“I’m going to see about things. I’m not making you any promises. The only one I will make you, is that I will be returning next month as the contract states I will.”
He nods but my words have done nothing to comfort him. “Don’t let him treat you like shit.”
“I won’t.”
“You say that but you’ve always allowed it,” he says then pulls me very close to him. So close, I’m afraid he’s going to kiss me.
“Ryker,” I say but it does no good.
His hands let mine go as they move up my arms. I should step back but I stay right where I am. My body tingles with his touch and when he takes my face between his hands, I melt into him.
Our lips touch and a fire rips through me. I’m kissing Ryker Crawford in front of his employees and Damien!
The way his thumbs rub my jaw has my lips parting for him and he comes right on in, like an old friend. Our kiss is long and speaks to me just as clearly as any of his words could possibly do to make me see what he feels for me.
I can hardly breathe when he ends the kiss with light pecks. “I love you, Gia. I don’t care who knows that. Come back. Whether you come back to me or not, just come back.”
I can’t talk as I look into those sad, dark eyes of his. I nod and turn away from him. Tears blur my vision as I walk to Damien’s jet. I wipe them away as I walk up the stairs and find him still waiting at the top of them.
“That was going too far, Gia,” Damien hisses at me. His hand closes around my upper arm then he jerks me inside the plane.
I see Svetlana and Friedrich sitting in the back as Damien manhandles me to a seat in the front. He, not so gently, pushes me down to sit and I look up at him. “You need to stop with the physical shit, Damien.”
Leaning over, he whispers in my ear, “You and I will be going into the bedroom as soon as this plane is in the sky and you will learn who you belong to, Gia.”
My stomach knots then it quickly goes away. “No, we won’t. I don’t belong to anyone. Not anyone, Damien. I’m going back with you for my own reasons. None of them have to do with you.”
“Do you really expect me to give you what I leave here, if you don’t do what I ask of you?” he asks me as he takes the seat across the tiny aisle from me and belts himself in as the plane is readying for takeoff.
“I’m not going to talk to you about that right now.” I close my eyes and lie my head back to rest as the captain speaks in Russian over the speaker system.
“You seem confidant,” he says then makes a huffing noise. “Let’s see how long that lasts. I will be reminding you of what I have to give you.”
“Yes, the palatial estate in Russia. The mountains of money.”
“The jewels, the cars, the purses, and shoes. The designer clothing, the fancy creams and lotions. All those things you now have are really mine, Gia. You came to me with the clothes on your back, which are long gone now. I promise you, you will not leave with any more than you came with.”
I open my eyes and level them on his. “I bet I will.”
His right eye twitches a bit. “He has turned you completely against me, hasn’t he?”
“You have done that on your own.” I lie back and close my eyes again in an attempt to keep my relaxed composure.
My stomach is doing a dizzying dance of knotting up then relaxing as my body goes between full on panic and trying to keep control of my emotions. I will not go back to the weak woman I have been these last three years. But it’s an internal battle that’s going on inside of me.
“We will talk, you and I,” he says as the plane starts to take off.
“Yes, we will,” I agree. “I will talk.”
“Your head is held high now,” he says under his breath. “But how it will soon fall.”
My heart clenches as I fear what he’s going to do but then it eases as I tell myself, he can’t do anything to hurt me. He only has the power I give him and I am no longer going to give him any.
I can hear poor Friedrich crying as we make our ascension into the sky. His cries stir my soul and I feel terrible about him and what he came into. But he carries the genetics that make up Damien too. I’m sure, as he grows up, he will have that same strength the whole family of Markov’s possess. And I remind myself, he is not my burden to bear.
My family is not my burden to bear. I have but one and that is myself, for now, anyway. One day, there may come more people into my life that I hold dear enough to make sacrifices for. These people are not them.
Spending time with the team has taught me loads about life. I was hellbent on taking what Damien offered me and making sure my life as well as my family’s was stable, secure, and one of great wealth.
I spent the weekend with people who are striving to make it possible to leave this planet, with all of its material things, to go to a place with nothing. Sandra was talking about doing a camp out once and thinking it was hard and she’d never want to do more than a couple of days of living like that. But she wants to go Mars, where living will be a hundred times harder than camping anywhere on this planet is.
I suppose that’s where I’m at right now. I thought I couldn’t do without the money Damien would be leaving me. I thought my family could never make it without that security. But I’m about to leave that security blowing in the wind as I take off to another place. A place of uncertainty and hard work.
There’s never been a time that I felt so close to the brink of disaster and I love it in this place. There will be no wobbling back and forth, where Damien and his money are concerned. I’m set on the path I have planned out for myself.
Two men will not be happy about what I’ve chosen to do but I will have to learn how to deal with men who are unhappy with my decisions.
RYKER
It’s been two weeks since Gia left with Damien to go back to Russia. And she’s not contacted me even once. I’ve given her space and left her alone but my heart is aching to hear her voice, so I’m calling her on the pretense of work. While the work day is over, being it’s six in the evening here, it’s just beginning in Russia, where it’s eight in the morning.
