Page 70 of Easy Reunion
“I’ll have the mods ready for your review in about an hour.”
Clasping my hand, he pulls me toward his office. “Then ring me when they’re ready.”
“Will do, Ry. Nice to meet you, Ms. Kennedy,” Vince says courteously.
Just before the door slams behind me, I call over my shoulder, “Kelsey.” Once we’re out of the sight of prying eyes, I turn on Ry. “What the hell has gone on today? I come by to see you—something I might add you said I could do at any time—and your boss accosts me.”
Ry’s brows lower at that. But before he can speak, I forge on. “Then I find everyone on your team is part of some joke that I’m the butt of.” My voice breaks at the end, and I realize where this comes from.
Hurt, not anger. Damnit.
The regret that crosses Ry’s face takes down my temper a few notches. “Will you let me explain?” he asks quietly. He slides his hand up my arm to my elbow to guide me to a sitting area in his large office. Now that I’ve run out of steam, my eyes widen as I take in the view of the shipyard. “Wow,” I whisper.
“Explanations first, tour second.” Tugging me down so I’m sitting sideways on his lap, Ry begins. “Eli was waiting in my office this morning to give me crap about a meeting I missed.”
“Oh, God, Ry. And I gave him hell in the elevator.” Guilt surges through me.
“You did?” His smile is sinful. “Good. He deserved it because the meeting was a hoax.”
“Wait. What? Why would he do that?”
“Because when Lisa went out with Cade last night, they ran into Eli’s sisters.” Ry leans back, and I slide naturally against his chest. “The Boudreaux family—and in my personal opinion, Eli in particular—is a bunch of gossipy—”
“If you end that sentence with women, I’m leaving right now,” I warn him.
“I was going to say busybodies. Is that better?” He’s amused.
I shrug. “Acceptable. Continue.”
“So, Eli told Vince to let him know when I was coming up. He made it to my office minutes before I did to give me a hard time. The reality is, he just wanted to see how last night went.” Blowing out a breath, he admits, “I told you, Eli’s heard me talk about you a long time.”
“Should I go apologize?” I ask quietly, thinking about the way I told off Ry’s boss and friend.
“If Eli were pissed, he wouldn’t have been smiling when he got off that elevator, love. And trust me, very few things make that man smile.”
“Oh.” Then I get frustrated all over again. “I was pissed on your behalf, Ry. I told him—”
“Tell me later,” Ry whispers. Soon sparkling blue eyes are all I can see as he becomes everything in my vision.
Who am I kidding—he’s just become my everything.
