by Kaci Hart
“I don’t know how to respond to that. Gee, thanks I guess.”
“And you are welcome, my friend. But you are right. I didn’t come over here to talk about your saddening love life.”
Trent’s face took on a different tone and Ryder knew he was serious.
“I just found out from my guy at Bandel and Roberts that the execs over there went to lunch with the Paul Hollyford.”
Ryder practically jumped out of his seat. The Bandel and Roberts account was a big part of the company’s future interest. He shouted at his uninvited guest.
“What are we sitting here for? Why in the world didn’t you call me and tell me that?”
“I did, but your phone has not been taking calls for the past few hours.”
Ryder grabbed his phone, only to find that it had been silenced and he had missed nine calls over the past four hours. Three from his father.
“Don’t worry, I told him that I had talked to you and that you were aware and working on a countermeasure. Reaching out to them. All that jazz.”
“Thanks. Sorry for shouting. Dad is so close to early retirement and we both know how much he cares about the company. If he doesn’t think I can handle the company he’ll either wait, have the board take over, or see if Royce or Ramsey come around enough to get into the business instead of what they are doing now. I won’t work for a bunch of people that don’t understand my family’s legacy. I love Ramsey, and Royce for that matter. Ramsey could probably do it but never would, and you know that there is no way I am letting this company slide into Royce’s hands. I work way too hard for this company while he is off jetting to a different continent every week.”
He looked at Trent and they both stood up thinking. Trent spoke first.
“Looks like the twins have some work to do!”
“Yep. You know it man. I guess I really do need to get some sleep now. Let’s get up early and get on this together first thing in the office, alright?”
“Cool. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Alright.”
Ryder locked the door as Trent left and thought about the company that he had worked with his father to grow. The deal really meant a lot and he was determined to do everything he could to make it succeed. It was strange though. Even as they discussed the issues of the extremely high profile account, he thought of Chelsea. He shook his head, knowing that he needed to have his mind focused if he was going to finish the latest development out strong. He’d just have to deal with her another time.
Chapter 4
Chelsea stood in the dance studio and clapped her hands lightly in a rhythmic pattern, creating a beat for the preteens in her dance studio.
“Five, six, five six seven eight. And step and turn and…”
“I can’t do this!” One of her student shouted, a look of frustration on her face.
“Lauren honey, you’re doing fine. I used to have a hard time dancing just like you.”
“Really Miss Warner?” The girl questioned her.
“Yep. I was the worst dancer in my class until one day it just clicked for me. You know what . . . let’s do this. I want you to set the beat for the class rather than me.”
She listened as the girl began to create her own pace, tentatively at first and then with more confidence. Pretty soon all the other students moved slowly to her beat.
“Ok, now that you know when the beat is coming, just flow with it Lauren.”
Chelsea felt good when she noticed Lauren’s face light up as she moved smoothly to the beat of her own rhythm.
Now this is what I love about dancing.
Today felt different to her. She didn’t know why. Maybe because of the progress her students were making. She loved teaching them and she loved dancing so teaching dance was really a natural fit. She knew that now. Still, that wasn’t everything. She thought back to the start of her day. She had no school to contend with. She didn’t have to fight through rush hour traffic to get anywhere that morning, and when she did get in she didn’t have to answer to a soul. That was the life that she had wanted.
Things had changed so quickly since she decided to take some time off from training after her showcase. Denard was upset with her for stopping, which was ironic considering she had held him back for so long. Maybe he had the right to be. He had a few months left until graduation and she was his partner. Sure, he could get an underclassman to work with him but he argued that it wasn’t the same. He’d said that dancers know each other better than most but that wasn’t it.
She’d never realized it before but Denard had a thing for her and he finally admitted it to her. It was obvious now that she thought about it. She’d never considered him before because of their relationship and she couldn’t now because it wouldn’t be fair to him. Not with the thoughts of Ryder looming. He’d get over it. He had to.
“There you go Lauren! You’re doing great, you all are. You guys are going to be show stoppers at that dance. Now we’re going to take a fifteen-minute break. You all earned it. Just remember what you learned from Lauren. Find the beat with inside move your body with it. You’ll never miss a beat that way.”
Chelsea bent over to tighten the bandage on her ankle and adjusted her leg warmers. She made a mental note to soak her feet in an ice bath later. When she heard the voice behind her speaking to one of the parents in attendance she froze, still bent over as she took it in. There was no denying who the strong, distinct voice belonged to. It was Ryder and he was walking her way where he stopped right behind her. She attempted to turn around to greet him, but one leg caught on the other and instead of a graceful pivot, she bumped into his chest only to fall flat on her bottom.
