust right now, but I know I can trust her. This is like, one of the only good things I have going on, Stewy.”
He holds his gaze on Stewy and does his best to keep his expression blank, but he's sure his friend can see the pleading expression behind his eyes. If a friend can't understand his situation, there's no way in hell anyone else ever could.
"Whatever dude,” Stewy finally concedes. "But I really fucking hope you know what you're doing, cuz right now you're breaking the number one rule for someone trying to get their house back in order."
"Yeah?" Kendall responds with an exhausted sigh. "And what's that?"
"Don't shit on your already huge pile of shit."
With that, Stewy stands up from his seat and throws back the last of his drink.
"You got the bill, right? Great," he says flatly, walking by Kendall and roughly patting his shoulder without waiting for an answer. Kendall hears Stewy greet the girls at the bar a moment later.
He feels no relief at finally being able to leave. His mind is in overdrive as it spirals over the question of what's worse: Stewy thinking that, like his dad, he’s taken to fucking his subordinates, or that unlike his Dad, he’s made the naive mistake of actually falling for one.
---------------
Across town at a much cheaper and more casual establishment, you sit opposite Adam, a friend from your college business program.
"And how's Will adjusting to the move?" you ask as you reach for your drink. “Is the noise driving him crazy yet?"
Adam smirks in response. "And the lights. He's started sleeping with headphones and an eye mask, plus his regular mouth tape. It's like sharing a bed with a hostage."
You struggle to swallow the sip you just took of your drink as you laugh at the comment, knowing how much Will would hate the comparison.
You had met Adam in your freshman year of college and had become best friends almost instantly. The two of you had collected other friends until you had a tight knit little group, which included Will's twin sister Jamie.
When she had introduced Will to the group, you could tell immediately that Adam was smitten - he'd gone totally silent and spent the entire night glancing in Will's direction. It was a damn good thing that Will was the furthest thing from shy or he and Adam never would've gotten together.
Up until recently they'd been living together in a quiet university town while Will was getting his masters, but lucky for you, they had just moved to Manhattan for Adam's new job.
“He’ll get used to it I’m sure,” you grin. “He must be enjoying the Manhattan lifestyle though.”
Adam makes a sound somewhere between a scoff and laugh and shakes his head with a smile. “100%, I think we would’ve already left if he wasn’t. He gets all the perks of my new job without any of the stress.”
You grimace at the word ‘stress.’ Will was in art curation but Adam was in business like you, meaning that his work environment was likely very similar to the one you inhabited.
“It’s that bad already, huh?” you ask sympathetically.
He shrugs in response. “I mean, it’s been fun too. We’ve been invited to a bunch of insane events and the pay is amazing; we’re already planning a Europe trip for the summer, but…” he hangs his head slightly and shakes it in frustration. “Man, the CEO is such a fucking tool.”
Adam suddenly lifts his head and looks around frantically as if he’s worried that someone he knows has heard him. When he’s satisfied that none of his coworkers are in the restaurant, he turns back to you and leans a little further across the table, his shoulders tense and raised.
“Sorry, I just - I really can’t fucking stand the guy.”
You raise your eyebrows. “Damn Adam, tell me how you really feel," you say sarcastically and he laughs lightly, his shoulders dropping an inch.
"Listen, you'd get it if you met him, he's fucking miserable to be around."
Adam was one of the most patient people you knew. If he couldn't stand someone, chances were high that they were pretty fucking terrible.
“No, I believe you dude. But what's he like? What’s he done that makes him so awful?”
Adam leans back into his chair and crosses his arms. “He’s just a shitty person. It’s who he is at his core, like an asshole through and through. He thinks he’s the smartest person in the room when half the time he doesn’t even know what the fuck he’s talking about, he just bullshits his way through everything. He’s never satisfied with the work anyone does, he’ll always find something to criticise or he’ll make some snarky comment about the way you handled something, even if it had a successful outcome. And he has zero concept of personal boundaries or what it means to be professional. Like…”
Adam takes a break from venting to look around again, an unnecessary second confirmation that none of his colleagues or the asshole boss himself are in the room. When he’s done a thorough scan, he leans forward on the table until he’s practically halfway across it and lowers his voice.
“One of my coworkers told me that he dated our head of comms for a bit, and when they broke up, he started harassing her. And by harassing, I mean sending bricks of his fucking blood to her.”
You shoot backwards in your seat, disgust clear on your face. Adam nods knowingly.
“And not just once, he did it multiple times. So,” he sits up straight again, his voice returning to a normal volume, and shrugs with a sarcastic indifference. “Not the chillest dude.”
God.
What the fuck is it with men in high positions of power being fucking creeps?
“Jesus Christ,” you say as you shake your head. “Adam, that’s so fucked up. I know you just started but like… how long do you plan on sticking it out for? This doesn’t sound like the kind of company you should be looking to grow with.”
Adam’s mouth presses into a straight line. “I don’t see myself jumping ship anytime soon. I barely have time to do personal stuff like this, let alone look for another job. And I mean, he’s not around all the time. He’s away for business a lot and the vibe is much better when he’s not at the office.”
You imagine what it would be like to hate your boss or work for someone who treated you like shit - quite the opposite of the situation you're in. The best days you have are the ones when you get to be around Kendall.