“Gia Flynn’s assistant, can I take a message?” a young woman asks me as she answers Gia’s cell.
“Uh,” I stammer as I have no idea what the hell is happening or who this is. “This is Ryker Crawford.”
“Oh, yes. Mr. Crawford, Miss Flynn has a consulting contract with your company, Apollo Engineering. What may I do for you today, sir?”
“Can I speak with her?”
“She’s in court today. That’s why I have her cell. I’m not sure when she’ll be out. I will leave her a message to call you. Is this an important matter that needs immediate attention, sir?”
“No, not really. She can call me back whenever she gets time. Where is she?”
“I’m not at liberty to give out that information,” she says with quipped words. “Will there be anything else, Mr. Crawford?”
“Is she in the states or Russia?” I tap my finger on the desk, as not knowing is making me crazy.
“That is not my information to divulge.”
I turn on my charisma and charm to see if I can get more information out of this tight-lipped woman. “You sound pretty. Mind me asking where I might find you? It’s nearly lunch and I’ve yet to find a lunch date. Maybe you…”
“Sir, I am well aware of your relationship with my employer. If you would refrain from speaking to me in a flirtatious manner, that would be appreciated. Also, I am quite smart and am completely aware that you are seeking information about my whereabouts so you can obtain Miss Flynn’s. She will be given this message when she gets out of court. Good day, sir.”
“Good day,” I say as she ends the call.
Well, I’m not stopping there. I call her father to see what he knows about his daughter and her whereabouts and why she’s in court. “Ryker,” her father answers. “How’s it going, son?”
“Great here. How about with you, Johnny?”
“Fine, just fine. Did you get those soil samples back yet?” he asks me.
“Still waiting on them. I needed to make sure you emailed your banking information to payroll, so they can set up the direct deposit for you.”
“Yes, that was done already,” he says.
“How’s Gia?” pops out of my mouth.
“Good, I suppose. I haven’t talked to her since you guys left that day. I thought she was working with you, Ryker. You should know how she is.”
“I haven’t talked to her since that day, either. Do you know if they made it back to Russia?”
“Well, now that you’re saying something about it, no. You don’t think something’s happened, do you? A plane crash!” he says.
“No!” I stop his bad train of thought. “No, I talked to her assistant. She’s fine. Alive, no crashing. It’s just that I don’t know where she is.”
“Her assistant?” he asks. “Your company gave her one, or what?”
“Or what,” I tell him. “She must’ve gotten one on her own. I called to discuss some business with her and the lady who answered her phone said she was in court. And I suppose you don’t know anything about that, either.”
“No, not a thing.”
“Well, okay then. I guess I’ll have to call Damien. I need to set up the dates I’m going over there at the end of this month, anyway.”
“You do that. Let me know what’s going on with my baby girl. We’ve gotten used to not knowing anything or hearing from her for months at a time since she’s been with Damien. It sure was nice to get to see so much of her while she was in the U.S. this last month. Thanks for that, Ryker.”
“Yes, sir. You’re welcome. I’ll let you know what I find out. Bye.” I end the call and make the next one to Damien.
His cell rings and rings then goes to voicemail. So, I call his office phone. “Markov Global, Mr. Damien Markov’s office,” a secretary answers.
“Is Damien in?” I ask.
“Not today. He is out for the entire day. May I take a message?”
“Let him know, Ryker Crawford called to set up the dates for my visit at the end of the month.”
“You can give me that information,” she says.
Crap!
“I would but I needed to see what’s good for him,” I say, stalling to get to talk directly to him.
“All days are good for him,” she says. “So, give me your dates.”
Taking the calendar that’s in the top desk drawer, I pick the last three of the month and she sets me up but I still don’t know a thing about Gia. Hanging up the phone, I don’t have anything else I can do.
This is sure to drive me nuts!
GIA
My heels click along the marble floor as I make my way out of the court hearing. The sound of men’s shoes, coming up behind me, has me wanting to run but I maintain my steady gait.
“Gia, wait,” Damien says as he catches up to me. “You won the case against my company, and rightfully so but what does this mean for us?”
I stop and look at him with a stern expression. Then wait for my lawyer and the one for his company to pass us by before I say a word. “Tell me who, us, is?”
He points to me and then himself. “You and I.”
“Oh, I have to ask because you have two of us. Tell me what I mean to you, Damien.”
“You mean security to me the same way I mean that to you and your family.”
“I don’t mean the world to you, do I?” I ask as he looks at me with confusion riddling his handsome face.
“I don’t know what you mean. I need you and you need me.”
“Not anymore, I don’t. Not since I’ll be getting what’s fair for my invention that I sold much too cheaply to your company. I’m about to be a very wealthy woman, and I’ve done that entirely on my own. No help from a soul. So, please tell me what it is you and I have.”
