Ryker Fox

Ryker's Office

What the fuck just happened? Did she just quit? I half expected her to come walking back through the door and say she was kidding.

I wasn't used to women speaking to me like that, to say the least. Especially not one I worked for. Normally, I didn't even have to try. Women just threw themselves at me.

I was confused, bewildered..and hard as a rock. Goddamnit..why did that turn me on so much? It's good for her she left the room, or I would have pushed her against the wall and fucked her until her attitude changed.

As I was still trying to gather my thoughts, at least the thoughts I could muster up given my current...situation..Dexter  came storming in the room like the penthouse was on fire.

"Quick! Tell me what you've done, so I can start on damage control." He sounded panicked.

I just blinked at him, my mouth still hung open in shock.

"Hello?!" He urged, impatiently. "Tell me what happened, now!"  He gestered for me to hurry up.

My irritation from his tone caused me to come down back to earth, just enough to respond. "Come again?" I cocked one eyebrow at him, waiting for him to remember who the fuck he was talking to.

He cleared his throat and his gaze shifted around the room. "I just..want to know what happened." He said it in a softer tone.

"What makes you so sure something happened?" I tried to act casual, but we both knew that he knew better than that.

He looked and responded as if the question I had just asked him was stupid. "Well..the young lady stormed out of here without saying a word, for one thing." He placed his hands on his hips, glaring at me in disapproval before continuing. "I knew something like this would happen. That's why I tried to stop it before it started." He rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed with me.

"The young lady and I had a slight misunderstanding." I left it at that and brushed myself off, hoping he would drop the subject. Of course, he didn't.

"'Misunderstanding'?!" He said it with airquotes. "I'm going to need you to give me just a bit more than that, Ryker." I let out a defeated sigh, accepting that he was not going to drop it.

"It is with deep regret that I, Ryker Fox..must inform you that I unintentionally offended one Miss Emma 'awesome tits' Riley. No further details are available at this time. Back to you, Roger."  I said it in my best news anchor voice, settling on my default defensive mechanism; sarcasm.

He grunted loudly and stomped his foot, much like a bratty kid at the grocery store waiting for their mother to stop chit-chatting with the cashier lady.

I couldn't help but laugh at him, which only frustrated him further.

"You have to be shitting me!" He threw his hands up, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Not at all."  I continued, sarcasm still intact. "I'm quite serious actually. She really does have awesome tits." I wiggled my eyebrows at him, and for a second I thought he was going to drop-kick me. Which made me laugh at the image of him actually trying it.

"I...I don't even know what to say to you, Ryker." He said rubbing his forehead, with his eyes squinted shut. "It's like you want to be sued for sexual harrassment." He shook his head as if talking about a lost cause.

I rolled my eyes, beginning to get annoyed again. "Relax. I did not sexually harrass her, and I did not tell her she had awesome tits."  He looked at me skeptical.

"Well, I mean..not in so many words." I continued. "But she said she still questioned my motives." Which would have bothered me more than it did, if she wasn't right.

Dexter  gasped dramatically, and I narrowed my eyes at his attempt to be sarcastic. "She did?! Really?! How could she ever think you had anything other than business on your mind?" He covered his dropped open mouth with his hand, as if he was stunned.

"It doesn't matter." I stated quickly, quite frankly done with his shit.

He scoffed and seemed as though he was questioning my sanity. "Why the hell would you say that?!"

I grinned, which made him gulp. He knew me well enough to know what that grin meant.

"Because, my stressed out friend" I continued, as his eyes widened. "You're going to find her and bring her back here."

Emma Riley

Outside Ryker Fox's Building

After I left his office and stormed out of his penthouse, reality of what just happened began to sink in. I quit. I actually just fucking quit a VIP account.

Now, my boss Carl  was going to fire me for sure. I've worked at Sunshine Cleaning  steadily the past four years. I just threw my not-so-glamorous, but stable job away.

Oh, God. How am I going to pay my share of the rent?! What if I can't find another job right away?! I'm already broke enough as it is!

Tears began to form my eyes as I started to feel like I had made a mistake. I hadn't really thought it through, too concentrated on not letting myself become Ryker Fox's  latest conquest.