“I figure once the expansion into the states is stable and he starts looking for other markets to enter, he’ll be way less hands on with us,” Adam continues. “The more Gojo grows, the less I’ll see him.”
You grimace in response - helping a rich asshole get richer so you don’t have to see him often isn’t the healthiest motivator. You were excited for Adam to start with a cool new tech company and move to the same city as you, but hearing how awful 40+ hours of his week are (probably more like 80+ hours by the sound of it) makes you feel guilty. You wanted him to be as excited about life in New York as you are.
You’re forced to face that guilt head-on when Adam changes the topic.
“What about you though? You’ve been here for a few months now, how’s it been? How’s the job?”
You shrug, trying to downplay how different your experience has been from his. “It’s been good. The adjustment’s been a bit hard; I don’t really have any friends yet and I know I have to put a more conscious effort into making some, but I’ve just been so busy with work stuff.”
In this case, ‘work stuff’ refers to both your job and all the one-on-one time you’ve been having with your boss.
Adam nods knowingly. “Yeah, I’m expecting that that’s gonna be the case for me too. But at least we have each other now!”
He smiles at you brightly and you smile back. “You have no idea how happy I am that you took that shitty job,” you joke, and Adam laughs.
And as much as you hate that your friend is dealing with a hostile workplace, it’s so exciting to have a close friend in the city. Given that you can’t be seen spending time with Kendall outside of work, you’re grateful to finally have someone you can experience New York with.
“And the job?” he asks again. “Long hours for you too?”
You nod and choose your words carefully.
“Yeah, I’m an administrative assistant for the COO so it’s not uncommon for me to be needed outside normal working hours.” You have to stop yourself from smiling at your own little inside joke - you don’t need to say in what ways you’re sometimes needed.
“I’m sure, but working closely with a COO is gonna be great for your resume. What company are you at again?”
“Waystar Royco?” you say, phrasing it as a question. Adam was always more tuned in to business news than you, so it’s very possible that he knows of the company.
It’s immediately clear that Adam probably knows too much about the company when an entertained look of disbelief forms on his face. “You’re fucking joking! Well no shit you’ve been working long hours, Waystar’s in a civil war right now.”
His eyes widen suddenly. “Wait, you said you work for the COO… isn’t that Kendall Roy?”
You lean forward in shock, your brain unable to process hearing Adam’s voice casually utter the name of your secret boyfriend. “What the fuck?! Yes, how did you know that? Why do you know so much about Waystar?”
Adam looks at you like you just asked him what year it is. “Are you kidding? The drama happening within that company could be its own reality TV show! It’s entertaining as hell, I’ve been following it closely since the cruise scandal.”
You see his face fall as he remembers that you’re smack in the middle of that reality TV show. “Shit, sorry, you must be under so much pressure at work right now. Just…” he shakes his head, “that’s insane. But I guess you understand the crazy boss thing too, yeah?”
He looks at you expectantly and it takes a beat for you to realize he’s referring to Kendall.
“Oh! No, I mean, he’s intense for sure but he’s not a bad boss. It’s the state of the company that’s stressful, not Kendall.”
You’re tempted to say more - that he’s actually a good person, that he’s funny, that there’s way more to him than meets the eye, but no one ever talks about their boss with such reverence so you keep your mouth shut.
Adam lifts an eyebrow at you. “Seriously? Isn’t he supposed to be a coked up jackass?” he asks in surprise, and it takes all the self control you can muster to not show how disappointed you are that this is your close friend’s perception of the man you’re dating.
“I mean, I personally haven’t seen that side,” you manage to say casually. “I only learned recently about the, you know… the drug stuff, so I think he must’ve gotten clean before I started. I’ve never seen anything that would suggest he’s using.”
And that you’re positive about. You’ve been keeping a close eye on him since your conversation with Rava and haven’t seen him ever have a drink or show symptoms of drug use. You still haven’t gotten around to having a conversation with Kendall about it though.
“Huh. Well, I guess people can change,” Adam shrugs dismissively. “I’m glad at least one of us has a decent superior.”
You nod in agreement and feel some of the tension in your chest release. That wasn’t too difficult to side step.
“So what about dating? Anything on that front?”
Oops. Spoke too soon.
You hate that you’re going to have to keep the truth from Adam, but you know it’s too risky to tell anyone about you and Kendall right now - even if that person is a close friend. You trust Adam but if you told him and he told Will and then Will told a friend, it could keep snowballing from there. Kendall is trusting you to keep the secret and you would never forgive yourself if you were the reason that your relationship leaked and ended up ruining any credibility he has in the Brightstar case.
When things calm down, you’re sure you'll get the chance to tell Adam who you’re really dating. But for now, you think you can get away with not giving him any identifying information.
“Yeah, there’s someone,” you mention casually, and Adam’s face lights up with interest. “It’s really new but I think it’s going well so far.” You smile a little as you take a sip of your drink and Adam watches you impatiently.
“Well come on! Tell me more,” he presses. “What’s he like? Where did you meet?”
You set your drink down and smile a little wider. “We met at a bar? I know, so weird,” you add in response to his slightly shocked look. “Honestly didn’t think that kind of meet-cute happened anymore but I was there alone and he saved me from this sleazy dude who had me cornered.”
Adam raises his eyebrows, looking slightly impressed. “Well I like hearing that. Good sign that he had enough integrity to step in.”