“I need you,” he says then looks down. “It’s me who needs you to portray my girlfriend. You know that. So, I am asking you, will you still be doing that for me and.” He stops and looks around to make sure no one is around us. “My son, needs you too, Gia. Don’t forget about him. He needs this more than I do.”
“That’s supposed to pull at my heartstrings, isn’t it?” I ask him as I smile. “It’s not accomplishing what you intended it to. Sorry, Damien. That deal is off. No hard feelings, I hope. I’m sure you can find another woman to fill my role in what’s left of your life, here on Earth. Mars will mean different things for you. And I wish you and yours, the best. My assistant will be helping me pack my things later this evening. I will be staying until I’ve made arrangements back in the states. My assistant is also going to be staying too. I’ve made arrangements with your mother about that already.”
“And you think I’m going to allow that?” he asks me as he pulls himself to stand up straight and tall.
“I know you will, Damien.” I offer him another smile and walk away from him. “See you at dinner.”
He hurries to catch up to me. “And you told my mother what?”
“That you and I are parting on amicable terms.” I stop and face him. “She told me she was glad to hear that. Want to know why?”
He looks at me with his mouth hanging slightly open. “Why?”
“Because I looked sad all the time. She told me I looked happy for the first time in three years. What do you think about that?”
“Are you blaming me?” he asks as he looks a bit shocked.
“I could,” I say then smile at him. “But I’m not. I’m the one who lost her voice, her spirit, her pride. You didn’t take it, I misplaced it. But I’ve found it and I’m not about to let it get away from me again.”
I take off again and find him right next to me. “Gia, I don’t want us to end. I really don’t.”
“I’m sure you don’t. In my opinion, there is no, us. There never has been. You see, you both have to be invested to call yourselves something that contained. Us, means you think of yourselves as a whole being. You and I both know we’re not nearly that close.”
“You and Ryker are, though?” he asks. “That’s what you’re saying.”
I stop and see his eyes are narrow and he looks like he’s caught me cheating. “No, we are not an ‘us’, either. I don’t know if we ever will be. I love that man, though. I do. If it weren’t for him and his incessant pushing, I’d have left the real Gia Flynn right where she was shoved when I made plans with you and shoved her into a closet and locked her away. I almost forgot where I’d put her.”
“You will be with him, though. Won’t you?” he asks me and I can’t stand to leave him wondering.
But I have to. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do. And I’m not sure you need to know anything else about me. Your world is elsewhere, leave me out of your head. It shouldn’t be very hard. You did it most of the time anyway.”
We both get into the company car and I take the place across from him. He looks me over and says, “Confidence is sexy on you, Gia. What do you say you let me come into your bedroom until you leave me?”
I lean forward, making sure my cleavage is revealed. “No.” Then I sit back and smile to myself about how good it feels to say what I mean and mean what I say.
RYKER
My eyes fly open as my cell makes a dinging noise that tells me I have a text message and I roll over to pick it up off my bedside table. I have to rub my eyes to get them to focus and see a text has come in from Gia.
I hurry to open it and read it.
-I know it’s late, so I didn’t want to call and wake you. Things are great with me. I will be seeing you the first week of next month. I’m making huge changes and I have you to thank for helping me find myself again. I love you to the moon and back!-
I call her since I know she’s available to talk and sigh as I hear her sweet voice say, “Ryker, I woke you up anyway, didn’t I? Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ve been wanting to hear your voice. So, you’re doing great?”<
br />
“Better than great. I’ve turned over a new leaf and no one will ever be taking advantage of me again. I’ll tell you all about it when I come for my monthly visit. I’ve added in a couple of more clients that I’ll be consulting for. Don’t worry, boss, they aren’t in the space industry. I won’t be sharing our secrets with them.”
“You’ve certainly been busy in the last two weeks, Gia,” I say as I am more than surprised.
“I really have. But not to worry. You’re my number one client.”
“Am I your number one guy?” I ask as I can hear the strength in her voice and I know that might mean she needs time away from men.
“If you want to be,” she says. “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I’ll be right there under your wing. I’m going to be doing what I need to do to fulfill myself. That means I’m jumping headlong into a career where I can use the information I’ve collected in my life to make a difference in this world and in your company’s case, other worlds too.”
“I want to be your number one guy and you can be my number one girl if you want to. Because I love the way you’re thinking, baby. Do you need any help? I mean, I know I told you to do it all on your own but if you need help, I am here for you.”
“That’s really nice of you to offer. I know I can count on you for anything. I’ve got it handled, though. I’ve gotten my shit together. With the help of a lawyer, I renegotiated the sale I made to Markov Global. Let’s just say, I’m catching up to you very quickly, financially.”
“Wow,” I say, more than a bit stunned. “I’m glad to hear you’ve righted that wrong. So, money isn’t a worry for you any longer?”
“No, it’s not. And I’ve moved the burden of my family off my shoulders as well. They all have ample opportunities with Apollo Engineering and it will be up to them to make that work for them or not. I’m not going to sell my soul for them any longer. If they realized I was giving up myself for their financial security, they’d tell me to stop, I’m sure.”
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