Silent, unforgiving and strikingly gorgeous, Rylan Parker is a cold-hearted businessman. An intimidating CEO, perfectly fitted in tailored suits and with a soft side reserved only for his little daughter.
He can't afford to fall for anyone and defin...
Ten minutes into the drive and we still hadn't exchanged a word and I wouldn't have traded this silence for the world. I prefer him looking pretty and his mouth shut but rarely get what I want.
"So, you have been narrating this to your family and everyone else, I was after you like a love sick puppy." His tone told me that he was anything but impressed with the story. Well, I wasn't aiming to do that either.
"Nice, isn't it?" I kept my eyes trained outside the window.
"With all that shit you made up about me, flowers and the sunset proposal, I'm surprised that Grams believed you."
"What would you prefer I say? We signed an agreement and you slid the engagement ring across the office desk? I bet it would sound like you!" I snapped. He could have just told them about our 'meet cute' himself instead of pushing it to me.
Frankly, it wasn't just his remarks that had annoyed me. It was Rose. I saw her hanging on to every lie I told. She was genuinely happy that Rylan had found 'love' after whatever shit had gone down in his life in the past. After I lied to my parents and my friends I thought I couldn't have felt guiltier but the guilt just kept adding on.
"You know right how much this fake marriage is going to hurt everyone?" He glanced my way once before his eyes returned to the road.
"Well, the marriage isn't going to be a fake one. " I gritted my teeth at his lame reply.
"You very well know what I mean. Did you not notice how much faith your grandmother has in this relationship!? Imagine how upset she will be when all this ends!" I brusquely spoke mainly because I felt bad about lying to these people who wanted only the best for us.
"What do you want me to do?" I detected amusement in his voice. "Make this a lifelong arrangement?" Yeah, that's totally what I want! To get stuck with this obnoxious jerk for the rest of my life.
"You had a year right? Maybe you could have actually found someone, tried knowing that person and got married for real. You could have actually found love, you know?"
He stopped the car before turning towards me.
"I didn't want to find love. I would very much like my life to go back to being normal as soon as possible." His brown orbs bore into mine, devoid of any trace of previous humor.
"Get out." He spoke in the much familiar cold tone. We were in front of my house. I sighed before looking at him once again.
"I don't want to see your face outside of the office as long as possible." I said. He tilted his head slightly to the left causing my gaze to fall on his sharp jawline.
"Depends on your definition of long. Until this weekend long enough for you?" I pressed my lips in a thin line before unbuckling the seat belt. As soon as I stepped out of the Maserati, it was zooming out.
Inhaling the smell of the fresh hot brew, I sighed. I had missed my coffee this morning and it was my first cup of the day. Working without it felt like a punishment.
Sitting through these interviews were tough, especially when most of the candidates aren't fully aware of what the job asks for.
I put the cup down when there was a knock. Seconds later a guy walked in. "I think you left this in the conference room." He said holding up my pen.
I had seen him in Rylan's cabin a number of times. He was the assistant.
I took the pen from his outstretched hand. "Thank you for bringing it to me."
"It's nothing." He paused for a second before introducing himself. "I'm Steven." He flashed a boyish grin. Tall, brawny, thin rimmed glasses. He was good looking in a cute way.
"Elena." I responded.
"I'll let you get back to work."
He stopped in his way and turned back. "Hey, after work some of us are going for drinks today. Would you like to join?" He looked kinda nervous asking that.
"She won't. She'll be working late." Another voice, rich and distinctly low, razored in.
Rylan had the ability to walk in and dominate a space simply with his presence. It was in the way he exuded confidence.
He pinned Steven down with a hard glare.
"Mr. Parker—"
"Are you done with the presentation?" Rylan slightly tilted his head to the left while staring at him. The fact that I found that simple movement extremely attractive was a hint for me to enroll in therapy.
If Steven looked nervous before, he was shaking now. That was understandable. Rylan could be as intimidating as it gets. "I thought you needed it by tomorrow."
"Now I need it by today. I'd advise you to get back to work instead of idle chit chat." His each word was laced with relatively more disdain, like he was hardly tolerating the guy's presence here.
"I'll be on it." That poor guy was out of the door in a blink.
I folded my arms against my chest. "What makes you think you can make decisions for me?" I hadn't decided if I wanted to go but he just made it all irrelevant by deciding for me.
The hazel eyes zeroed in on me and that's how I realized that Rylan hadn't spared me a single glance throughout his entire conversation with Steven.
"Why aren't you wearing your ring?" His words were crisp and pointed like knowing the whereabouts of that expensive piece of jewelry was the most important thing to him at the moment.
Putting two and two together made me think…….was he jealous? Did Rylan tyrannize Steven because he heard him inviting me for drinks when I wasn't wearing the ring?
It made perfect sense until it didn't.
Rylan had no reason to be jealous. We weren't actually dating and the times we weren't actually aiming for each other's throats was rare.
"I kept it in my bag." I don't know why I felt compelled to give an answer.
"That doesn't answer my question." Could I maybe snap his neck or something without having to serve jail time? I was itching to.
I sighed. "Because I'm not happy about this whole situation I'm in and wearing the ring makes everything feel all the more real." The ring on my finger made me feel the weight of all my lies.
I hadn't noticed when he had covered the distance between us, one step away from crowding my space.
"Living in denial won't help, Love." He was close enough for me to smell the aftershave on him. "It is real. All of it. We are getting married."
I don't know what irked me more, the talk of the inevitable future or the fact that he held the power to unsettle me with a 'Love'.
That single word made butterflies flutter in my stomach and the idea alone made me want to run for the hills.
"Will you put it on yourself or do you need my help again?" I realized he was talking about the ring.
I leveled him with a glare before walking back to my desk. My privacy had been reduced to a joke lately. The last thing I needed was for him to go through my bag.
"Happy?" I held up my hand for him to see the ring on it. "Now can I get back to my work?"
He left without so much as a word.
Fucking infuriating!
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