You nod in agreement and try to stop your smile from getting any bigger. “I know, plus he’s really funny and sweet. He’s really high-achieving and career-focused, which can be a lot at times, but so far he’s been really great at putting in the effort to make time for us.” You say this casually, as if it’s no big deal that Kendall fucking Roy sleeps in your shitty studio apartment almost every night while he’s - as Adam so aptly put it - in the middle of a civil war. “We’ve only been officially seeing each other for a few weeks, but yeah… I really like him.”
Adam grins in response to your last sentence. “Oh my god dude, well no wonder you haven’t made any friends. You’ve probably been too busy shacking up with this guy.”
He’s not wrong. You think about how you were at Kendall’s last night and how he’ll be back at yours both tonight and tomorrow. Giving up that time to go out and try to make friends could not sound more unappealing.
You reach across the table to grip Adam’s forearm with mock-sincerity. “Like I said, I’m so happy you took that shitty job. You're saving me from wasting time on Bumble BFF dates when I could be getting laid. So thank you,” you say with exaggerated emotion, “for keeping my sex life alive."
Adam laughs as you release his arm. “That’s all the motivation I need to not quit,” he jokes. “But I hope that means you'll thank me by letting me meet him soon.”
You take a sip of your drink and nod halfheartedly. As much as you wish that could happen, you know it can’t.
“If it continues to go well, I'll let you know,” you smile, and you hope that Adam doesn’t catch that you've made no promise of introductions.
***
It’s almost midnight when you and Adam finally part ways. You pull out your phone as you head to the subway and see a text from Kendall that had arrived almost 2 full hours earlier.
Kendall Roy: Let me know when you’re back at yours x
You're surprised that Kendall's night-out seems to have ended around 10pm, but it provides you with another piece of evidence that he's definitely not using - no way he'd have called it a night that early if he was.
You rush to text back, hoping it's not too late for him to still come over.
You: Heading back now! ETA 12:30
See you soon (if you're not asleep yet) <3
You feel slightly guilty doing this; he barely sleeps these days so it's probably better for his wellbeing if he's already passed out at his own place, but you can't help from being a little selfish and sending the text anyway. Any opportunity you have to be alone with him is one you're going to take.
You haven't even had the time to stuff your phone back into your bag when you feel it vibrate it your hand. You turn it over and read the incoming message.
Kendall Roy: I'll aim for 12:31 ;)
————————————
The sense of dread Kendall felt after his conversation with Stewy slightly dissipates when he's reunited with you and has you back in his arms. Getting to hold you is exactly what he needs to remind himself why he took the risk of starting the relationship in the first place.
The dread isn’t totally gone though.
Stewy had seemed so sure that it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ your relationship leaked, it was a matter of ‘when.’ Prior to tonight, Kendall had felt pretty confident that the two of you were doing a good job of hiding your connection, but now that he thinks about it, he realises that he’s just made the biggest mistake he could’ve: he told someone.
He's fairly certain that he can trust Stewy; Kendall’s downfall wouldn’t benefit Stewy in any way so there’s no reason for him to leak the story and sabotage Kendall. Not to mention that Stewy's his friend, but Kendall knows there's always a risk that their friendship will come second to each other's personal interests.
It suddenly occurs to him that you were also with a friend tonight.
... Is it possible that you revealed your relationship to them too?
The thought jolts Kendall wide awake. He doesn’t know who this friend is, how close you are with them, or what their motivations could be. Maybe they’re so strapped for cash that they’d be willing to sell the story to a news outlet.
Fuck.
He needs to confirm this with you right now; he knows he won't be able to rest until he does. If you did tell them, maybe he can get started with damage control before anything has the chance to begin. He could easily pay your friend off if needed.
He can feel you falling asleep against him so he adjusts his arms around you in hopes that it wakes you up. You stir slightly before raising your head to place a soft kiss on his jawline. Perfect.
“How was it seeing your friend tonight?” he murmurs, keeping his voice gentle to mask the panic he feels building in his chest.
“Really nice,” you say sleepily. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen each other so we had a lot to catch up on.”
Kendall forces himself to take his time before he asks his next question. It’s just a casual conversation. “Oh yeah?” he says as he places a kiss on the top of your head. He makes sure to add a teasing tone to his next question.
“So did you mention the billionaire you’ve started dating?”
You give a gentle scoff in response. "I'd still be at the bar under interrogation if I'd told him that."
Two emotions rush through Kendall at once: relief, hearing that you didn't tell your friend about the relationship, and jealousy; he had just assumed that the friend you were with tonight was a woman.
Now he almost wishes you had mentioned the relationship so that this guy, whoever he is, would know you're unavailable.
Kendall holds you tighter to his chest. "That must've been hard," he murmurs into your hair, "avoiding the topic all night."
Or at least, he hopes it was. Him wanting to avoid the conversation with Stewy is one thing - the professional ties between them means that any personal risk that could affect Kendall's career is a risk Stewy takes on as well.
But you... he suspects that your friendships are far more emotionally involved than that, and he'd hope that dating him is something you'd want to share... Especially with some other guy that you're close to.
"Mmm," you say as you nestle yourself further into his arms, “well, I didn't fully avoid it. I told him I was seeing somebody, but I didn't give many details."
You tilt your head back to look up at him, and through the darkness he can see the outlines of a smile. He can hear it in your voice as you speak too. “Just said it was some guy I met at a bar."