Sure, he was flirting.  Was he a little inappropriate? Definitely. But it wasn't as if he had walked up and grabbed my ass or something. Maybe I should have just shut the hell up and did the job I came there to do.

I stood out front of the large skyscraper by myself, trying not to ugly cry in public. I watched dozens of people going by, all living their lives..and all in a great big hurry. I closed my eyes and rubbed my neck with my hands in frustration.

It was only a matter of time before Carl  found out what just happened and called to tell me what a moron I was and he never wanted to see my face again.

I dug through my purse and pulled out my cell phone. I decided to call Gina. I needed someone to vent to, even though she's probably going to think I've lost my mind.

After ringing a few times, she finally picked up. "Shouldn't you be hard at work, young lady?" Her tone was teasing and playful.

I let out a sigh, hoping I could get this out without crying. "I quit, Gina. I actually fucking quit. I'm an idiot."  My voice cracked, as I embarrassingly failing already.

She sounded as if she dropped the phone as I heard her gasp. "What?! What the hell happened!?" She demanded as she picked the phone back up.

"Ryker Fox. That's what happened."  I couldn't hide the irritation in my voice as I pictured his smug grin, and something in her voice changed.

"He hit on you..didn't he?" There was a hint of excitement in her voice as she realized she had predicted right.

I rolled my eyes, even though I knew she couldn't see me. "Well I mean..kind of. Yeah." It all happened so fast, I was still uncertain if I had overreacted or not.

She seemed to struggle between her excitement and wanting to be sensitive, since I was obviously upset.

"So?! You have to tell me everything! Ryker Freaking Fox! Holy shit!" Her excitement seemed to win over sensitivity.

I let out an exhausted sigh as I went over with her everything that happened. From the not-so-friendly assistant, to the private 'tour', to Ryker Fox's obvious flirting all the way to my outburst and dramatic exit.

She remained quiet until the end, apart from the occasional scoffs. I leaned against the wall behind me as I felt more exhausted than I did before I retold the story.

"So..that's it. I can pretty much consider myself unemployed now."  I said when she didn't say anything. The thought of not having a job once again making me feel emotional.

She paused for a long moment before speaking. "So, you obviously lied to me." Her tone was monotone and I stood myself up from the wall, startled by the statement.

"Huh?!" I said, confused. That seemed to be happening a lot this morning. My mind splattered in a thousand pieces as I tried to think of what I possibly lied about.

"You lied." She repeated in an accusing tone. "You told me you weren't on crack." I threw my hands up in frustration as I realized she was being sarcastic.

"Oh my God, Gina. I'm not in the mood for jokes." I really wasn't. This had been one of the most..well, interesting mornings I have had in a long time. By long time, I mean ever.

"Who's joking? Crack is the most logical explanation for this." She didn't sound like she was joking anymore. 

Fine, I'll take the bait. "How do you figure?" This should be interesting.

"Why else would you quit?" She said it like it should have been obvious already.

"Do you not understand what I said, Gina?!" I snapped back, sounding defensive even to me.

"Oh, I understood you perfectly. Let's recap, shall we?" She sounded like she was about to let me have it, and I instantly regretted asking.

"That man is a gorgeous, sexy, daddy of a man-snack." She said it loudly and proudly. I rolled my eyes, even though she was lowkey one-hundred percent correct about that.

"He's also talented, rich, and famous." She continued. "You have a chance to work for him, in his penthouse no less. You storm off and quit, why?!" I could almost hear her rolling her eyes, her tone full of dissapproval.

"Because he said you were beautiful. You poor thing, the audacity of that man! Let's boycott his movies! Stay strong honey, okay?" The sarcasm was obvious in her voice, and she single-handedly managed to make me feel like an idiot. As if I needed help.

I wish there was a way to punch someone over the phone. Or at the very least send them some sort of electrical shock. Not enough to seriously hurt them, but just enough to remind them who the fuck they're talking to.

"You've made your point, okay? I just..I didn't want to be one of those women." I shook my head, feeling awkward and embarrassed.

