Rumors: Emerson & Ryder

by Rachael Brownell

  “Well…” she begins, her voice trailing off.

  “Ang?” I ask after a few moments of silence.

  “How would you feel about Ryder’s house?”

  “You’re joking, right?”

  “No. Think about it. He has plenty of space, an immaculate kitchen, and Ryder could be in cahoots with us, occupying Tyler while we set up.”

  “And I’m guessing you want me to ask him.”

  “I can ask him if you want. I just figured since you’ll see him tomorrow morning, ya know, that he might be more receptive.”

  I have enough to ask him in the morning. I need a day off this week to get my things from Ian’s apartment. I’ve put it off long enough. Plus, I just want it to be over with. The longer I leave my things there, the more hope I give him that I’m coming back eventually.

  Now that Ryder knows we broke up, I feel better about asking him. Less leery of having to answer a shit ton of questions. What else could he ask me that he hasn’t already?

  “I planned to ask him for time off tomorrow, to move my things out of Ian’s. Can you ask him?”

  Poking her head around the shower curtain, Angela’s beaming smile catches me off guard. Her soapy hair is dripping onto the tiles and she continues to stare at me.

  “What?” I ask, exasperated at her stare.

  “You’re finally doing it. I’m proud of you.”

  Turning away from her, I stare at her in the mirror before responding. “It needs to get done eventually. Better now than later on.”

  She disappears back behind the curtain and begins sharing all her ideas for the party while I stare at my reflection in the mirror.

  Costume party. Halloween themed since it’s only a few days after his birthday. The food will follow the theme as well, with appetizers like a pumpkin shaped cheese ball, stuffed mushroom eyeballs, hot pepper mummies and so many others. She goes on until she’s finished showering and dressed.

  “What about drinks? Is it bring your own?” I ask, scribbling down all the ideas I can remember.

  “Nah. We’ll come up with something. That’s what Google’s for, right? Type in a few keywords and it’ll pop up all sorts of cool Halloween themed drinks.”

  We spend most of the afternoon planning, making more lists and working out all the details. By midafternoon, Angela is so excited she wants to go shopping. Images of her in the Halloween store scare me, but I agree, and two hours later, we’re home with more decorations than one person will ever need.

  “Maybe we should have asked Ryder first,” I say as we attempt to organize everything she just purchased.

  “Oh, yeah. I should probably call him.”

  Grabbing her phone, Angela disappears into her bedroom to call my boss. I have the urge to stand outside her door and attempt to listen to their conversation. I know they’re not talking about me, or at least I hope not, so I force myself to stay seated on the living room floor sorting decorations into piles.

  Ten minutes later, Angela appears with a huge smile on her face.

  “I’m guessing he said yes.”

  “Yep. We need to bring all this stuff over to his place so let’s pack it all up,” she announces as she begins shoving my mostly organized piles into random bags.

  “Wait, what? Why are we going over there?”

  “He said we could store everything over there. We’ll go shopping later this week and bring the food to his house and then we can prep everything there while we set up on Saturday.”

  Thinking quickly, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “What about girls’ night tonight?”

  Shaking her head at me, Angela grins. “It’s five o’clock, Em. We’ll be back here in an hour and we can start drinking. Girls’ night in, okay?”

  Not okay, but it’s going to have to be.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Pulling up to Ryder’s house, I’m blown away by its size and beauty. I shouldn’t have expected any less, especially after we turned into his gated neighborhood. His house is small in comparison to some of the others, but it’s perfectly situated at the end of the cul-de-sac.

  “Stop fidgeting,” Angela says, shutting off the engine. “It’s not like he’s going to whisk you away to his bedroom and have his way with you. Well, unless you ask nicely.”

  “Stop it,” I scold as Ryder’s front door opens and my sexy boss appears, sans shirt, his shorts riding low on his hips. “Fuck me,” I whisper.

  “All you have to do is ask,” Angela teases as she opens her door, moving swiftly before I have a chance to smack her.