A grin spreads across Kendall's face and relief courses through him. Of course he doesn't have to worry about you. No one knows you're dating him, but they do know that you're dating someone. You've allowed him to claim you without spilling the secret or increasing the risk of your relationship being found out.
He leans down and peppers a flurry of kisses down the side of your face, his chest bursting with affection for you.
If he didn't have to be up in less 4 hours time, he'd be doing something far more intimate than just pulling you in tighter right now. But he takes solace in knowing that he'll get to be with you again tomorrow. And likely the next day, and the day after that.
And if he has any say in the matter, many more days after those ones too.
————————————
As usual, Kendall leaves early Sunday morning, but he keeps his promise to come back early that night. You cook dinner for him while he hangs out with you in the kitchen, you eat together at your tiny dining room table, and he tries to pitch in and help you clean up afterwards (though he clearly isn't experienced when it comes to loading a dishwasher). When you get ready for bed together afterwards, both of you know that you won’t be falling asleep anytime soon.
Kendall wastes no time; you’ve barely touched the mattress when he props himself up on his side to hover over you, his lips finding yours immediately. Once he’s gotten started with you though, it’s clear that he’s in no rush to reach the finish line. One of his hands cups your face before slowly migrating its way down your body, pressing firmly into every inch of skin he can touch but avoiding the area between your legs. After a few minutes of this, the anticipation of him touching you where you want it the most starts to drive you crazy.
“Please, Ken,” you eventually whine against his mouth. The way your legs are squirming under the covers makes it obvious what you’re asking for.
He pulls away to look at you, a warm smile on his face as his thumb brushes across your lips gently. “What?” he chuckles softly. “I just wanna take my time with you.”
His head dips down to leave a line of light kisses along your jawline and down to your neck, his hand running down your body and stopping at your hips before slowly moving centre across the waistband of your underwear. He lifts his head to look down at you again.
“Is this what you’re waiting for?” he murmurs.
One finger pressed on your clothed clit is all it takes for your back to arch and you to gasp in relief. Warmth rushes through your body as Kendall continues to rub gently, his eyes locked on your face. He presses down slightly harder and you moan in response, your eyebrows knitting together as you gaze up at him and silently beg for more.
“God, you are so fucking beautiful,” he breathes, and his mouth is on you again, kissing you slowly, deeply, and purposefully.
When he finally fucks you, he does it the same way. It’s the most controlled and intentional he’s ever been with you, and you can’t help the phrase ‘making love’ from popping into your head.
You resist that second word - it’s way too soon for you to be thinking like that. But it doesn’t stop you from enjoying this softer, more tender expression of affection from Kendall.
Your night together is so peaceful and easy and fun that you almost forget that it's the first time you've had what you could consider a regular night as a couple. It almost feels like the two of you have a real relationship.
Almost.
Leave it to Kendall to bring you back to the reality of your situation.
"You know," he husks softly as he's holding you after sex, "there's this gala thing I'm going to this week..."
"Mhmm," you mumble sleepily, your eyes closed as you enjoy the feeling of his fingers mindlessly running up and down your back. Of course you know about the gala - you're the one who accepted the invitation for him.
"Well, I think it’d be kind of fun," he continues, "if you came with me. As my date.”
Your eyes open but you don't lift your head. There's no way he means that in the way it sounds like he does.
"And how would that work?" you ask, and it's clear by your voice that you're no longer on the verge of sleep.
Kendall's arms momentarily squeeze you a little tighter in a move you suspect is subconscious; a reassurance that he wants you close, despite the 'date' approach he's about to suggest.
“Well publicly you'd just be there as an assistant, but it means we could get dressed up and, you know, almost have a night out together.”
You lift your head to look at him now. "Isn't this something Jess would also be around for?" you ask tentatively. There's not much that gets by Jess and from past experience, you know that includes even the slightest hint of flirting between you and Kendall.
Kendall grins, his hand reaching up to mindlessly stroke the side of your face. You instinctively lean into the warmth of his palm. “If you think you can handle me on your own," he chuckles, "I can give Jess the night off."
You feel a smile grow on your face as you imagine what this ‘date night’ could look like, and the image is very similar to the first night you had together at the bar. You’ll be able to hang out and talk and (discreetly) flirt out in the open. The only difference is that this time you’ll both be dressed to the nines and there’ll be a guarantee that you’re going home together after.
… And that it can’t look like a date.
But even that might work to your advantage. Keeping your hands off each other will be difficult, but you’re sure that after an entire night of sexual tension, the sex you’ll get to have afterwards will more than make up for it.
This could actually better than a normal date.
“Oh, I can handle you,” you say giddily. “Jess goes easy on you, I won’t be so forgiving if you step out of line.”
“I’ll be on my best behaviour,” Kendall grins, and he lifts your chin so he can lean down and kiss you deeply.
***
You feel slightly less confident about your place at the gala when Friday night rolls around and you’re standing alone in a gown that probably costs more than your entire wardrobe.
The dress isn't yours - or at least you didn't buy it. You had planned to go shopping after work sometime that week but Kendall had beat you to it (rightly expecting that you wouldn't even consider asking him to help you cover the cost of a formal gown). You had arrived home from work on Monday night to find a note from your superintendent taped to your front door, instructing you to call him.
