Page 73 of Selfless

“Well, I don’t know who the hell you are.”

“Ryder,” Ashlyn snaps. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Coats,” she says, turning to him.

“It’s quite all right, Ashlyn.” He says her name with a smile on his face, and I fist my hands down by my side. Turning to face her, as if I’m not standing here, he gives her a bright smile. “I hope to hear from you soon, Ashlyn.” Then he looks at me. “We would love to have you in Seattle.” He walks off.

I whirl around on her. “What the fuck does he mean by Seattle?”

ASHLYN

Shit! How did he find me? “Ryder …” His name comes out a little rough, so I clear my throat. “I can explain.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard you say that one before,” he snaps.

I let out a long breath. “How did you find me?”

“Really? I catch you at a hotel with another man, and you ask how I found you?” he asks with wide eyes.

My mouth falls open. “Don’t go there, Ryder. You know damn well I wouldn’t do that,” I snap.

He takes a step back and runs a hand through his hair as he lets out a long breath. “I know,” he says softly. “I just …” He trails off. “What’s going on, babe?” he asks confused.

I lick my lips as I look around, and Milton catches my eye by Ryder’s Escalade. “Come on. We both need to get back to work,” I say, taking his hand.

“Thomas said you were talking the day off.”

So that’s how he found out. “Well, I’m not. I’ll explain on the way.” I don’t miss the fact that his hand is shaking in mine. I know something else is going on other than finding me here.

Once in the Escalade, I turn to face him. “We had a meeting at work on Monday, and your father was wrong.”

He snorts. “About so many things.”

I ignore that because I don’t know what he’s talking about. “Talia’s has been sold.”

He starts shaking his head. “No—”

“Yes,” I interrupt him. “When I questioned the details, she said she could not disclose them. Why didn’t you tell me that you bought them?”

“No!” he says, shifting in his seat. “I am the one dealing with the Anderson file, and it hasn’t even gone to auction yet. The date is still out a month …”

“No, babe.” I shake my head. “I’m not a hundred percent sure when the date is set for, but it’s done with.”

“Who bought it?” he growls.

“They wouldn’t tell us,” I say, lowering my head.

“How long do you have?” he demands.

“The doors close after today.”

His hand softly grabs my chin, and he lifts my head to where I have to look up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks, his brows pulling together.

“I wanted to. But you came home and had just found out about Maggie …” He closes his eyes and sighs. “Ever since then, things have been nothing short of chaos.” We both know that he hasn’t been in the best of moods since he took over the company and found out about his little sister. Me losing my job was the last thing he needed to worry about.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, looking back at me. “But that doesn’t explain why that guy mentioned Seattle.”

I take my hand from his. “He runs the Mason Gallery here in town, and Thomas was able to get a job there. So he got me an interview. But they aren’t hiring anyone else. But they do have a spot open in their sister gallery in Seattle—”

“Absolutely not!” he interrupts me.

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