°♡˖꒰Author's꒱˖♡° POV
Keifer stood in the foyer, his expensive tailored suit feeling like armor that was several sizes too small. He checked his watch—a luxury piece that usually felt like a symbol of his power—but now it just felt like a countdown taking him away from her.
"I'm calling my secretary," Keifer muttered, his thumb hovering over his phone. "I'll tell them the merger is on hold. If they want the Mariano's signature, they'll wait until I'm sure you aren't about to collapse."
Jay Jay rolled her eyes, leaning against the doorframe. Even standing still, she looked a little stiff, but she put on her bravest, cutest smile. "Keifer, you are being a big, brooding baby. It's just an office. You go there every day!"
"It's not 'just an office' today. It's six hours where I'm not here to make sure you're actually sitting down," he countered, his voice dropping into that deep, CEO rumble. "I know you, Jay Jay. The moment I drive away, you're going to try to do gymnastics or chase the dog. You need to heal. Dr. Miller said a week, and even though you negotiated it down to a 'stubborn two days,' you still need to actually rest for those forty-eight hours."
Jay Jay walked over—carefully—and grabbed his tie, tugging him down to her level. "I promise, on my favorite stuffed bear's life, that I will stay on the sofa. Honey is here. She's scarier than your board of directors, isn't she?"
Keifer sighed, his hands instinctively finding her waist to steady her. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. If she finds out we... ignored the medical advice last night, she's going to skin me alive. And if you're limping around, she's going to put two and two together."
"Then don't look so guilty!" Jay Jay giggled, reaching up to smooth the worried lines on his forehead. "Fix your face, Mr. CEO. Put on your 'I am a scary ice-man' mask. If you look like a kicked puppy, she'll know for sure."
Keifer leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers. "I don't want to be an ice-man. I just want to stay here and feed you grapes while you lie on a mountain of pillows."
"Go!" Jay Jay laughed, giving him a playful shove toward the door. "Make billions of dollars so you can buy me more pillows. I'll be right here when you get back. And Keifer?"
He paused at the door, looking back with a gaze so full of longing it was almost painful. "Yeah?"
"Don't forget to look scary," she winked. "But remember that I'm the only one who knows you're actually a big softie."
Keifer finally stepped out, his heart heavy but his resolve set. He had to finish this deal quickly. Every minute in the boardroom was a minute away from his stubborn, beautiful girl.
As soon as the roar of his sports car faded into the distance, Honey appeared in the hallway, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed like a detective at a crime scene.
"He's gone," Honey said flatly. "Now, tell me the truth. Why did he carry you into the kitchen like you were made of glass? And don't give me that 'tired' excuse again. I saw the way you sat down on that chair—very, very slowly."
Jay Jay took a deep breath, clutching her robe tighter. "I... I told you! I tripped on the rug! It was a very violent trip. My muscles are just... confused."
"Confused?" Honey stepped closer, a suspicious glint in her eyes. "Jay Jay, I've known you since almost months. You're a terrible liar. Your cheeks are turning pinker than your slippers."
"It's the heat! Is the heater on? I think it's too hot in here," Jay Jay squeaked, backing away toward the sofa.
Honey followed her, piece by piece putting the puzzles of the morning together—Keifer's extreme guilt, the bridal-style carry, and Jay Jay's sudden "need" for an extra cushion. "Oh my god. Jay Jay. You didn't wait, did you? Even after the doctor explained the size... the soreness... the biological reasons..."
"Honey, listen—"
"No! I'm scolding you!" Honey cried, her hands on her back. "The man is literally double your size! The doctor said you were bruised! How could you be so reckless with your own body?"
Jay Jay slumped onto the sofa, finally letting out a huff of defeat. "I couldn't help it, okay?! I tried to be good! I really did! But then I looked at him, and he was sitting there looking all dark and broody and... and handsome."
She hid her face in a pillow, her voice muffled but defiant. "He looked so good in the moonlight, Honey! My heart just got all needy. I'm a girl with needs! I can't be held responsible for biology when Keifer Watson is standing right there looking like that!"
Honey stared at her, half-appalled and half-amused. "So your medical defense is that he's too attractive,and you got needy just seeing him?"
"Jay Jay, get back here!" Honey's voice echoed down the hallway, followed by the frantic drumming of footsteps. Jay Jay didn't stop she just giggled, darting around the kitchen island.
