I can see myself falling for this man. This man who sees in me something no one else has. But this man, who is sitting on this bed, wants more than to see me work my mind. He wants me to work my body for him too.
“If I consult for you, do you promise to stop chasing after me?”
“No,” he says, bluntly.
I smile with his honesty. “I see.”
“But I will keep our work connection, professional. If you want me to.” He grins and tickles my chin.
“It would be very nice to be treated professionally again. It’s been three years. I’ve missed it.” I run my hands through his dark waves and knew they’d be this soft. “For the record, I find you attractive.”
“And you love me,” he says then chuckles.
“You love me,” I say with a giggle. “But I am with another man and I’m…”
“Not a cheater,” he interrupts me. “I got it. I’m just happy you’re going to work with me. I’ll try not to dance around when you tell Damien about it.”
“Yes, please try to contain that joy.” I step back away from him as he’s just too comfortable to be with. “I should go to bed. Apparently, I’ll need to be using my brain the remainder of my time here.”
“That you will, Gia.” When I turn to walk away, I feel a slap on my ass and spin around as I gasp. “I had to. It was right there. I promise to behave at work.”
Shaking my finger at him, I back away to the door and give him a wave before I leave. “Good night, rogue.”
“Good night, ravenous. I’ll see you in my dreams.”
My heart stops as I think about the dreams I’ve been having about him and they’re sure to be glorious tonight. I hope Damien doesn’t come back tonight. I can relish the dreams, for once.
Leaving his room, I make my way across the hallway and go inside the room to find Damien watching the door. “And where have you been?” He holds up my cell phone then drops it on the bed.
Well fuck!
RYKER
The air is fresh and I’ve never felt more enthusiastic than I do today. I got up at the crack of dawn and went to work out at the gym. I keep a suit there, just in case of overnight stays in town and am striding into my office, ready to see Gia and start this thing with her.
I can’t wait to see her in action. I know she has to be even more gorgeous when her brain is firing those neurons, creating great ideas, and forging the future.
A temp is at my receptionist’s desk and I wave a hello to her and stride on by then turn around. “I’m expecting a Mr. Markov and a Miss Flynn soon. Send them in as soon as they get here, please.”
“Yes, sir.” She makes a note of the names and I walk into my office with a grin on my face that won’t go away.
I see Bridget, waiting in my office and am reminded that I need to make her useful elsewhere. “Good morning, Bridget.”
“How’d it go, Mr. Crawford?” she asks as she pulls my chair out and stands behind it.
“Well. I’d like to ask you about something and I need you to be honest with me.” I take the seat and find her trying to sit on my lap. “No, no.” I gesture to the seat on the other side of the desk.
She looks a little bewildered as it is Friday and we do usually start the day with a bit of play but not today, or ever again. Now that I know she’s not into it at all and only doing it because she’s paid to.
“Honest about what, sir?” she asks as she takes a seat.
“What would you like to do with your professional life?” I ask her and see her mind go blank.
“This.”
“No,” I say. “You see, this is no longer an option.”
“Is it because I’m bi?” she asks with a frown.
“No, it’s because I have a conscience and I don’t want this to go on any longer. I’m not going to fire you. I want to know what else you’d like to do here.”
“I can type, I guess. I could do that. You don’t like the way I…”
I hold up my hand to stop her. “It’s not that. I promise you. So, you can type. I can put you into data entry. I’ll make the call and you can get over there today and start. It’ll be the same pay and everything. Okay?”
“Well, yes, sir. I guess so. Are you sure you no longer need my services?” She looks at me with a blank expression. “Did that Gia woman become your girlfriend?”
“No, it’s not about her. It is and it isn’t. Anyway, get your butt down to the third floor and ask for Cindy. She’ll get you going.” I pick up the phone as she leaves my office and find her turning around.
“Thanks, Mr. Crawford. You really are a good guy.”
