Chapter 7 Operation annoy Kaden

Allison

Operation Annoy Kaden.

It was brilliant and seemed really fun and most importantly, it would definitely work.

At least that's what I told myself at seven-thirty in the morning as I stood outside Bryan's apartment holding his spare key.

The key he'd given me months ago for emergencies when I wouldn’t stop calling him all the time.

Sophia and I after going back and forth had finally agreed on starting with the annoyance phase.

The apartment was quiet when I went in and I grinned widely. This was perfect.

Phase one was about to begin.

I marched into the living room and immediately started singing.

Loudly, very loudly and although I could sing really well, I chose not to, because terrible singing was significantly more annoying.

I threw my arms dramatically into the air.

"AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—" My voice cracked, but I kept going.

"I WILL ALWAAAAYS LOVE YOUUUUU…"

Then I started dragging furniture around.

A chair scraped loudly across the floor and then another one screeched on the wall. The coffee table went next and one of the decorative stools Bryan insisted completed the room.

The screeching sound echoed throughout the apartment.

I winced as it hurt my ears too, but I continued, already loving it and realizing that this was the longest I had gone without thinking of either Sean or Abby.

This was definitely for a good cause.

I shoved a chair three feet to the left and then changed my mind and moved it back and then I moved it again.

By now Kaden should've emerged from his cave looking mildly murderous.

Maybe not murderous, but really irritated and that would count.

Operation Score:

Annoyance: Pending

I hummed loudly while adjusting a lamp and then furrowed my brows. I still hadn’t heard footsteps or an annoyed sigh.

Was he still asleep?

I glanced at the clock.

Maybe it was too early.

Then again, Kaden seemed like the type of person who woke up at five in the morning to meditate and read financial reports for fun.

The thought alone annoyed me.

I picked up a decorative pillow and tossed it onto another couch, ensuring it made a loud noise.

Still, I heard nothing from him.

What kind of human being sleeps through this?

Determined, I increased my voice. "I HAVE A DREAM…"

"You certainly do."

I yelped and the pillow flew from my hands.

Kaden stood in the hallway.

I blinked rapidly and then glanced at him again.

Black trousers, dark belt and white dress shirt.The sleeves weren't rolled yet and the top button was undone.

His tie hung loosely around his neck, like he was in the middle of getting ready.

Which meant.….

I groaned inwardly.

He’d already been awake the entire time.

I rubbed my forehead. "You were awake?"

"Obviously."

His voice remained calm.

Annoyingly calm.

At that moment, I realized that I hated calm people.

"You couldn't have said something?"

"You seemed busy."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're impossible."

"So I've been told, buttercup."

I clenched my jaw tightly but waited.

Surely there had to be some sign, some indication that I'd annoyed him.

A frown, an eye twitch, anything at all.

Instead he simply walked into the kitchen as though nothing had happened.

Like I hadn't spent ten minutes embarrassing myself.

Operation Score:

Allison: 0

Kaden: 1

This was a disaster.

I followed him. "You didn't hear me singing?"

"I did."

"And?"

He poured coffee into a mug and answered without looking at me. "And what?"

I stared at him. "Nothing?"

"It sounded enthusiastic."

Enthusiastic.

Not annoying or terrible, just enthusiastic.

This guy couldn’t be serious.

"I was intentionally singing badly."

"I noticed."

My jaw dropped. "You noticed?"

"Yes."

"And you weren't annoyed?"

"No."

This was incredibly frustrating.

He took a sip of coffee and then finally looked at me.

"Why are you here?"

The question sounded genuine and that irritated me the most.

I folded my arms. "Can't I visit?"

"You've never visited at eight in the morning."

"I could start….."

"Why?" He cut me off.

I opened my mouth and then closed it.

Good question.

I certainly couldn't tell him the truth.

"Hello Kaden. I'm conducting an experiment to see if you're capable of human emotion."

That seemed totally unwise. So I settled for something that seemed genuine. "I was bored."

"Hm."

The sound somehow communicated complete disbelief.

He set his coffee down.

"How's the hangover?"

"Better."

"Good."

There was an awkward silence that lasted for about thirty seconds before he spoke again.

"Still heartbroken?"

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

He raised his brows. "You heard me."

"Why does everyone keep calling me heartbroken?"

His expression barely changed. "Because you spent weeks crying."

My mouth fell open. "How do you know that?"

It was obvious, but he had never said anything as though it wasn’t his business. Not like it was, but…..Why did he sound so calm?

I was the one who was supposed to be rattling him.

Not the other way around.

"I'm not heartbroken."

"Hm."

"There you go again."

"What?"

"That noise."

"What noise?"

"That judgmental noise."

He looked genuinely confused. "I made a noise?"

"Exactly."

"I don't think it's judgmental."

"It absolutely is."

He made another sound that I couldn’t quite get and then spoke again. "If it helps, I wasn't judging you."

I blinked.

For some reason that caught me off guard. "You weren't?"

"No."

His gaze dropped to the coffee mug. "You had a rough month."

I furrowed my brows and then realized quickly that I was supposed to be focusing on the mission.

Unfortunately, the mission appeared to be crashing and burning.

Spectacularly.

I watched him pick up his laptop bag. "You leaving?"

"Work."

"Of course."

He glanced at me. "What does that mean?"

"It means you always work."

"It's generally how employment functions,” he said and walked out of the room.

I stared after him and then groaned loudly and collapsed onto the couch.

Operation Score:

Make Kaden Annoyed: Giant fail

Get Annoyed By Kaden Instead: Success