"You're too slow!" she chirped, her eyes dancing with mischief. She knew she was pushing her luck, but seeing Honey huffing in mock frustration was too much fun to pass up.
"Sit. Stay," Honey commanded, finally cornering her on the sofa. She was breathless but trying to look stern. "If Keifer walks in and sees you acting like a whirlwind, I'm the one who gets the lecture. He'll look at me with those judgmental eyes and say, 'Honey, why is my precious, delicate cotton-ball girl running like a wild animal?' I am not losing my 'Good Guardian' status today!"
Jay Jay buried her face in a cushion, her voice muffled but defiant. "It's a scientific fact, Honey! It's a temporary bout of 'Attention-Deficiency-Hyper-Keifer-Disorder.' The only cure is being annoying until he notices me!"
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯At office⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
In the high-tech boardroom of Watson Industries, the air was cold enough to frost over. Keifer sat at the head of the table, his "Cold Watson" mask firmly in place. Three billionaire investors were shivering under his silent, icy gaze as they presented their merger terms.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed on the mahogany table. Then again. And again.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Keifer didn't move a muscle, but his eyes flickered to the screen.
Messege:
Honey: I know.
Honey: I know what happened last night.
Honey: She's sitting on a pillow, Keifer. A PILLOW.
Keifer's stoic expression didn't change, but a bead of sweat broke out on his neck. He tried to focus on the Profit and Loss charts, but his pocket vibrated again.
Honey: Dr. Miller said ONE WEEK. You lasted THREE HOURS.
Honey: I am telling Angelo.
That was it. The "Ice-Man" cracked. Keifer's hand flew to his phone, his thumbs flying across the screen with the desperation of a man pleading for his life. He didn't care that the investors were staring at him in confusion.
Messege to honey:
Keifer: Honey, please! It's not what it looks like!
Keifer: I tried to say no! I swear on my life! I quoted the doctor! I mentioned the biology!
Messege from honey:
Honey: And yet... here we are. You're the adult, Keifer.
Messege to honey:
Keifer: You don't understand! She's a tiny tyrant! She pushed me! She threatened to handcuff me to the bed tomorrow if I didn't comply!
He looked up, realizing the entire boardroom was silent, watching their terrifying CEO frantically texting with a face that was rapidly turning bright red.
"Is... is everything alright, Mr. Watson?" the lead investor asked tentatively.
"The market is... volatile," Keifer choked out, his voice cracking. He looked back at his phone, his fingers trembling as he typed a final, pathetic plea.
Keifer: I am the victim here! She forced me! She used her 'needy' face and I lost all motor functions! I'm innocent! Please don't tell Angelo, he'll kill me before the merger closes!
Honey: You're a 20-year-old CEO who can't say no to a 17-year-old girl with a pout. Pathetic.
Honey: Buy her more pillows on your way home. The expensive ones.
Keifer let out a breath he'd been holding for five minutes. He straightened his tie, cleared his throat, and looked back at the investors with a gaze that was once again sharp, though his ears remained a betraying shade of crimson.
"As I was saying," Keifer growled, trying to regain his dignity, "the terms are unacceptable. And someone get me a catalog for luxury orthopedic cushions. Now."
In the boardroom, Keifer was vibrating with a level of anxiety usually reserved for people facing a firing squad. He was the Viper of Watson Industries, a man who once stared down a hostile takeover without blinking, but Honey's text thread was doing more damage than a market crash.
Honey: "Angelo just walked into the room. He's looking at Jay Jay's cushion. He looks... confused, Keifer. Should I help him solve the puzzle?"
Keifer's eyes went wide. He let out a tiny, high-pitched squeak that definitely didn't belong in a room full of sharks.
"Mr. Watson?" the Senior VP asked, trembling as he held up a chart. "About the quarterly projections..."
Keifer didn't look at the chart. He was frantically typing with his thumbs, his face scrunched up in a cute, panicked pout.
Keifer: "HONEY NO. STALL HIM. Tell him it's a new fashion trend! Tell him cushions are the new handbags! I'M AN INNOCENT VICTIM OF HER CUTENESS. SHE FORCED ME!!"
"The projections," Keifer blurted out to the board, his voice cracking. "They need to be fluffier. We aren't seeing enough... snuggability in the tech sector. If the tech isn't soft enough to sleep on without clothes, what are we even doing with our lives?"