I give her a thumbs up and make the call to our data entry department. “Cindy, I’m sending my personal assistant, Bridget, to you. Put her to work in your department. Her pay will stay the same, so don’t bother with payroll. Treat her well, please.”
After a promise that she will, I hang up and find my intercom buzzing. “Mr. Markov to see you, sir.”
“Send him in.” I jump up and go to open my door and great them. When I open it, I only see Damien. “Where’s Gia?”
“Not coming. You and I need to set some ground rules.” He moves past me and walks into my office as I stand, stunned.
I close the door and go to sit down as he’s already planted his ass in a chair. “Is she okay?”
“Why in the hell would you think it’s okay to have her in your hotel room?” he asks me.
“We were talking business,” I say, as it’s true.
“In her pajamas?” He looks at me, like he’s looking right through me.
“It was late.” I take my seat and square my shoulders. “She and I had a consulting deal and I’m holding her to her word.”
“No, you aren’t,” he says and squares his shoulders too. “She’s not going to be involved in this thing we have going on, any longer.”
“Tonight, I wanted you two to come out to my estate. I wanted you to spend the night,” I tell him as he shakes his head.
“No, that will not be happening.”
“I’m having my lawyer meet us out there. He’s from Sebastien, where my home is located. That’s why I set it up out there. It’s necessary, Damien.”
“I know you want her. Okay? I know this. And I’m no fool. You think just because I am going to Mars and she isn’t that I should have no problem letting her go. Well, I do have a problem with it.”
“Look, I’m going to Mars too and I get your point. You want a companion while you’re here. The thing is, Gia’s smart. She can really be a help to the future of space travel. Let her use her brain, Damien. That’s all I’m asking.”
“You want to fuck her!” he shouts.
I stop and think about what the hell to say to that. It’s true, after all.
“She’s very committed to you,” is all I can come up with.
“I can’t trust you to be professional with her,” he says and gives me a look that tells me, I might not win this battle.
“I will. I promised her that. I want to see her use that talented brain of hers. I swear that I want that more than anything else from her.” I look straight into his eyes, so he knows I’m telling him the truth.
“I tell you what, Ryker, we will go out to your place for the night. If I can see you treat her professionally, I will reconsider letting her consult for you. If you flirt at all, I will not allow her to work with you.”
Standing up as his words have pissed me off, I say, “Allow her? You don’t own her!”
“I pretty much do. Can you act professional or not?”
“I can and will. We will all ride out to my place together. I’ve hired a limo for the trip,” I tell him and watch his eyes glow.
“You best have your own woman, Ryker. Mine is no longer an option.”
“Don’t worry about me. Now, would you like to go and see the prototype that was tested?”
He gets up and follows me out. I have to admit, I’ve never felt more tested than he’s making me feel
. And I pretty much hate it!
GIA
The car ride out to Ryker’s is deathly quiet. I sit next to Damien while Ryker sits across from us and looks everywhere but at me. “So, you said you have guests at your home, Ryker?” I ask as he’s been way too quiet with me.
“Yes,” is his one word response.
I knew Damien was going to tell him that I couldn’t take the consulting job, as we fought like cats and dogs over that last night when he caught me coming into our suite. But I didn’t know he’d be this mad at me over that.
“Are they nice people?” I ask, just to get him to talk to me more.
“I hope so,” he says. “I don’t know them.”
“Then why did you invite them?” I ask as he’s very nervous and acting so oddly.
“I have my reasons,” he says then opens the mini fridge and pulls out a beer. “Beer, buddy?” He holds one out to Damien, who shakes his head.
Ryker close the fridge without offering me a thing. “I’d like one, Ryker,” I tell him.
He looks at Damien, instead of me but he doesn’t say a word. Damien nods and Ryker hands a beer to him and he hands it to me. I take it and get the feeling Damien told Ryker some shit about leaving me alone.
Sitting back, and taking a long drink of the beer as I look out the window at the sun setting, I wonder if I like that he did that or hate it.
