Page 21 of Over My Dead Boss
“Hi there, I am Olivia. Mr. Cyrus’s assistant, recently promoted to friend,” I answer with a smile at the sight of what appears to be Phoenix’s lawyer. He is almost as tall and nearly as handsome as Phoenix. Luckily, he seems a lot more likeable, which makes me believe in the universe having some sense of justice after all.
“Oh, soyou’reOlivia,” he says with a giant smile and big eyes directed at Phoenix.
“You know me?” I ask, stunned, and look around the office to see his receptionist eyeing me from behind her desk.
“Well, of course. I am not only his lawyer, I am also his best friend. I know everything about him.” He shakes my hand, puts his arms around me and leads me into his office, Phoenix following in tow. “You can call me Ryker. Ryker Grayson. Can I get you anything to drink, Olivia?”
Still a little surprised that he does actually have friends with whom he even shares things, I look at Phoenix, who is rolling his eyes while rubbing out some tension in his neck. I guess constantly being annoyed will do that to you. “Thank you, I am fine but, may I say, everything you have heard about me is slender and lies and, if necessary, I’d like to hire you to take reven… I mean to defend myself in a court of law.”
Ryker snorts a little before plucking at his shirt, which clings to his chest, to cool down. “I’m afraid that’d be a conflict of interest, but I might make an exception for you.” He begs me to sit down on his couch and takes a seat opposite of me in a rather expensive looking leather arm chair. Phoenix watches us, still standing. “So, what brings you by, buddy? Wanted me to meet your girlfriend?”
“Wow, wow, wow,” I chime in, waving my hand. “Stop right there, otherwise I’ll have to check if there are other lawyers in this town to take care of you, too.”
Ryker grins brashly. “Are we still talking about lawyers, or are we at contract killers now?”
“The thing we talked about on the phone this morning. Is it possible?” Phoenix cuts us off and Ryker’s demeanor changes from one second to the other, his smile like blown away.
“It might be possible, but the odds are even less in your favor than they were for Katniss, and, as your lawyer, I have to strongly advice you against doing it. So will your financial advisor and your shaman if you have one of those. And, most importantly, as your friend…”
“Do it.”
“No.” Ryker gets up to make his point. “You’d be risking everything. It would be ludicrous.”
“Ry, if you can’t do it, that’s fine. I’ll find another law firm to take care of it.”
I really want to know what they’re talking about, but figure this is one of those times where it’s actually better to just shut my mouth. Their disagreement has come to a standstill, and neither seems willing to budge. Tension lays in the air.
12
After what feels like a short eternity, and I wanna say more sexual tension than I would have expected, though that might just be my imagination, Ryker relents. “Fine,” he says, defeated. “I can prepare everything needed, but that’ll take some time. We can’t move forward with it for at least another week, probably two.”
Phoenix looks almost relieved and shortly after, both of them hug to say goodbye.
“It was nice meeting you, Olivia. You are indeed as charming as he said you were.”
I almost trip over my own two feet when I hear his words. Quickly, Phoenix pushes me out the door and before I can respond or even say goodbye, he slams the door shut. My cheeks are burning up as he ushers me out the door and back to the car.
Does he really think I am charming?Was that some kind of joke?
“Sooo,” I tease with a much bigger smile than I’d like to admit having because of this. “You think—”
Before I get to finish, Phoenix has turned on the music again and we’re driving off while I keep staring at him. Visibly uncomfortable, he shifts in his seat and refuses to look my way. We drive down the main road and make it all the way out of town, near the narrow path that leads to his estate, until I realize I must look like the biggest idiot alive.
It doesn’t matter what he thinks. It was probably just a joke from Ryker to tease his friend. I know I enjoy teasing Mr. Killjoy. And even if it was true. It would change absolutely nothing.
I stop staring at my driver (and possible admirer) and look back at the road when a loud bang makes me flinch, and the car swerve. Phoenix hits the breaks and we come to a stop just before going off the road, possibly crashing into the trees that line the street. I am holding my breath, looking around to confirm that Phoenix and Dog are alright.
“Great, just what’s been missing from this day.” The angry mountain of muscles punches the steering wheel and gets out to check the tire. I join him, still a little shaky on my legs. “Fuck,” he huffs as he bends down and discovers something lodged in the rubber. “Guess I’ll call AAA.” His jaw clenches and I can sense the growing annoyance. “It’ll take a while until they get here. If you want, you can take Dog and walk home already. It’s a little further down the road and then all the way up the hill. She knows the way.”
“So do I,” I say and give him a warm smile. “I’ve stalked you here before, remember? I don’t think we’ll need AAA though. It’s just a tire. Let’s put the emergency wheel on and we’ll be home in 15 minutes.”
Phoenix opens his mouth, obviously looking for words, unable to find the right ones. “It’s ok. That’s why I have a membership. They can come and deal with it.”
I inspect his face thoroughly and have a creeping suspicion that he’s hiding something. “You don’t know how to change a tire, do you?” I ask and worry I might have hit a sensitive spot. He doesn’t answer, a flush creeping across his cheeks, so, without much ado, I continue, “Come on. I’ll show you.” We walk over to the trunk, open it and let Dog out, then get all the tools and the wheel. “I only know because my dad made sure I would always be self-sufficient in case… he wouldn’t be around anymore.” I push the thought of my dad away, hand Phoenix the car jack and show him what to do. “He didn’t succeed entirely. I still can’t wink properly, but maybe that was part of his plan.” I try to wink at Phoenix and probably look like I got a bug stuck in my eye.
Phoenix laughs a little as he pumps the jack to lift the car. “My dad was never around much. He always made sure I had enough money to take care of things, I guess, but he didn’t teach me things like this, and until just now, I had no need to actually learn it.”
“That sucks. I am sorry about him not being around.” I put my hand on his shoulder. Well, on part of his shoulder, not even covering half of it. “I’ll show you how to throw a football later, son.”
