Her Possessive Billionaire

ALOOF

CHAPTER 2

Aliyah had now calmed down. Her head was clearer as she thought about her company.

Her team had worked hard for the last five months preparing for the project with "the boss." She was involved too late to overturn the deal. There was nothing else she could do about it.

To appease herself and control her anger, Aliyah murmured, 

"I need this time off anyway. I love the water. It has been years since I had a day off by the beach. A full sail like this is a blessing in disguise." 

Aliyah also refused to let the man know that his presence affects her in any way, "He's still the boss. I'll keep my distance and keep my cool; nothing bad will happen," She repeatedly muttered to herself in a chant.

Aliyah heard the sound of the cabin door opening and closing. She knew the boss was right behind her.

She heard his deep, commanding, and calm voice again.

"Here, have some coffee," 

"Thank you," She turned and accepted the cup with coffee without looking at his face.

"Breakfast is by the counter," Khalan looked at her back, his expression... intense.

"I will get some later," she responded without looking at him, but she could feel his burning gaze on her back.

Then, he walked towards her side, standing beside her, and continued to try and have a conversation with her.

"Why did you get drunk? You were well beyond your limit."

She replied snidely but without any emotion on her face, 

"That's my idea of fun." 

Khalan didn't speak but in his thoughts, "I know you too well. I know the person behind your icy-cold facade Aliyah."

Aliyah said in a toneless voice, "Look, I am sorry to trouble your peace. Ignore my presence. I will keep myself busy, and I won't bother you." 

Without waiting for his response, she turned around, walked in the direction of the door, and entered the cabin.

Khalan's gaze followed her as she walked away from him, and he smiled wickedly.

While inside the cabin...

Aliyah took some breakfast, carrying the plate to the room. While eating her food, she looked around, and in one corner by the chair, she saw her bag.

She smiled instantly and declared, "At least my bag is here. I can still do some work using my tablet," relieved, she got it and opened her tablet immediately.

Despite the odd situation, the cabin room offered the silence she needed to concentrate on her drafting work. Soon, she was engrossed in her work, forgetting momentarily that there was a person outside who made her blood boil.

She was so engrossed in her drafting work and totally lost track of the time. She worked for three hours when she heard a knock on the door followed by a deep, commanding voice.

"Aliyah, let's have lunch." 

She sighed deeply, remembering again her situation and the person outside. She got her tablet and decided to work while having lunch, thereby limiting conversation with “the Boss”  as much as possible.

She sat by the couch with the table in front of her. The boss was on the other couch facing her. 

"We will dock on an island later. If you want to explore the island, you may join us," Khalan informed her calmly.

She uttered disinterestedly...

"We'll see. I have something to do." 

"Are you always working even on weekends?" Khalan asked and looked at her profoundly.

She raised her head and met his gaze, just to let him feel she was not bothered by him at all, and told him coldly, "Projects don't come easy. We need to deliver on time, whether it's a business day or not."

"Your work is tedious, right?" Khalan continued to converse with her.

She replied indifferently, transferring her gaze on the tablet.

"I can't complain; at least I have projects." 

"Have you been able to travel in the past few years?"

She sighed before replying, "Yeah!" 

Why couldn't he understand that I do not want to talk to him? Humph- she thought to herself.

Khalan continued to speak with her.

"I remember you like traveling a lot." 

She did not bother to answer him. The hell she cared about what he remembered.

In the absence of her reaction, Khalan placed his hand on the table and looked at her intensely. Then advised...

"Aliyah, we need to talk..." 

Although his facial expression was calm, a slight edginess was present in his voice.

She thought, aside from the inconvenience of being here with him, she has no reason to be irritated. Although if he'd try to bring up their past, that was a different story. It would definitely piss her off. Then she prompted coolly.

"What do we need to talk about, boss?" 

"A lot!" Khalan was slightly intimidated by her passive and chilly demeanor. He wanted to say more, but at the moment, words were stuck in his throat.

She needed to remind him that their company contracted her as an architect, nothing more. Her association with him was purely business. Then she pointed out emotionlessly...

"Maybe you can call a meeting so the team can address your concerns as soon as we go back to work." 

Khalan heaved a deep sigh and agreed. "Yeah, let's do that." 

He told himself he would find another opportunity later. Aliyah was still annoyed; he could tell. 

"Please take a look at the island later. We want to develop it into a mid-rise resort when we get hold of the property," he said, changing the topic, and his tone became authoritative again.

"Alright!" she agreed. If it's business, it's good with her, but she was still uncertain if she would consider working with his company again in the future.

She ate in a hurry to get away from under his sight.

"I'll go get some fresh air," she left the table after pushing in her mouth the last spoonful of food.

She made her way to the other end of the yacht when she was outside of the cabin. The boss couldn't see her from there. 

She found the Captain.

"Hi Ma'am, you might want to swim? The water is calm" he's a nice fellow in his mid 40's.

"Do you have an extra swimsuit I can wear?" she asked, smiling at the captain. 

The water looked inviting. The captain was right. She could do with the dip at the moment.

"Oh, Yes! We always have extra for unarranged situations. I will get it," He was eager to let her enjoy the calm water. It's 12:30 pm, the water was clear and inviting, and the ship was not moving. He came back with a pair of unused swimwear.

"Thank you! Can I change in that room?" She pointed to the service bathroom of the staff.

"Yes, Ma'am! I will also get you a clean towel."

She immediately changed into swimwear. It was more revealing than she usually uses, but she didn't have a choice at the moment. 

Aliyah’s body is well-formed. Others complimented her figure -she's very sexy, but she never paid attention to it. Her alluring 5'4 height was blessed with a slim, perfectly measured body and shapely unblemished long legs. She's very sexy, indeed.

She's a good swimmer. She politely declined the Captain when he offered the lifesaver vest and the use of stairs that would lead to the water. Aliyah dived straight down into the water using the elevated slipway.

The water was calm, so there was no danger, she thought.

Aliyah was unaware of the set of eyes intently looking at her as she dived from the slipway. Khalan shook his head and remarked to himself. "She's so fearless."

Aliyah floated in the water, she enjoyed swimming, she missed it a lot. The Captain provided her with a snorkel so she could watch the fish abundant in the area. It took her about thirty minutes exploring by herself, before realizing she has no sunscreen protection, it was past 1 pm the sun may harm her skin; so she quickly approached the stairs.

She said thank you to the Captain as she emerged from the water. She made sure the towel-covered her entire body before she went back to the cabin, passing next to Khalan, who was sitting on the couch without looking at him.

She was relieved to find a new t-shirt and underwear on top of the bed. Aliyah noted a whole pack of female underwear, about six pieces inside the pack, but there was no t-shirt for ladies. It was still the boss's t-shirt on top of the bed. She shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to the bathroom.

She immediately changed after her shower. She did not question Khalan on who and how her clothes were changed last night. It already happened, so fretting about it wouldn't matter, anyway who would dare change her clothes but him.

Aliyah heard a slight knock on the door.

"Yes?" she briefly queried.

"You might need some cream for your skin?" Khalan asked, facing the closed door.

"I'm good!" She replied. She need not open the door and face the handsome beast again. She admitted that Khalan remained an attractive man even after six years of not seeing him, but it was not her concern anymore. 

Khalan shook his head resignedly outside of the room, did not push the conversation with her, and muttered under a deep breath.

"Later this evening, I will find a way to talk to you whether you like it or not." 

Her aloofness was getting onto his nerves, and he couldn't stand her coldness anymore.