It’s bad enough he refused to let me take the job but now he’s gone and made Ryker afraid to speak to me. So, I push it further and keep talking to Ryker. “Were you mad when Damien told you I couldn’t work for you?”
“Hell no!” he says, way too fast.
“Really?” I ask as I know he had to be. “I told him you’d be mad.”
“Nope. He’s the boss, Gia. He’s your boss.” He takes a long drink and I know it’s to keep him from saying what he really feels.
I look at him and keep looking at him and find there’s no way he’ll look at me. Then I find Damien’s hand on my leg. “Leave him alone, Gia.”
I shut my mouth and want to knock the shit out of them both. “This is stupid,” I say then down my beer. “Can I have another, Ryker?”
“If Damien says you can,” he tells me as he finishes his too and holds out his hand for my empty bottle. “I’ll throw that away for you.”
I lean forward and hand him the empty bottle and graze his fingers as I do. “Can I have another, Damien?”
“No,” he says and I sit back with a pout on my lips. I catch Ryker barely glimpsing at me and he doesn’t get himself another beer, either.
Solidarity, I suppose.
The rest of the ride is made in silence as Damien texts someone and Ryker stares out the window and I stare at him. I will find out what happened between them. If it kills us all, I will find out!
The smell of the ocean comes through the air conditioning vents and I find we’re turning and following the shoreline. After a while, we make another turn and go into a gate. When we pull up, the outside is all lit up and palm trees blow in the constant breeze. “Here we are,” Ryker says as we pull to a stop in front of the large house.
It’s nowhere near as huge as the mansion Damien and his family live in but it’s big. Another limo is in the driveway and I find myself feeling a little anxious about meeting more new people.
With the way, Damien is acting, I pray no handsome, charming men are here. He seems to hate that kind of man!
“You guys can get out first,” Ryker says and Damien hurries to get out, holding my hand, and keeping me close to him, for a change.
He must really be worried about Ryker stealing me away. I wonder what the hell they said to each other this morning.
A happy dog comes running around the corner with his tail wagging and looking happy. “Toby!” Ryker says as he holds out his arms for the large Yellow Lab.
The dog runs right past him, coming straight to me. I smile as I pet him. “Are you named, Toby? Hello, big boy.” I scratch behind his ears as he licks me and paws at me for more of my attention.
I can see the exchange of looks between Damien and Ryker then Ryker says, “Come on, boy. Leave that nice lady alone.”
“I don’t mind. I love dogs. It’s been forever since I’ve seen the one I had to leave behind when I moved away with Damien. Lady’s a Brittany Spaniel and I missed her so much at first.”
The front door opens and I look at it to find a white dog with brown spots hauling ass out of it. “She heard your voice, sweetie.”
I look up and see my mother standing in Ryker’s front door. “Mom?” the Brittany Spaniel jumps up and down at my feet. “Lady?”
“Surprise,” Ryker says, “I flew your whole family in for the weekend.”
“What the fuck?” Damien says.
“Oh, my God!” I scream as I pick up my dog and run to hug my mother. Tears are stinging my eyes as I collide with her and hug her and the dog. “I can’t believe you did this, Ryker! Thank you!”
I can hear Damien as he says, “Yeah, thanks a lot, Ryker.” Sarcasm isn’t a thing a Russian man hides well.
Damien can be pissed but I’m not going to let that get in the way of enjoying the weekend with my family and my dog!
My twin sisters come out and join our hug then I hear my daddy say, “Leave a few kisses and hugs for your old man, sissy.”
Mom and my sisters, Fancy and Nancy, let me go and I put Lady down and go to my dad. He takes me in his arms and I find myself bawling like a baby as he hugs me and whispers in my ear, “It’s been too long, string bean.”
And I know it has. Two years is far too long to stay away from those you love and who love you too. When Daddy lets me go, I find myself turning around and through the tears I see two hulking men standing behind me.