She looked up to see him standing over her, with the same irresistible smile on his face. The irony of this predicament wasn’t lost on her as it was an exact replay of the way they had met the first time. Maybe they were meant to talk again but fate sure had a sense of humor at the same time. She pulled her hair out of her face and reached up to take his extended hand.
“Now this looks familiar. Why is it that every other time I talk to you, you’re getting up off the floor? Wait, is this some new dance technique?”
She took his hand and he effortlessly helped her up.
“Thank you, and no it isn’t. Are you sure that you aren’t planning this in advance? It’s like you have some kind of magic wand or you can see the future and already knew I’d fall. I promise you that I really can dance, although I must look like the biggest klutz in the world from your vantage point.”
“I’m starting to think that I just happen to have that effect on you. I’d prefer if it was sweeping you off your feet rather than constantly picking you up, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Oh you will, will you? I thought so at first until you forgot who I was the other night.
His statement made her remember the last time she had seen him and she was almost led to say something mean about him ignoring her. She decided to hold her tongue and be nice instead. Besides, she wasn’t one to act all silly about a guy, no matter how much he smelled, looked, and sounded like the essence of every attractive male trait in one outstanding package. His countenance was loaded with the same confidence of their initial encounter.
Apparently nice personality Ryder was in full effect mode once again. This was the one that had made her heart race and her cheek flush with a simple flash of his ivory teeth. His presence owned the room like a king among commoners and by that point in time, all eyes in the room had focused on him, especially the female mothers who had accompanied their kids. Not that he seemed to notice. He was intent and solely focused on her. She looked away. Anywhere to be able to not fall victim to his spell binding gaze once again.
“That’s an interesting statement. So what are you doing here, stalking me?”
“Not at all. Not that I mind resorting to those methods because I don’t, given how much I really wanted to see you again. Luckily for me, there are easier ways. After you left the bar the
other night, I swung by a few days later, hoping to catch you there. That was when I ran into Alex. He’s a good friend, you know. He wouldn’t tell me a thing about how to find you. Only that I should leave it alone because he was under the impression that I was probably someone you wouldn’t want to talk to. If I’m not mistaken, there was even a semi threat that I should not come back there looking for you. Then he tried take my order. Interesting guy.”
Chelsea knew that Alex wouldn’t have told him a thing. He was a good friend for sure and she wasn’t surprised that he didn’t let that stop him from making a buck or two off of him. She chuckled to herself.
“So after I left the bar I almost had no choice but to either wait until you showed up one day and bum rush you before he could call the cops on me or find you by other means. I didn’t think it would be a good look for my company with me in cuffs and all so I thought about it and remembered you told me about the business you were starting. It was a longshot but I looked up new dance studios in the city and it wasn’t long before I found this place.”
“Wait, you went through all that trouble looking for me? If that isn’t the definition of stalker, I don’t know what is. My question is why you would go through so much trouble to find me again. Especially after you couldn’t place me at all last Friday.”
His look changed from hotshot and confident to more regretful and his shoulders dropped as he released a deep sigh.”
“Ok. I definitely deserve that. Honestly, Friday night was the reason I showed up. It’s going to sound like a horrible excuse but I always believe the truth is the best option so I’ll take my chances with that.”
“Yeah, I like the truth too.”
“So I was caught completely off guard when I saw you that night. I’m sure you remember the phone call I had in the car. Well one of the reasons I couldn’t just come off was because that dinner with the client was coming up and I had to make sure everything was good. Believe me when I tell you that I was going to do my best to find you after that, even if I had to wait outside of your school daily.”
“What does any of that have to do with anything? You could have just talked to me so why didn’t you?”
“My dad. He was there and if you knew anything about him, you wouldn’t ask me that question. Me doing anything with you right then that didn’t involve ordering a meal was completely and totally out of the question. Believe me, I wanted to talk to you. It was like finding a needle in a haystack only for it to not only prick your finger but bleed enough to send you to the emergency room.”
“Interesting analogy.”
“I know. It sounded better in my mind.”
“I bet”
“Regardless, I was going to wait till things died down and the guys got a little fuller and less observant. That was when I was going to come talk to you under the guise of a bathroom break but you left and my chances at that were gone too. I hope you can forgive me for treating you in such a disrespectful manner.”