You were a near perfect tenant - never having parties or smoking in the apartment or breaking your appliances - so this was unusual. Your mind automatically raced to the worst case scenario as you dialled his number, imagining him telling you that you were being evicted or that your rent was doubling or something else equally distressing.
"Who?" he'd asked testily when he'd finally picked up and you'd given him your name.
"I live in apartment 201?" you'd clarified. "There was a note on my door that said to call you."
"Oh, right. Yeah, there's a package for you outside my office," he'd said plainly. "Couldn't leave it at your front door, it was taking up more than half the hallway."
When you'd gone down to the basement to collect the package, you'd known instantly what it was - not many items were delivered in huge white rectangular boxes topped with bows.
The dress was stunning; midnight black and floor length with a deep slit up one leg. It fit perfectly too, which explained why you thought you heard your closet being combed through while you were still asleep that morning.
"Jesus Christ," you had scoffed at yourself in the mirror when you'd tried the extravagant dress on, but at the same time, the smile on your face had been huge. It looked good - really good. You would've never selected such a slinky gown for yourself and were a bit uncomfortable that Kendall had probably spent a ton of money on it (even if the cost was negligible for him), but if he wanted to see you wearing it, who were you to complain?
You'd texted him a picture of the open box with a quick message.
You: Speechless. Totally unnecessary but unbelievably beautiful gift Ken, thank you <3
A response came within a minute.
Kendall Roy: I don’t get to see you in it?
You’d laughed to yourself - this was exactly what you’d expected him to say. Kendall wasn’t great with delayed gratification and you knew you could use that to your advantage.
You: I’ll send you a photo if you agree that this gift was a one-time thing.
No way you were going to let extravagant presents like this become a regular occurrence in your relationship.
Kendall Roy: Can’t promise that.
Also expected.
You: Guess you’re waiting until Friday then :(
Kendall fought you on this over the next week, repeatedly asking you to try it on for him whenever he stayed over, but you knew he'd be glad you made him wait when he finally saw you at gala.
You didn’t arrive together; you had come early to avoid the photographers stationed outside the event, and both of you felt it would be less suspicious to arrive separately anyway. You got ready by yourself in your apartment and when you felt that you had done yourself up in a way that did the dress justice, you taxied over alone.
You aren’t sure what to do with yourself while you wait for him. You suspect most of the people in the room are like Kendall - billionaires (or at the very least multimillionaires) at another fancy gala for the hundredth time this year. You doubt any of them would find you or your life interesting, so rather than try to start a conversation with someone, you head to the bar for a drink.
You don't ask for an alcoholic drink though; just water. Kendall may not have outright stated to you that he's sober, but now that you have the knowledge that he is, you would feel guilty drinking around him. Not to mention that you're technically here for 'work.'
When the bartender hands you your glass of water, a voice that you don't recognize sounds out from behind you.
“Just water? You can do better than that.”
When you turn around to seek out the speaker, you come face to face with a man you don’t know. One thing is immediately clear though - he's definitely hoping to get to know you.
The man standing in front of you is handsome with deep, olive toned skin, dark hair streaked with strands of grey, and thick stubble. His brown eyes are hooded in a way that almost gives him a sultry look, though you suspect he might look less sensual if he was speaking to someone he wasn't trying to flirt with. He looks you up and down appreciatively before taking a step closer to stand next to you at the bar.
"Excuse me?" is all you can think to say in response as he leans an arm against the counter and faces you. His eyes are soft while he continues to take you in.
"Look around. I've been to funerals livelier than this. It's up to the fun guests like us to give the night some excitement." He nods his head toward your glass of water. "So can I replace that with something a little more stimulating?”
The man speaks to you silkily, his voice flowing like water. You don't doubt that he's the type of person who could charm a lot of people into doing almost anything, the proof being that you yourself are actually tempted to let him buy you a drink.
You resist that temptation though and instead decide to challenge his presumptuous approach.
"And what makes you think I'm one of the fun guests?"
The man's eyes sparkle at your opposition, and you quickly realize it may have come across more playful than you meant it to.
"Well..." he muses flirtatiously, "In my experience, the better someone looks, the less boring they are."
He shrugs offhandedly but flashes you a smile as he adds "Or at least, less boring to me."
When he momentarily turns away from you to order a scotch from the bartender, you look around in hopes that Kendall has arrived and can offer you an escape from unwanted flirting again.
Unfortunately, he's nowhere to be seen. But given that you're in a well-lit room with a man who seems relatively harmless, you're sure that you’re capable of handling it by yourself this time.
“Are you trying to tell me that you're not fun?" the man asks when he turns back to you. He brings the glass to his lips and takes a sip without breaking eye contact.
You don’t look away either; the last thing you want is him thinking you’re being shy or coy with him.
“When I’m working - like I am right now - no, I’m not usually fun.” You make sure there’s no element of playfulness to your tone this time.
The man raises his eyebrows at you. "You're working right now?”
He cocks his head to the side and considers you, his eyes sweeping up and down again.
“Hmm.. well you'd never be able to afford a dress like that if you were just a personal assistant,” he ponders aloud. “Can't be an event planner, you'd be running around in some shitty pair of flats like the girl at the main door. Your face is too cute to be an escort..."
You can't help yourself from emitting a short bark of disbelief. The amount of women he's managed to insult in three sentences is astounding.
