Page 14 of Playing Pretend with Love and Billions

When noon rolls around, I’ve replied to most of the emails, which leaves the next hour for more to roll in before I get back from lunch. Instead of heading to the cafeteria with Millie, I choose to stay at my desk and eat a snack from my junk drawer. If I am correct about Ryan, he is probably waiting for me down there and I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of being able to boss me around.

He seems the dominant type and he needs to realize I’m not the submissive one. Regardless of his position in this company, he has no right to demand anything from me.

The hour comes to an end in what seems like forever before Millie comes strolling back through the customer service wing. She fans herself as she gets closer and perches her ass at the edge of my desk.

“You wouldn’t believe who was down there. Best eye candy I’ve had in a while.”

I smirk, knowing I was right about him waiting for me. “And who was that?”

She gets this Cheshire Cat-like smile and gently pushes my shoulder. “Something tells me you know exactly who I’m talking about, considering he walked right up to me and asked where you were.”

“He’ll get over it.”

Her laugh is obnoxious and causes a few of the other employees walking in to glance at us with narrowed expressions. It’s no secret in this place that Millie is the loudest out of all of us, but nobody would dare to open their mouths to her for fear that her crazy would come out.

“You’re playing with fire,” she says with a wink. “I kinda dig it, babe.”

I playfully shove her from my desk and steer her toward her own, then get back to work with only one thing on my mind. Those bulging biceps as he rested his arms behind his head. God, I wonder how many times a day he has to work out to achieve a set like that?

There will be no finding out though. As much as I love it here, there’s a high chance that I’ll head back to Willow Peaks, and the last thing I need is to be tied down to another man in this city.

I shake away the thoughts of Ryan and get back to my emails, praying that I have enough to keep me distracted the rest of the day.

* * *

After dealing with one very angry customer, I’m ready for the day to be over with. Millie left about thirty minutes ago once her shift ended. I would’ve been gone with her, except for the fact that the customer I was emailing had every question I could think of for me to answer. The last question was my final straw before I recommended that if she had any other questions that needed to be answered, she should contact my boss.

Once my computer shuts down, I grab my purse and head out to the elevator, only to walk straight into Ryan. It’s like the world figured out we had a connection and wants it to happen immediately because everywhere I turn at this rate, there the sexy fucker is.

He gives me a small nod before pressing the button for the garage without bothering to ask where I’m headed. After I hit the button for the lobby, it doesn’t take long for the car to stop as the doors slide open.

Before I can make the few steps to walk out, Ryan closes the doors on me and presses the garage button a second time.

“Hey, asshole, that was my stop!”

He chuckles. “No, it wasn’t.”

My face heats up as my blood starts to boil with anger. I’m so sick of this man's entitled ass. When the doors open, he walks ahead of me, but stops right at the entrance of the elevator so that when the doors try to close they’ll open right back up. I huff in defeat because I’d rather deal with a car ride from him than miss my plush mattress any longer.

As soon as his headlights shine after he unlocks the car, I laugh aloud without even trying to hide it. He raises an eyebrow, then crosses his arms over his chest and stops in the middle of the lot. “Something funny?”

“Out of everything you could’ve possibly gotten, you went with that?” I say while pointing at the monstrosity in front of us.

He shrugs. “It’s New York, best to be safe.”

The giant black truck has just as giant wheels that lift it further off the ground. If there was a car I expected him to have, it definitely wasn’t this. Unfortunately for my growing desire, he has to open my door, then help lift me into the passenger seat where he keeps his hand on my thigh for an extra second too long.

To make matters worse, the moment he slips into the driver’s seat, my panties are instantly soaked. The one thing I imagined that would get me going from him was his naked body towering over my own. Never did I think that something as simple as him sitting in a truck would send my body into overdrive.

I’m blatantly staring at him and when he finally turns his gaze to mine I have to force my mouth closed. And all this asshole does is laugh, which kills my mood immediately, but doesn’t stop my cheeks heating from embarrassment. He drives in silence while I point out where he needs to turn until he comes to a stop outside my apartment.

“Ava, wait,” he says quickly before running a hand through his long hair.

I take a moment to think about what it would be like to run my own fingers through it and my hand lifts in the air before I drop it back to my side. The only thing he’s getting from me is a side glance over my shoulder because I’m afraid I’ll do whatever he wants if I face him completely.

The sigh he lets out is one full of stress as he stares at the busy street ahead of us. Without looking at me, he asks, “Can we please have lunch tomorrow?”

Out of habit when I’m nervous, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and roll it a few times before letting out a sigh of my own. “One lunch. That’s it.”

---