  Following her lead, I begin gathering bags from the trunk. When I turn to follow Angela, I find my path blocked.

  “How’s your head?” Ryder asks, taking the bags from my hand.

  “What?”

  “Your headache?”

  “Oh, yeah. Slept it off. I’m good.” I’m fumbling over every word as I stare at Ryder's bare chest.

  I’ve seen him without a shirt on before, and yes, I enjoyed the view then, but this is different. We’re not at the office. No one is around except Angela and she seems to have disappeared. This feels dangerous and dirty, and all I want is to reach out and trace the lines of his peck and maybe his abs. Or the top of his waistband.

  “Good. Come on in. I’ll show you around.”

  “Why?”

  Shaking my head, I finally force myself to look up and make eye contact.

  “Why what?”

  “Why do you need to show me around?”

  “Don’t you want to know where the kitchen is? Maybe the bathroom? If you and Angela are going to be setting up here, you should probably know your way around the house don't you think?”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay.”

  God, I’m an idiot. The first thought that popped into my head was his bedroom and that’s the one place he doesn’t show me on the tour. There are three closed doors down the same hallway as the bathroom and I’m assuming one of those leads to his bedroom. I wonder what it looks like. What color are the walls? His bedding?

  I imagine he has a grand bedroom. A king-sized bed situated in the middle.

  Ryder and Angela talk about the party, making a guest list and nailing down a timeline. Ryder is going to take Tyler to a late lunch and then golfing as long as the weather cooperates. Hunter will meet up with them for lunch and then make an excuse to skip out on golf, heading here to help us with whatever we need.

  The guests will begin arriving at five o’clock, and Ryder will bring Tyler back here for beers around six thirty. He’s going to call me and pretend to talk about business when they’re about ten minutes away so we have time to turn all the lights down. If all goes as planned, we’ll be surprising the shit out of Tyler when he walks through the front door.

  As we’re about to leave, Ryder comes running out of his house, waving at Angela to stop. I watch as he makes his way to my window, bending down so we’re eye to eye, and Angela lowers it for him.

  “Here. You’ll need this,” he replies, handing me a key.

  “What’s this for?”

  “So you can get in on Saturday. I’ll text you the alarm code.”

  Spanking the hood of the car, Ryder walks up the driveway, toward his front door.. He may not be looking at me but I watch him go and enjoy every moment of it. He put a shirt on while he was showing me around but all that managed to do was cause me to daydream about him taking it off again.

  Shit! Did I just say spanked? I meant tapped. He tapped the hood of the car.

  My mind is in the gutter and we haven’t even left his neighborhood. I should probably stop seeing him outside of work. I can only imagine the other places my mind will begin to travel if I don’t.

  As promised, Angela pours me a rum and coke as soon as we get home. We spend the rest of our evening watching chick flicks and eating pizza and popcorn. Girls’ night used to be like this back in college. Before we could afford to go out. When the biggest decision we had to make was whether we wanted to include anyone
else.

  It’s exactly what I needed, or at least that’s what I thought.

  It gave me too much time to think. Instead of watching the movie, I retreated deep into my thoughts. Those thoughts started out innocent, with images of Ryder, shirtless, running through my mind. They took a quick left turn after a while to the rumors that had been going around.

  Rumors that I’m sure are being spread far and wide.

  Rumors that I wouldn’t mind making true. Not right now, but someday.

  Rumors that make me look like a slut.

  Rumors that make it look like I’m trying to sleep my way to the top instead of earning a position.

  How do they even come up with these things? Why do people even care? It’s not like we’ve given them anything to talk about. At least, I haven’t. Not that it matters to them. If they need something or someone to talk about, they’ll find a topic of discussion, true or false.

  Realizing I wasn’t really paying attention, Angela turned the movie off and forced me to talk. I was finally open and honest with her, confessing how attracted I am to Ryder but also how much I use to despise him most days. He’s shown two completely different sides of himself to me. It depends on the day, his mood, and a variety of other factors to determine which Ryder I’ll be working for each day.