“Wow, aren't you charming?" you say brightly, your tone dripping in sarcasm.
The man smirks, happy to have received an engaged reaction from you.
"Hey, I said you're cute and well dressed. Sure as hell sounds like a compliment to me," he says smoothly.
You nod mechanically, calculating what you want to say next. You're not sure who this guy is, but given that this gala is for a hospital (a fairly wide-reaching cause), you doubt that your professional paths will ever cross.
His overly confident, backhanded approach to flirting with you makes you want to take him down a peg, and given the low chance of any repercussions, that's exactly what you intend to do.
"How about I guess what you do now?" you suggest, and he flashes you a cocky smile.
"Please," he agrees silkily.
You look him up and down in same scrutinizing way he inspected you.
"Hmm... Expensive but boring suit… charming in a zero-self-awareness kind of way… and the confidence of someone who's never been meaningfully challenged in their life..."
You cock your head to the side as if you're drawing a conclusion in the moment, rather than preparing to say what you've suspected about this guy since the moment he opened his mouth.
“So… I’m gonna guess that you’ve followed the spoiled rich kid to cocky business school frat boy to perpetually-juvenile finance bro pipeline."
A bewildered smile has been growing on the man's face the entire time you've been talking, and he emits an entertained scoff when you finish with a peppy "How'd I do?"
He shakes his head and looks at you through playfully squinted eyes.
"Oh I like you," he smiles flirtatiously. "You should give me your number - you clearly have more you want to say and I’d hate for all that honesty to go to waste.”
You figured this was coming. “You’re not wrong, but I'm gonna have to pass, thanks," you say steadily.
He leans in slightly closer - not so much that he's fully in your personal space but enough that you instinctively take a small step back.
"You sure? I'm so much easier to enjoy once your expectations have already been lowered."
You grant him a light laugh this time; maybe he's slightly more self aware than you gave him credit for.
"I don't doubt it," you counter. "But even if I wanted to, it's still a no. I'm not single."
The man leans against the counter. “That’s a shame…” he sighs before adding, “For you. Being with a perpetually-juvenile finance bro comes with a lot of perks.”
“I can only imagine,” you shrug.
————————————
Kendall walks up the red carpeted staircase outside the gala venue alone.
He's dressed in black from head to toe, his subtle way of getting to coordinate his outfit with yours. And fuck, he can't wait to see you in that dress.
He was thinking about it the entire time he was getting ready, wishing you could've been with him but knowing it was probably best that you weren't. Even just watching you exist in his space does something to him, and if you'd been there in the sexy dress he'd picked out for you, he's not sure he'd be able to resist undressing you the minute you had put it on.
His body is buzzing with anticipation as he nears the main doors of the event, partly due to the excitement of getting to see you, but partly from the anxiety of seeing someone else.
Another member of the Waystar board is expected to be here, and though he isn’t sure who it’ll be, for the past few years that board member has consistently been his dad.
It’s the main reason why he invited you to come. Yes, it’s nice to finally be in public together in a non-work setting, but he mostly wants you here because he knows that being in the same room as his dad will be much easier if you’re next to him. No, he can’t touch you, but your presence will be enough to make tonight at the very least bearable for him.
When he enters through the main doors, he doesn’t get stopped; as one of tonight’s speakers, the staff all know his name and face.
He’s torn on how he feels about having to speak; he’s excited that he gets to show off a bit for you when he goes up on stage, but it also means that, in addition to all the employees here knowing his name, every guest will too. He has to be extra cautious of how he acts tonight because not a single person in this room is allowed to see him slip up and act affectionately toward you.
He doesn’t realize the extent of how difficult that’ll be until he scans the room and finds you standing by the bar.
You look incredible.
This is an entire side of you he hasn’t seen yet. He’s seen you put together for the office, dressed casually at a bar on a Friday night, cute and cozy when you’re wrapped up in his arms, and agonizingly seductive when he’s fucking you. He loves all those sides equally.
This though… watching you talk animatedly to someone at the bar, your eyes challenging them under smokey eyeshadow, the dress falling from your curves like a waterfall… it’s like looking at a goddess.
He’s never been so unsure of his ability to keep his hands off you.
It’s going to take everything in his power to not have a hand placed on your waist all night - to not be bothered by the fact that no one in the room knows that you’re with him - but the two of you can release that pent up energy together later.
As he strides toward the bar, he lets his eyes momentarily leave you and fall on the person you’re talking to.
… What. The. FUCK.
Kendall doesn’t need to see the man's face; He’s seen Stewy flirt with enough women at bars and clubs over the years to know that it’s him leaning toward you and talking into your ear. Kendall watches as you take a small step backwards, keeping Stewy at the same distance he was before he attempted to get closer.
The level of appreciation he feels for you in that moment is only slightly higher than the hostility he feels toward Stewy.
————————————
"Not overstaying your welcome, are you Stewy?"
Kendall's deep voice sounds out just as you feel his hand very subtly touch the small of your back.
You've loved his voice from the moment you first heard it. It always causes the butterflies in your stomach to flit around restlessly, and though that's remained true since you've started dating, hearing it now brings you a sense of security as well.
You still feel both things in this moment, but your heart also sinks when Kendall refers to the man by name.
… Maybe you weren't as disconnected from him as you thought.