"What does that mean?" She sounded confused, like I was making no sense. Who knows anymore. Maybe I wasn't.

"One of those women." I continued, pressing my lips together. "That let a guy use them because he's hot or rich and then--" I stopped mid-sentence, not sure if I wanted to go there.

"And then..what?" She urged me to continue, her approach more soft and cautious. She probably could hear the sadness in my voice.

"Then end up making themselves look like a dumb slut and get thrown out on our ass." I said it very plainly, though it was only the tip of the iceberg from what I was afraid of.

Apart from my ex-boyfriend, I wasn't really all that experienced. Maybe a few dates here and there, but nothing really worth mentioning apart from my long-term relationship with Sam. So I obviously wasn't really that much of a 'hook-up' girl, either.

I've most definitely  never been with anyone like Ryker Fox. Not even close. I'm not even..I'm not even sure I could handle being with someone so sexy and charming. Even if it was just a one-time hook up.

My fear is..I'm sure he does this kind of thing all the time. To him, it wouldn't be a big deal. Why would it? But to me..hooking up with him would be a very big deal.

My self-esteem is still suffering from my break-up with Sam. I can't handle any kind of rejection. Not right now.

"I guess I just..still don't see why that meant you had to quit." Gina said, breaking my train of thought.

"Did he..I don't know..make you feel like you had to hook-up with him in order to keep your job?" There was a protective edge in her voice.

"No! No, it wasn't anything like that." I sighed, as I more and more felt like I overreacted the more I talked about it.

"Well.." she said, like it was an unfinished statement.

"Couldn't you have just lied and said you had a boyfriend or something? I mean if you're actually crazy enough to not be interested." She said it like it was impossible.

I was quiet for a moment, while I thought of how to respond. I didn't really know how to say this, without Gina making me instantly regretting saying anything in the first place.

I finally decided she was going to grill me either way, so why not be honest? "I don't trust myself with him." I said it as a blank statement, as I tried not to let the silence on the other end drive me insane.

I was absolutely right by the way. I already regretted saying it, and she hadn't even responded yet.

"Oh, really?" I could hear the smile in her voice, her playful and teasing tone returned. I flushed, and was grateful she couldn't see me right now.

"I'm not blind, Gina. I can obviously see the man is..attractive."  I said it defensively. Even though 'attractive'  didn't feel like strong enough of a word to describe what Ryker Fox  was.

"Not to mention."  I continued. "If you take away his sheer  obnoxiousness, he's actually kind of sort of...charming."  Yep. I was definitely glad this was a phone conversation and not in person. I could already tell I had the skintone of a tomato.

"Ohhhh I get it." She sounded excited, as she prepared to tease me. "You likeeeeed him." Her voice was singsong.

"Gina!" I protested. "I never once said I 'likedddd' him."  I said it in the most mocking tone I could manage.

"You didn't say you didn't like him either."  She countered.

"All I'm saying is.." I paused. What am  I saying? Oh, yeah.

"I'm not..one-hundred percent confident in my ability to keep turning him down." I hated admitting it, but that was the truth. I'm still human after all, he's sexy and well..it's been a while.

"So? Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't turn him down. Ride Ryker like a goddamn bull at the county fair." She said it in a teasing tone, though I knew she was serious. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Why do I feel like you're always trying to turn me into a hoe?" I was only half teasing. "You're a horrible influence, Gina."

As I waited for her to stop laughing, my eyes shifted to my left of me to see a man in an expensive looking suit running towards me.

As he got closer, I recognized him as Ryker Fox's assistant, Dexter. The one that didn't seem to approve of me much.

"Oh, thank God you're still here!" He said, out of breath. What does the hell does he want?

"Gina, I'm going to have to call you back." I hung up the phone without giving her a chance to respond.

When I hung up the phone and shoved it into my purse I glared at him, most definitely not in the mood for anymore shit. He looked down at his shoes, avoiding eye contact.

"Can I help you?" I said, not bothering trying to talk in my professional voice. I was no longer being paid to be nice.

I rolled my eyes when he didn't respond. "Let me guess, you wanted to search through my bag? Make sure the cleaning lady didn't steal anything?!"  I placed my hands on my hips and fixated on him, daring him to look back.

