Page 8 of Selfless

I nod. “It will only take a moment,” I assure her.

“Of course,” she says. “Let’s talk in my office.”

CHAPTER TWO

RYDER

It’s been four days since I saw Ashlyn and Bradley in her apartment, and I have to say the pain is starting to ease up. Now, I’m just pissed! At her. I’m pissed she invades my thoughts! That she came into my life. Then just left me hanging. She was everything I didn’t know I wanted!

The worst part is that I’m not able to drown myself in booze. I’ve refused to stay at my apartment; that one I’m not budging on. I don’t want to see her or Bradley. Who knows if he is still here visiting her. I mean, for all I know, she went back to Seattle with him. I don’t know. I’m not speaking to my sister or Jaycent, so I am out of the Ashlyn loop. And that’s how I plan on keeping it.

The shitty part is that I actually have to work. My father walked into my office this morning and threw a file on my desk before ordering me to get my ass up ‘cause our plane was leaving in twenty.

Now I stand in a Philadelphia high rise, talking to a group of men who want to partner with me and my dad. And the sad part is I couldn’t care how much money they offer us. I’d much rather be at a local Hooters getting drunk off cheap beer and eating wings while getting a good show. My father was right—my work is going to shit.

My father’s phone rings, and he answers it. “What is it, Kelly?” he asks.

I look up at him and frown. Why is my assistant calling him?

“Did she say what was wrong?” he asks.

“Ryder …?” I turn to face the man who said my name. “Are you listening?” he asks, holding his hands out wide.

I hold up my finger. “Give me one second, gentlemen,” I say to the others as I take a step toward my dad.

“Okay. I’ll call her. Thank you, Kelly,” he says and hangs up.

“What’s going on?” I ask him, but he ignores me as he scrolls through his phone and pulls up a new number and then places his phone back to his ear. It has to be my sister. He wouldn’t care this much about our mother.

I stay close to him to see what all I can hear.

“Becca, is everything okay?” he asks into his phone, confirming I was right. “Ryder’s assistant just called me and told me that you showed up at the office crying.”

I frown. Crying? What could possibly be going on with her? I haven’t spoken to Becca since she stormed into my office, and now I feel bad for ignoring her. What is she going through that would make her cry?

“What’s wrong?” he asks her again after a long pause. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he demands, and I pull my shoulders back. Who could possibly hurt her … Conner! Is he back? I pulled security off their apartment because the girls wanted me to. What if her hurt her? What if he hurt Ashlyn? I fist my hands.

“Dad …?”

“Mr. O’Kane?” James, the man who called this meeting, interrupts me looking at both of us with a cold expression. “I only have an hour,” he reminds us.

“It’ll only be a second,” I lie, not knowing what to tell him. I want to know what the fuck is going on!

“What? No, Becca,” my father says.

“Mr. O’Kane!” James snaps at me. I turn to tell him to fuck off when my father speaks.

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” Then he exits the conference room.

I turn around, narrowing my eyes at him. He just ruined what little chance I had to hear what was going on.

He looks down at his watch. “I have a plane to catch in …”

“An hour. I know!” I say, interrupting him with a nod. I gesture to the chairs. “Then let’s get down to it,” I growl and plop down.

I took over the meeting while my father stood outside the conference room and talked to my sister. I watched him as I spoke to the men. I saw him eventually hang up, and then he made another phone call. He seemed more pissed when he returned than when he walked out to talk to my sister.

The fact that I closed the deal should have made him happier, but it didn’t help.

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