You turn to look at Kendall but his gaze is locked on the man (or ‘Stewy,’ as you've just learned). Though the tone he greeted him with was relatively casual, his jaw is unmistakably tense as he stares Stewy down.
“Ken,” Stewy greets Kendall with a smile. “You know I’d never go anywhere if I worried about that kind of thing.”
Kendall nods curtly and you can see that the smile on his face is far from genuine. “Well, I’d hope that as a board member you’d at least care when it comes to Waystar’s employees.”
Oh. Fuck.
That explains the overly familiar tone Kendall is using right now.
And it means that you've just made a bunch of insanely disrespectful comments to someone on the board of directors.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Stewy doesn’t seem bothered about your unprofessional exchange though; his only reaction is turning to you with a look of mild interest to say “So you’re at Waystar.”
Kendall doesn’t give you a chance to respond. “Yes, she is, and just because we’re not at the office doesn’t mean we’re immune from sexual harassment lawsuits,” he snaps.
“Oh, and we definitely couldn’t have that, could we?" Stewy responds smoothly, looking at you as he speaks rather than at Kendall. "That would ruin Waystar's spotless reputation."
You can't help a smirk from spreading across your face and have to rush to neutralize your expression. He's got a point.
"Clever," Kendall says, his tone indicating that he finds it anything but. "But it would be great if you could focus your attention on any of the other hundred people here. Or, you know, at least do what you were sent to do and talk to people who don't work at our fucking company?"
Stewy eyes Kendall somewhat suspiciously now, and you don’t blame him - the level of protectiveness Kendall has for a random Waystar employee must seem unusual to a board member. It’s unusual to you though that when Stewy responds, he seems unbothered by the hostile treatment he’s receiving and instead is intent on continuing to push back against Kendall.
“Thanks Ken, such a tempting offer but I'm actually having a great time with present company. Why don't you go find some people to talk business with and you can let the rest of us have some fun, hmm?"
He gives Kendall a condescending clap on the shoulder before directing his attention toward you again. “Why don’t you tell me what you do at Waystar?” he asks amiably, and you see him quickly glance over at Kendall, watching his reaction.
You look over at Kendall too and see him tensely rub a hand against the back of his neck. He seems to want to get out this interaction just as badly as you do, so you say the only thing you can think of that might help the two of you escape.
“I’m Kendall’s administrative assistant.”
You’re about to add that Kendall probably needs to prepare for his speech so the two of you should head backstage, but you’re cut short when you see Stewy's face light up.
"You're kidding!" he beams, his eyes momentarily flicking toward Kendall again. "Wow, doesn’t that just make so much sense.”
You give him a questioning look and he laughs.
“Well I just hadn’t put it together but I’ve heard so much about you!”
"Shut the fuck up, no you fucking haven't," Kendall interjects lowly, and there's a distinct tone of warning in his voice.
Stewy ignores the warning. “Oh but I have, and it's just really nice to put a face to the name,” he says through a grin.
…
This is weird.
You give tight lipped smile and attempt your escape again.
“Yeah... it's been nice to meet you too, Stewy,” you say steadily, "but I think I should probably get Kendall backstage to prepare for his speech now."
Stewy nods his head with sarcastic belief. "Oh, yeah, of course, I'm sure you two have a ton of stuff that needs to get done backstage."
His mocking tone of voice says it all; he clearly knows about you and Kendall.
You look over to Kendall and his face immediately confirms your suspicions. He’s staring daggers at Stewy and when he feels your eyes on him, he turns to look at you apologetically. He shakes his head in annoyed disbelief as he gently places a hand on your lower back to lead you away from the bar.
“Alright, fuck off Stewy,” he says flatly.
"You two kids have fun," Stewy says with a smile as you follow Kendall through the crowd to a door at the far side of the main room.
Kendall doesn’t say anything to you as he exits the event space and walks briskly down what seems to be a staff hallway. You follow him around a few corners until he slows outside a door and pulls it open for you. You enter and find yourself in a shabby and windowless dressing room. You hear him close the door behind you and turn the lock, and then Kendall’s all over you.
His hands momentarily rest on either side of your face when he first leans in to kiss you, but they quickly move to your waist as his arms snake around your middle and he pulls your body forward until its flush against him. All thoughts of the situation you just left disappear instantly with the way he surrounds you, his hands holding you like someone might try to pull you away at any second and his lips moving with similar intensity. You can feel his heart pounding against you and his length beginning to harden in his trousers.
You smile against his mouth when he presses it further into you.
“I don’t think we have the time to take care of that right now,” you laugh lightly, and he dips his head to kiss your neck.
“We don’t,” he husks against your skin, his deep voice saturated with frustration. “You just look so fucking hot and it’s making me forget about the shitshow we just left.”
Right.
The shitshow.
Kendall sighs and lifts his head, but when he feels your fingers start to soothingly run up and down through the hair at the nape of his neck, he lets his head drop again until his forehead is resting against yours. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep exhale, and as much as you don’t want to disturb this moment of peace for him, you’re desperate for an explanation.
“Yeah... so what was that?” you probe softly. “Who is that guy?”
Kendall sighs again and begins to lightly fiddle with the fabric at the back of your dress.
“Stewy’s a friend. And he’s uh, he’s also on the board.”
You already knew about Stewy being a board member, but a friend… You’re not sure if that makes your entire interaction with him better or worse.