Cover your eyes, Jesus. Because I swear if that's what he's after, I will literally punch him in the throat right now.

"No, no! Nothing like that!" He insisted, throwing his hands up defensively. He let out a deep breath, still a little winded from running.

"I've been sent to come get you and bring you back up to the Penthouse, Miss Riley." I blinked in surprise. His tone was professional, but very insistent, like I wasn't being given a choice. Which made my eyes narrow at him.

"Mr. Fox wishes to speak with you, he'd like to clear up this..misunderstanding." he continued, pausing as though he didn't really believe it was a misunderstanding.

The feisty part in me wanted to tell him and his sexy ass pervert of a boss to go straight to hell. The logical part of me, the part that had no desire to be unemployed..knew if there was a way to fix this situation I should take it.

Truth be told, I couldn't help but feel like I overreacted..just a tad. My sass does tend to run away from me sometimes. My ex used to complain about my attitude constantly.

"I..would like to clear up this misunderstanding too..if possible, Mr. Solan."  I said, my professional tone returning.

"Well, thank God." He wiped his forehead in relief, looking like his morning was going about as good as mine. I can imagine Ryker Fox  keeps his life very interesting.

I couldn't help but laugh, and he looked at me in confusion. "I'm sorry."  I said, still laughing. "You're just like a visual aid of the way that I feel."

He looked even more confused as he tilted his head to one side. "Oh yeah? How do I look?" He asked, seeming genuinely curious where I was going with this.

"Like you need a vacation. Yesterday. You're a lot better dressed than I expected my visual aid to be though. I'm pretty sure your suit cost more than my car."  I giggled, a smile started to form on his face. Possibly the first real smile I had seen from him all morning.

"Yes, well.." he cleared his throat as he seemed to remember the purpose of why he came down here.

"Let's go find Mr. Fox, shall we?" He motioned his hand out for me to lead the way, and I took a deep breath..nervous to see Ryker Fox again.

Ryker Fox

Meanwhile
In Ryker's Penthouse

I sat in my favorite spot on the balcony, but without a cigar this time. This time I had a rather large cup of black coffee in my hand

As I waited for Dexter  to return with Miss Awesome Tits, I tried to think of what I was going to say exactly.

First of all, I should probably stop calling her Miss  Awesome Tits. That might be a good place to start. I rolled my eyes at myself as I took another drink of my coffee. Even I was judging me at this point.

Dexter  was right in his concerns, annoyingly so. I should probably give my dick a break with all the decision making and give my brain a turn at the wheel.

I just wish that didn't sound so boring to me. A lot of women would call me a dog. But I take that as a compliment. Hello? Dog's are awesome.

Almost as awesome as Miss Riley's awesome ti--okay..stop it, Ryker. I hit my forehead repeatedly, trying to will pure thoughts into my brain.

Think, Ryker. Think of puppies in a basket, a kitten..chasing a butterfly. Newborn babies..no. Don't think of newborn born babies, that reminds me of breastfeeding which makes me think of--

I slammed my cup of coffee on the table to the left of me which made some of it spill. I covered my face with my hands and rested my elbows on both my knees in frustration.

Goddamnit. I was so close to thinking pure thoughts. Man, I have issues.

It is my believe that everything has a price. Fame and money is no expection. Perhaps this was my price.

Cursed with the sexual stamina of a fucking jackrabbit, but enough brains to know better.

Screw it. Maybe I should just fuck this girl from the inside out and get it out of my system so I can move on?

Then again that's probably my dick trying to make my decisions for me again. I swear to God, it works harder than I do. Easy buddy, this doesn't concern you.

Just then I heard the sliding door open and I took a deep breath. There was no more time to think of what to say now.

Emma Riley

Dexter led me to his balcony, and I took note this was the second time he's been out here just this morning. This must be his favorite spot of the house.

The balcony was very inviting, with oversized, comfy looking chairs surrounded by a huge firepit made out of brick.

He sat in one of the chairs, looking slightly stressed out. There was an end table in between him and another matching chair with a large cup of coffee that seemed to have splashed on the table and one put out cigar in an otherwise cleaned out ashtray.