  It’s been a while since I’ve seen the nasty side of him. His mood has greatly improved over the last week. This morning, as I stand outside his office, I wonder which side of him I’ll see today. His lawyer left ten minutes ago. Their meeting ran thirty minutes longer than expected and if I want to speak to him before his next meeting, I need to find the courage to knock on his door.

  “Come in,” he calls from behind the thick, wooden door. I can’t get a read on his mood by the tone of his voice.

  Popping only my head in, I smile when Ryder looks up and makes eyes contact. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  “Sure. Shut the door behind you,” he says when I leave the door open far enough for anyone walking by to see that nothing is going on between the two of us. Fail.

  After the paintball incident last week, I’m trying to be more conscious of things like this. That and I’m nervous being alone with him. Even if he’s fully clothed.

  Taking a seat across from him, I clear my throat and begin. “I have a favor to ask. I need an afternoon off. Any day works. Your schedule tomorrow is light if that’s okay with you.”

  “Why?”

  “I have a personal matter that I need to take care of,” I say, looking past him and out the window. I don’t want to break down in front of him. I need to stay strong, especially while I’m here.

  “Personal matter? Can you please elaborate,” he replies, the sounds of his chair squeaking as he leans back.

  “I’d rather not if that’s okay.”

  “I’d like to know what’s so important that you feel the need to take time off. Especially since you’ve only been here for a few weeks.”

  Closing my eyes, I refocus my attention on my boss. He’s leaning back casually, his hands clutched behind his head, causing his baby-blue shirt to stretch as much as it can across his chest. The chest that I couldn’t stop staring at yesterday.

  His eyes are smiling at me, but he holds a serious stare. Does this mean he cares? Is he prodding because he wants to know, or is he serious about needing it to be important? What if I had an appointment with my gynecologist? Would that be important enough for him? Not that I would ever tell him that was why I needed a day off.

  With all the rumors around here, I opt to tell him the truth. Maybe someone is listening on the other side of the door, maybe not. Either way, I can’t worry about that right now.

  “I need to move my things out of my ex’s apartment.”

  Nodding, Ryder doesn’t say anything. Instead, he reaches into a drawer and pulls out a business card, handing it to me.

  “What’s this?”

  “He’s a friend. We do all the advertising for their company. Call, ask for Paul, and tell him you work for me. He owes me a favor. They’ll have you packed up and moved out in less than an hour.”

  “Thank you, but I can handle it myself. I’m not taking much.”

  “Are you planning on going there alone?”

  “That’s why I need the afternoon off.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “He doesn’t know when I’m coming for my things, and I doubt he would miss work just in case I was coming by.”

  Why am I explaining myself to him? He knows I don’t want to talk about this with him. I was clear about that the other night. It’s my personal life. This has no bearing on my ability to work any other day except tomorrow and I’m trying really hard to keep our relationship professional. Especially at the office.

  “That’s why I think it’s a good idea for someone to go with you. What about Angela?”

  “She has to work as well. It’s really not a big deal. I can get everything in my car. All the furniture is his. The biggest thing I have there is my coffee maker. Ian had everything by the time I moved in, so I didn’t bring much with me. We put all my stuff in storage.”

  Ryder pushes out of his chair, causing it to roll back into the wall with a bang. I’m sure someone heard that and the rumor mill is now going wild with what “might” be happening in here between us.

  Kneeling in front of me, Ryder tips my chin so that I’m facing him. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go with you to get your things tomorrow at lunch if you promise me that when you do finally get settled in a new place, you’ll let Paul move you.”

  “Um…”

  Why does he even care? I mean, it’s a nice gesture, but there’s no need for him to have someone move me. I’m not his responsibility. I’m not even his friend. I’m his employee, and this feels like it’s crossing a line. The same line that’s getting thinner and thinner as the days go by.