Chelsea thought about her own parents briefly and immediately understood why he had to do what he did.
“You don’t owe me an apology Ryder. I completely understand what it’s like to have parents that require you to do things their way.”
“Maybe, but I was still wrong. I, for one, had a mother that taught me much better than that. If dad is strictly business, then mom is miss manners herself and she would have been disappointed in how I treated a lovely woman I’d just met.”
His features softened and Chelsea could see on his face that he meant exactly what he said. He was honestly sorry about what had happened— and what hadn’t happened for that matter. Any hard feelings that she was harboring towards him melted instantly at the sincerity in his gaze. The other night didn’t matter anymore.
“Well thanks for the compliment.”
“My pleasure. It’s true after all. You are a beautiful woman.”
“Laying it on a little thick don’t you think?”
“Not at all. The last time I tried to play it cool, you decided to leave work early just so you wouldn’t have to deal with me. So yeah, I’ll take my chances. Besides, I despise telling lies and that is exactly what I would be doing if I didn’t tell you that even in that situation, there was a part of me that was just glad that I had another chance to see you that night. Although I am painfully aware that I did a horrendous job showing my enthusiasm.”
She figured he had groveled for her understanding for long enough but it was hard to stop him. He was so cute that all she wanted to do was watch and listen. If she didn’t have a class to teach, she most likely would have done just that. But some parents were there and even if they weren’t she didn’t want to neglect her students. She playfully tapped his shoulder.
“Ryder, stop being so hard on yourself. I could tell it was a meeting with some muckety mucks who probably thought more highly of themselves than they aught. Based on what you’re saying now the truth is that some of this is my fault anyway. If I had just stayed a little longer you might have come to find me. So we can share the blame.”
“Alright, if you insist.”
It was then that she remembered her recent conversation with Ava.
“Actually, backtrack on that no apology thing. If you really feel like you need to apologize to me, I think I just got an idea on how to do so.”
She placed her arm in the crook of his and began walking him towards the door.
“Shoot.”
“Well, a friend of mine’s getting married soon and I could use a plus one…”
She bit the corner of her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows, silently praying for a yes.
“Absolutely. Consider it done.”
She didn’t know if it was simply the relief of finally being able to give Ava the name of her wedding date or the prospect of spending an undisclosed amount of time with tall, tan, and handsome, but she was jumping for joy inside. If she had to guess, she would be more inclined to think it was the latter. They walked out of the studio door and stood talking.
“Now for the real test of your forgiveness. Can I take you to dinner this evening?”
Chelsea felt her skin tingle in response. She was sure that even if she had wanted to say no, she would not be able to. Her mouth would have rebelled against her and made its own decision. His charm had already taken away all of her inhibitions. She played it off, trying to make sure that she didn’t look too desperate. After pausing for a few seconds to “consider” her schedule, she responded with a shrug.
“I think that I’d enjoy that.”
“Great! I have a few things to take care of today. Obviously you have your hands full with your students today. How about around seven o’clock at Chez Henri?”
Her eyebrows crinkled and she looked up. She knew she’d heard of the place somewhere before.
“Chez . . . Henri . . . Chez Henri. Wait do you mean the place downtown?”
“That’s the place.”
“Whoa. That is way out of my normal dining experience. “
Chelsea had heard of the place but had never been there before. It was way out of her budget. She didn’t mind having a little money spent on her though. From the looks of things, the other day, he certainly could afford it. She nodded her head in agreement while mentally trying to decipher why such a fine specimen of a man would want to spend dinner with her in the first place. She was baffled by it--but she was willing to find out. She looked at him when she thought about something.
“It’s not formal wear is it? Because I have nothing in my closet that’s really super nice looking.”
“I mean it’s dressy but not anything too outlandish. A nice evening wear is fine. If you don’t have anything, I can have something prepared for you at a boutique downstairs and you can pick it up. My treat.”
She giggled at his quick solution to the problem but she wasn’t going to let him buy her dress. All she could think of at that moment was pretty woman and even though Julia Roberts is totally beautiful, she wasn’t
looking to play that role.
“That’s thoughtful of you but I don’t think I should have you buying clothes for me on our first date. Well technically this would be even before our first date. I’m pretty sure I have a dress that should work. If not, I have a best friend that most definitely does and we’re close enough in size to make it work.”
“I hope that didn’t offend you.” He asked her.
“No. Not at all.”
“Good. I just don’t want anything to happen to stop this evening. I’ve been looking forward to this chance since the other day.”