I move so quick, he doesn’t have a chance to get away from me. Throwing my arms around Ryker, I say, “Thank you, Ryker. You’ve made me happier than I’ve been in forever!”
I kiss his cheek and then I see Damien’s face as I wipe away my tears. And I know there will be hell to pay for this.
Part 3 - The Abandoned
RYKER
Gia’s lit up like a firework, yet Damien still doesn’t pay a bit of attention to her as she sits between her mother and father, stroking the spaniel on her lap. She’s smiling bigger than I’ve seen her smile. Damien frowns as he taps at his cell, ignoring everyone.
“Apollo Engineering, huh?” Gia’s sister, Nancy, asks me. “Are you planning on going to Mars, Ryker?”
After placing my dirty martini on the coffee table that separates the twin burgundy leather sofas in the main living area, I answer her, “I will be going to Mars. I wanted to be on the first mission my company sends but lately I’ve been thinking about taking a later mission. Your sister has spoken to me about being of use from Earth. I’m beginning to see I might be of more use on the ground, in the beginning anyway.”
Nancy’s identical twin sister, Fancy, takes over the conversation that Damien has taken a sudden interest in. He’s put his phone down and everything! “Our little sister has influenced the likes of you, Ryker?” Fancy asks me with a surprised expression.
“She has. She’s a genius, you know,” I tell her and find Damien getting up from the chair at the far end of the large room, to take a martini off the tray full of them my cook delivered to us while we wait for dinner to be prepared.
“Genius is a bit more than she is. I have six, verified geniuses I employ at Markov Global,” Damien says as he sits on the opposite end of the sofa I’m sitting on.
Fancy and Nancy have taken places on the bar stools at the bar to one side of the living area. With a quick glance across the table, I notice Gia is completely in another world with her dog and parents. She’s paying no attention to us what so ever.
“Would you two consider yourselves to be in competition to see who can get to Mars first?” Nancy asks then sips her martini, peering over the edge of the glass at me.
With a nod in Damien’s direction, I say,
“We all are competitive. You have to be in the space industry. But we’re helping one another as well.”
“And I thought we’d be on Mars around the same time,” Damien says then looks at me. “I don’t see why you’d let a female change your mind about being on the first mission. The first people there will be the hierarchy of the new world, Ryker. I thought you and I were like-minded in that respect. Don’t you want to secure a position of power on the planet?”
“I do,” I tell him and find him seeming a bit prickly. “But I think I’d like to be sure the missions have everything they need to build on Mars too. I may have more work to do here before I leave Earth.”
His icy eyes level in mine. “Are you sure it’s merely for the space travelers you are thinking about and not a woman who will be left behind?”
“It’s only because I want it to work on Mars. I don’t want the missions to fail because of a lack of support from Earth. And on that topic, I’d like to add that Gia would make an excellent scientist to have on the ground. Since you have no intention of using her gifts at your company, you should allow her to join mine,” I say and watch Damien’s face go red.
“This is not the time to discuss business, Ryker. Gia can do as she pleases, once I leave. But she will be a wealthy woman and working won’t be a thing she needs to do,” Damien says and I see Nancy looking worried.
“Ryker, I’m sure our sister will do what she feels is right,” Nancy says as she looks from me to Damien. “Damien makes sure we’re all taken care of, after all. He’s a generous man who loves our sister with all his heart. He’d take her with him to Mars if she’d go.”
“Oh,” I say as I look at Damien. “You didn’t tell them about their faulty DNA?”
“Faulty?” Fancy asks.
And with the word, DNA, said, Gia and her parents look up and join the discussion. “There’s no need to talk about that,” Gia says then puts the dog down and smooths out her black skirt, a nervous habit I can see she has now. “Ryker, you’re playing dirty. You need to stop.”
Rockstar Untamed: A Single Dad Virgin Romance Page 106