  Not to mention that he’s wearing my favorite aftershave again. The moment I get a whiff of it, goosebumps appear on my skin. Then he touches my chin and my heart starts to pound in my chest.

  I haven’t been touched that gently in a long time. Too long. This is exactly what I meant when I told Ian I deserved better. If only this was a real thing and not my boss being nice to me. Because in all honesty, that’s all this really can or should be.

  Even after admitting my feelings to Angela last night, I promised myself that I wouldn’t act on them. Not only am I not looking to get involved with anyone right now, but I shouldn’t get involved with him. It’s dangerous territory to say the least.

  “Promise me, Emerson. I want to make sure you’re safe. Especially if you are going to be living alone.”

  “Sure. Thanks,” I say, letting out a shaky breath.

  “Good,” he declares, standing abruptly and returning to his chair. “We’ll head over there after my morning meeting and grab lunch on the way back.”

  Nodding, I leave Ryder’s office without another word. There’s nothing else to say. Just like Ian, Ryder is making decisions for me. How did I let that happen? Do I appear helpless? Weak? Or am I overreacting?

  They’re different, though. Ian wanted to turn me into someone I’m not. He wanted complete control of my life. All aspects of it. He wanted to mold me into someone I wasn’t, someone that fit his needs better.

  Ryder seems to want to help, in any way I’ll let him. It’s nice, but he still didn’t allow me to make the decision on my own. I can’t let that happen again. He may be my boss, but he’s not the boss of me outside these walls.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Ready to go?” Ryder asks, interrupting my thoughts.

  For the second time since our disaster of a dinner, Ian texted me. Five minutes ago. Asking when I was coming home. Apparently, he thinks this is a joke, that I’m not serious. It’s both infuriating and unbelievable. Moving my things out will hopefully give him a clue as to how serious I am about us being over.

  “Yeah,” I say, reaching for my purse.

&nb
sp; Let’s get this over with. I’m ready to move on. This is the first step.

  The drive to the apartment is quiet aside from the directions I give to Ryder. He insisted on driving. I couldn’t figure out why until I remembered his truck. I didn’t peg him for a truck guy, but I have to admit, he looks sexy in the driver’s seat. His black suit is a complete contradiction of the mud stains that cover most of the back end and tailgate.

  As we pull into the parking lot, the first thing I notice is Ian’s car parked in his assigned spot. Why is he here? I didn’t plan for this. I’m not prepared to face him.

  “We have company,” I say to Ryder, pointing to Ian’s red convertible. He bought it after getting his first paycheck. He was so proud. Now I can’t help but think about how stupid he looks driving it.

  “I thought you said he wouldn’t be here.”

  “I didn’t think he would. It’s the middle of the day. He never misses work. ‘It’s not good business’ according to him,” I say. I’m sure my use of air quote causes me to look immature, but I don’t care. Ian is bringing out the worst in me, and I’ll be happy once I’m finally done dealing with him.

  “Do you want me to wait out here? Because I’d rather not.”

  Ian already thinks Ryder and I are sleeping together. He thinks I left because of Ryder. If I bring him inside, things might get ugly. If I don’t, Ryder will sit out here and worry about me. I don’t want to do that to him either. Plus, I have no idea how long this is going to take me now that Ian is home.

  “How about you wait out in the hall and I leave the door cracked,” I suggest. Ryder gives me a questioning look, so I buck up and tell him the shortened version of why we broke up. He doesn’t need all the details, only the ones that pertain to him right now.

  “He thinks you left him for me?” he asks, genuinely surprised.

  “Apparently he was told by someone that we’re sleeping together.”

  Laughing, Ryder immediately pulls himself together and apologizes.

  “I’m not laughing because I think it’s funny. I’m laughing because the damn rumors that go around Dixon are so farfetched I can’t believe people believe them. And they reached his office? That’s even more impressive. I guarantee I know who’s behind them. Do you want me to say something?”