Page 15 of Locked Down

Vic straightened in her chair and reached to turn on her computer.

“I saw you arrive with him.”She cocked an eyebrow.

“He offered me a lift. I guess he doesn’t live too far from me.”

She looked wistful.“Wish he’d offer me a lift. Does he drive a nice car?”

“A Porsche Panamera. But he’s going to start driving with my uncle so that’s probably the last time I’ll get a ride.”

“Uh-huh. I wouldn’t be too sure about that. The man came and picked you up. You better be careful, or you’ll be dating Hottie McHotterson and your uncle won’t like that one bit.”Tracy lowered her voice in a pretty good imitation of her uncle.“One should not fraternize with colleagues. Makes for a difficult workplace environment. See that you do not date at work.”

Vic fought and lost the effort to hold back her smile. She rolled her eyes.“I don’t think I have to worry. I think he picked me up because he found out last night that my uncle makes me take public transport when I’m working late.”

Now it was Tracy’s turn to roll her eyes.“Your uncle is such a class act.”

Vic would normally jump to his defense but honestly, she just didn’t have it in her today. The elevator signal dinged, and the doors opened. Her uncle strode out with his two security guards.

“Joyce,”he said as he approached her desk,“please reschedule my two o’clock. I’m having lunch with Cal Wallingford and I’m sure it will run long.”

“Of course, Senator Davis,”she said as she stood with her hands clasped under her bosom.“There’s a slight problem with your office.”She managed to get the words out just as her uncle put his hand on the doorknob of his office.

“Problem?”

She glared at Ryker.“Mr. Sterling moved your office furniture around without checking with me first.”

Ryker, who’d been silent up until now, moved away from the wall where he’d been leaning.“As I said yesterday, I would be making some changes. After doing some preliminary work at home, I came in late last night and assessed the situation. Your desk was too close to the window, making you an easy target. I had it moved to a more appropriate area of the room.”

Her uncle opened the office door and disappeared inside. Joyce followed him in.

Ryker glanced over and his gaze met Vic’s. He winked at her and then entered the office.

“Holy shit is he hot. And so cool at the same time.”Tracy disappeared into her own cubicle with a sigh.

Vic had to agree with her. Ryker was one hot and cool customer, all at the same time. She was glad he was on their side. God knows what it would be like if he were working against them. She shuddered at the thought.

* * *

The day stretched on as only a Friday could. She drank a large coffee in the late afternoon to stay awake but now it was going on six. Most of the staff had already left for the day. She was just finishing up a summary her uncle had asked her to write on a proposed bill. He was meeting some other senators on the weekend and wanted to sound knowledgeable. It was the type of thing she did but hated. Finally, she ran it through spell check and pronounced it done. She attached it to an email to her uncle and then, heaving a relieved breath, she shut down her computer.

Ryker was now sitting at his new desk across from Joyce’s, fully engrossed in whatever was on his screen. Joyce, on the other hand, looked like she’d been run over by a truck. She was also staring at her screen, but Vic was pretty sure she wasn’t seeing anything but red. Her cheeks had pink blotches and if Vic had to guess, Joyce’s knuckles were white. Her lips had all but disappeared, she had them mashed together so tightly. Lines radiating around her mouth looked as though carved from granite.

Vic actually felt sympathy for Joyce at this moment. Sure, she was a bitch more often than not, but she was an older woman in a young person’s world. Always trying to keep up and be on top of things. Ryker had come in and challenged her for control of her domain and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. That was a hard nut to swallow.

Vic got up from her seat and started towards the elevator. Tracy had left a while ago to get ready for a date. It would be so nice to go out on a real date. She hadn’t been on one of those in months. It had taken her about two seconds to realize the last guy she went out with was only dating her to get to her uncle. Uncle Austin was getting to be a big damn deal. The more attention he got, the more offers she got. None of them cared about her at all. It was Washington. People wanted to get as close to the power brokers as they could using any means necessary.

Ryker on the other hand… Going out with him would be a date she’d enjoy. He was close to her uncle due to the nature of his work, so she didn’t have to worry about that aspect of things. Of course, he probably wouldn’t ask her out because of the relationship with her uncle, and even if he did, she couldn’t go. Her uncle would have a fit. Still, it was nice to dream.

An alert on her phone dinged. She glanced at the screen as she waited for the elevator to arrive, then let out a long sigh. It was like Austin had a sixth sense when she was trying to leave. He wanted her in his office, immediately. She turned and tried not to trudge into the office.“Unc—Senator, what is it you need?”

His desk was still positioned against the left wall but much closer to the back of the office. Maintenance had moved the seating area over in front of the window. It didn’t look half bad. It looked better than before, but she didn't doubt that her uncle wasn’t happy about not being allowed to sit close to the window.

Ryker was now seated in the chair farthest from her uncle. She had no idea when he’d entered the office. She must’ve been daydreaming by the elevator and missed it. Two of her uncle’s security detail, Tony and Melvin, were leaning against the right wall and Joyce was seated in front of the desk.

Her uncle looked up.“There’s a cocktail party I need you to attend tonight. It’s another charity event. I have to be elsewhere, so I need you to go in my stead.”He glanced at her. The black pencil skirt and a white wrap blouse that worked so well for work did not work for a cocktail party. His expression said he wasn’t pleased.“Do you have anything you can change into?”

She bit her tongue. He was going to yell at her.“No. I used my spare dress last week and it’s at the dry cleaners. I haven’t brought anything in to replace it yet.”

Her uncle glared at her.“How many times have we discussed always being prepared?”

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