Maybe it was just the cleaning lady  in me, but I got a serious urge to clean up the coffee mess that I wasn't even sure he had noticed.

Ryker  looked up as we approached, his eyes immedietly shifting to me. His face was more cautious, hesitant, and less cocky than before. It made me wonder if he actually was sorry.

That being said, I couldn't help but notice he seemed to seriously struggle keeping his eyes on my face.

"Miss Riley has returned, and is willing to have a civil conversation. " Dexter  spoke with professionalism, but there was a slight edge in his voice as he shot Ryker  a dirty look..as if silently warning him to behave.

Ryker  rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, resting his left leg on his right knee, keeping his hands folded on his lap.

"Thank you, Dex. I'd like to speak with her alone, please." He was addressing Dexter  but his blue-gray eyes were glued onto me.

Part of me wanted to tell him if he looked at me any harder I was going to start charging him admission, but now was not the time for my sass.

I bit my bottom lip, willing myself to stay quiet until spoken to. This gesture seemed to be somehow amusing to him and he smirked at me.

Dexter  didn't say another word and before I knew it, he disappeared on the other side of the sliding doors that led into the penthouse, closing the door behind him.

Now..I was alone with Ryker Fox  once more. His eyes, still burning into mine. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. In more ways than one.

"Miss Riley." He gestured to the empty chair on the other side of the table, his tone very welcoming. "Please sit down and make yourself comfortable."

Ryker Fox

She eyed me suspiciously as she seemed to be suspicious of my friendliness. But she didn't say a word as she approached the empty chair beside me.

For the record, I one-hundred percent looked at her ass when she walked by and I'm not the least bit sorry for it. I think I should get some kind of kudos for not smacking it.

She sat down and immedietely started searching through her purse for something. I watched her as if she was about to do a magic trick, slightly puzzled.

Women's purses always fascinate me. That might sound strange, but they literally carry their whole lives in there. It's like a bottomless pit full of secrets.

She pulled out a thing of cleaning wipes and without saying a word began to clean up my coffee mess on the table, making sure to wipe down the edges of my cup as well.

She discarded the dirty wipe and pulled another one out to wipe down her own hands before setting her purse by her feet.

She inhaled and exhaled, as if cleaning the mess was a huge relief. She looked over at me to notice I was staring, and her cheeks flushed again. She smiled shyly and tucked her loose strand of hair behind her hair as she waited for me to say something.

I couldn't help but smile back at her. I couldn't really explain it but there was something about her that was very endearing.

"So.." she started when I didn't speak first. "I..feel as though I might have overreacted. Just a bit." She said the sentence in a rush, and looked as if it had left a bad taste in her mouth. I bit my bottom lip, trying not to laugh.

"Please don't misunderstand me. I meant what I said about staying professional, and I think we can both agree that you weren't." She continued. I nodded and picked up my coffee, not being able to argue with that.

Which reminded me. "I'm sorry, I just realized I didn't offer you any coffee. Would you like a cup?" She seemed surprised by the thoughtful gesture, but shook her head.

"No t-thank you, I'm fine."  Her signature lip bite that drove me so crazy left me with the impression she was just trying to be polite.

"No, I insist. It's the very least I can do for being a bit of  an ass earlier. Think of  it as sort of a peace offering, Miss Riley." I flashed a friendly smile in her direction as I got up and started heading inside towards the kitchen before she could protest.

I looked back at her just in time to see I had somehow made her blush again. Which I liked, just a little too much.

Emma Riley

He returned with a large cup of coffee and a container of creamer in his hands. He set down the coffee on the table that separated our chairs and motioned to the creamer before setting it down, too.

"I forgot to ask how you take your coffee, so I brought this just in case." He sat himself back down and flashed another one of those dipple-defined smiles at me.

I had to say, I was very surprised. He was actually being kind of..sweet? I wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. The last thing I needed was to start genuinely enjoying his company. I'll end up jumping his bones for sure.

"Now.." he continued, looking me over. His deep voice was inviting and calm, yet playful. "What do you say we get to know each other better?"

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