The board members froze. They were terrified. They didn't understand the words, but Keifer looked so intense—his face bright red, his eyes darting around—that they assumed this was some brilliant, eccentric strategy they were too stupid to grasp.
"Snuggability... in the tech sector," the VP whispered, scribbling it down with a shaking hand. "Brilliant, sir. Absolute genius."
Keifer's phone buzzed again.
Honey: "Jay Jay just told him she 'tripped.' Angelo is checking the rug for blood. You have ten minutes before he checks the CCTV."
Keifer jumped out of his chair so fast it flipped over. "The rug is a lie!" he shouted at a very confused intern. "The rug is an accomplice! We must liquidate all assets and invest in high-grade goose feathers! The friction, gentlemen! Think of the friction!"
He grabbed his briefcase, but his hands were shaking so much he accidentally dropped his "World's Scariest Boss" mug. He looked at the shards on the floor and made a tiny, sad whimper that made the board members recoil in fear.
"He's... he's so unpredictable," one billionaire whispered, sweating. "He's destroying his own mug to show us how he'll crush our companies!"
"I have to go!" Keifer announced, his voice going an octave higher. "The CEO is... compromised! If anyone calls, I am in a meeting with a very stubborn kitten and a bag of ice! Two days! I'll be back in two days after the healing is complete!"
He bolted out of the room, tripping slightly over his own expensive shoes because he was too busy trying to text Honey: "I AM BUYING THE ENTIRE BEDDING STORE. PLEASE DON'T LET HIM KILL ME. FOR MY JAY I'M TOO CUTE TO DIE."
The board sat in total silence for three minutes.
"That," the Chairman finally said, "was the most terrifying display of power I have ever witnessed. He's going to corner the pillow market. We must buy stock immediately."
Keifer practically sprinted through the office lobby, his heart doing a frantic tap dance against his ribs. He wasn't scared of Angelo's fists—Keifer was a Watson, he could handle a fight—but he was 98% terrified that Angelo would use his "big brother authority" to lock Jay Jay away in a tower where Keifer couldn't even see her shadow for a month.
He scrambled into the backseat of his Maybach, shouting at the driver, "Drive! Go to the most expensive home store in the city! If we aren't back before Angelo checks the security cams, my life is over!"
As the car sped away, he went back to his frantic text battle with Honey.
Keifer: "Honey, listen to me. I will give you a 20% stake in my new tech venture. Just tell Angelo the rug was slippery because of... floor wax! High-grade, slippery floor wax!"
Honey: "He's looking at the CCTV monitor now, Keifer. He's squinting. He's asking why you carried her like she was a fragile porcelain doll at 8:00 AM."
Keifer made a tiny, distressed sound, his face scrunched up in a cute, panicked pout that would have horrified his board of directors. He began typing so fast his thumbs were a blur.
Keifer: "TELL HIM SHE HAD A CRAMP! A FOOT CRAMP! Honey, if he takes her to their mother's house, I'll wither away. I'll become a literal ghost. You're talking to a future ghost, Honey! Is that what you want??"
Honey: "He just saw you trip in the hallway on the footage. He's laughing at you, but he's still suspicious. Why are you so sweaty in a 5-star office, Keifer?"
Keifer: "BECAUSE THE BIOLOGY IS COMPLICATED! And she's so stubborn! She's the one who took the lead! I was a statue! I was a polite, unmoving statue! 😭"
He looked out the window and saw the "Royal Bedding & Home" store. "Stop the car!" he yelled. He burst into the shop, looking every bit the powerful CEO but acting like a man on the run.
"I need every pillow you have!" Keifer barked at the stunned clerk. "The softest ones! If they don't feel like a cloud made of angel wings, I don't want them! And I need a cover story! Do you sell cover stories here?!"
The clerk just blinked. "Sir, this is a pillow shop."
"Fine! Just the pillows!" Keifer grabbed two massive, fluffy orthopedic cushions and hugged them to his chest, looking like a scared, giant teddy bear.
He hopped back into the car, buried under a mountain of feathers, and sent one last message.
Keifer: "I'm coming home with the supplies. Tell Angelo I'm working on a 'Structural Softness' project. If he tries to take her away, tell him I've legally married the sofa and we're moving to a different country!"