When Kendall doesn’t show any sign of adding anything else, you tentatively ask “… And does he know about us?”
You know the answer but it’s the ‘how’ of it all that’s the most confusing to you.
He lifts his head now but he doesn’t look at you. His eyes are glued to the floor as he clears his throat.
“Yeah, he… I might’ve uh, fuckin’ stupidly, mentioned that I was seeing someone… and that they were on my team.” He refuses to look at you as he speaks. "So I think it was pretty easy for him to, you know, put the pieces together out there."
You can’t help it - your heart feels like it’s going to explode with joy.
Kendall had been so adamant that the two of you couldn’t risk telling anyone about your relationship; that, right now, it would be far too risky to trust anyone else to keep the secret. You’re unsure if he thinks Stewy can be trusted with this or not, but knowing that he couldn’t help himself from telling someone else about you, that someone outside of this room knows you’re together… it makes the entire thing feel so much more real.
You try to not let this show though - not when Kendall is clearly uncomfortable with his decision to let someone else in on the secret.
"Wow, okay. Well... do you think you can trust him to not say anything?"
Kendall finally looks up at you and nods, his expression serious.
"Oh yeah. Stewy's on Team Kendall, he wouldn’t do anything that'd give my dad any leverage over me.”
It’s not lost on you that Kendall’s trust in Stewy seems to be business related rather than personal, but there’s little point in questioning that right now. You’re just relieved that Stewy’s knowledge of your relationship won’t get in the way of you getting to be with Kendall.
Kendall places an apologetic kiss on your cheek before pulling you in for a hug.
“I know I shouldn't've fucking told him," he murmurs into your hair, "but he probably would've found out either way if he had kept hitting on you."
You laugh into his shoulder. "I was handling it," you smile as he pulls away. “But there were a few comments I would not have made if I knew he was on the board."
Kendall smiles at you with curiosity. "Oh yeah?" he asks with amusement. "Like what?"
You hesitate for a second - you feel less comfortable repeating your snide remarks now that you know Stewy and Kendall are friends. But given that they're friends, it's likely that Kendall will find out anyway. Probably better if it comes from you.
"I said he had no self-awareness," you start cautiously. "And that he, um... that had the confidence of someone who's never been challenged... And then I called him a perpetually-juvenile finance bro."
You weren't sure what Kendall's reaction would be, but it certainly wasn't for him to burst out laughing.
"Fuck! You're kind of fucking mean!" he exclaims, but you can hear the unmistakable undertone of pride in his voice.
"He started it!" you retort defensively, but you can't help from doing it with a smile when you see the affectionate way he's looking at you. It's clear that Kendall doesn't care about what you said, but you want him to know that you're never mean unless it's warranted. "You should've heard the backhanded shit he said to me!"
Kendall laughs again, his hands running up and down your back while he continues to gaze at you adoringly. "Oh I'm sure he deserved it. And honestly, knowing Stewy, he probably fuckin' liked it too."
You scrunch your nose up and nod in disgusted confirmation, and Kendall chuckles as he leans in to kiss you again, slowly and lovingly this time rather than in a feverish hurry. You feel him stop the kiss and smile against you for a split second before he deepens it, his hands spread flat against your back to press you into him again.
You gently pull away before you're tempted to take it any further.
"We should get you back out there," you suggest, and Kendall hums in agreement, his hand reaching up to brush a thumb lightly across your cheek.
"Sure, but if it's okay with you, I'm ready to get the fuck out of here the minute I get off stage," he murmurs, his eyes falling to look at your lips. “Now that I’ve had the chance to appreciate you in it, I really wanna get you out of that fucking dress.”
Your stomach flutters at his words.
“Make it quick when you get up there, please.”
————————————
Kendall grins to himself as the two of you walk down the staff hallway and back to the event. He needs to stop smiling like an idiot before he reenters the gala but it’s nearly impossible. The second he can manage to wipe the grin off his face, he thinks about the shit you said to Stewy or the cute scrunched-up face you made that he just had to kiss or that you’ll be heading back to his place together soon, and then the smile comes back full force.
Fuck, he's in it so deep with you.
It's bad how much he likes you. Really bad. The sneaking around is stressful enough without having to suppress the aching urge to look at you or touch you or kiss you every time he's around you. Staying away from you doesn’t help either because you’re still on his mind 24/7.
It'll get easier as time goes on, he thinks to himself, but in the corners of his mind he knows that's incorrect. The longer he's been with you, the more difficult it's gotten.
That's a problem for another day though; he just has to make it through this speech and then he's taking you back to his. He's set to speak at 9:30, which he hopes is soon.
He pulls out his phone to check the time but is quickly distracted when he sees that he has a text from Stewy.
Stewy Hosseini: You were right, she’s way smarter than you.
Kendall scoffs to himself when he reads the message. No surprise that Stewy doesn’t feel guilty for hitting on Kendall’s girlfriend and is doubling down on antagonizing him instead. He sends back a deadpan response.
Kendall Roy: I don’t think I said she was way smarter than me.
His phone lights back up almost immediately.
Stewy Hosseini: But you should’ve.
Kendall ignores the message and stuffs his phone back into his blazer pocket, but he feels lighter than he has in weeks.
Stewy would never outright say it, but Kendall knows that those two texts are about as close as he can get to receiving Stewy’s blessing.
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