Page 84 of Honest With You

“I am looking forward to getting to know all of you. Keep an eye on your emails. I’ll be scheduling sit downs soon.”

I release a breath as soon as everyone disperses and I hitch my Birkin higher up my arm. I spot my dad in his personal conference room, next to his office. He’s got a meeting in there with a high profile actor that Vanessa has a huge crush on. He sees me and his eyes widen in surprise. He raises a hand, telling me to give him five minutes. I nod my head and make a move to speak to his secretary, who has risen from her seat to open my office door to the left of my dad’s.

I murmur a thank you to Felicity, who simply ducks her head with a smile before going back to her desk. I know better than to bother her. She’s been with our company for a few decades now and she doesn’t like to engage in conversation unless necessary.

She’s the reason our ship hasn’t sunk yet, the true glue holding this office together.

Just as I’m about to cross the threshold into my office, a voice calling my name booms across the floor and I whirl around to find my best friend, Ryder, jogging to me.

“AVA!”

I feel my eyes widen, remembering where we are, and judging from the curious looks we’re already getting from staff on the floor, I need to hold this reunion in private. I hold the door open for him to come into my office and follow him in. He grins at me sheepishly and I shake my head in amusement. As always with Ryder, my face breaks out in a beaming smile. I can’t help it. This man has a heart of gold and it radiates in every pore.

I hadn’t seen him since he and Vanessa joined me in London last year for Christmas, when I was stuck doing post-production damage control. I’m genuinely excited to be in the same city as both of my best friends now.

“My bad, Ave. I forgot where we were for a sec.”

I roll my eyes playfully, setting my stuff down on my desk before stepping into his arms. I’m rewarded with a gentle squeeze and I duck my head out from under his arm before he can ruffle my hair. It’s my first day in our flagship office so I need to look as professional as I can get.

Leaning on the edge of my desk, I fold my arms and regard him with a raise of my eyebrow, “So…?”

“So?” He smirks, mimicking my pose on the table adjacent to mine as he drops his camera bag on the floor next to his feet.

“Whereisthe little diva?”

“Oh.” His face smooths into a neutral expression and I feel like my suspicions are correct. Whatever he’s thinking, he’s doing his best to suppress it.

“She’s just finishing up an interview down on the fourth floor. She should be up after.”

Pursing my lips in thought, I debate whether or not to voice all the questions circling in my head, but I don’t want to risk stirring up any issues between us.

He beats me to a decision as his jaw tenses. “What? What’s that face for?”

Under the pretense of smoothing out the sleeveless red blouse I paired with my black pantsuit and red-soled heels, I try to buy some time as I contemplate how to approach this before Reese makes an appearance.

“Nothing. I just–”

Ryder raises an eyebrow at me, his arms folding on his chest.

I roll my eyes and push off my desk. I stand a few feet away, my hands in my pockets as I work up the nerve to ask my best friend, who once confessed to liking me, if he has fallen for my sister.

“Are you– Ah, fuck it, I’m just going to come out and say it. What’s going on with you and Ri?”

His eyes widen a fraction before he turns his face from mine. He shoves off the table and comes to a stop right in front of me.

“Nothing is going on, Ava.” His eyes slide away from mine and I can tell by the tense way he holds himself that he’s keeping something from me. “I’m just her photographer.”

I dip my head, forcing him to meet my gaze, and when he does there’s a library of emotions there. I’ve never seen Ryder so conflicted before, like he’s fighting an invisible battle brought upon by a single question. There’s so much emotion in his brown eyes that it's difficult to decipher what’s holding him back.

“Ry?” My fingers go up to the corner of his lips, turning his frown up.

He grins and wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. He squeezes me and sways me a bit, my hands still on his face.

“I don’t want to talk about your sister. Right now, you’re home again. I fucking missed you, Ava Marie. It hasn’t been the same here without you.”

“I missed–”

I’m cut off when the door swings open. Ryder and I jump apart like we’ve been caught doing something wrong.

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