WAY DOWN WE GO
ii. A DAY IN THE LIFE
❝TRUST ME.❞

IF THERE WAS ONE THING RIYA HATED MOST IN THE WORLD, it had to be Eddie's motorcycle. She loved her husband very very much, but she had a complete and utter fear of his bike. Her fear had started a few years back when Eddie had convinced her to try riding the motorcycle. At first, it had been all fun and games, but it ended badly when Riya had lost control of the bike and it had sped down the street. She ended up crashing into someone's parked car and breaking her left arm, but the worst part was that Eddie's bike had been totaled. However, Eddie had been more concerned with her injuries than the state of his bike. It had taken a couple of paychecks, but Riya had managed to replace his motorcycle with a brand new one. Now, Eddie took it almost everywhere he went.

Riya kept a death grip around Eddie's waist, but he didn't seem to mind or notice. He was humming along to the song that escaped the small speakers in the front. Eddie glanced toward the rear view mirrors as he stole a glance at his wife, noticing she had been suspiciously quiet for the whole ride. "You doing okay, Riya?"

"I'm fine," Riya mumbled, but it was difficult for Eddie to hear through the helmets the two of them wore. At one point, Eddie used to not wear a helmet at all ━━ despite all the tickets he got. She used to have a heart attack every time he went out without one, but eventually, he got to the point where he would always wear it.

Eddie chuckled. His laughter caused Riya to shake, but she did not loosen her grip on him. "Is that why you're choking the life out of me, darling?" He asked over the sound of the wind. It seemed that he had noticed how nervous she was, leading him to slow down as he drove down the street.

"We should have taken my car," Riya added.

She didn't exactly own a small car, considering it was a SUV. It was one of the only things she had gotten out of the divorce from her ex-husband. She had been gifted the car by her father when she had married him, but the car had been put in her and his name. It took some negotiating, but the lawyer (and Riya's closest friend), Anne Weying, had been able to get the car back. Still, she had lost a lot of things in the divorce ━━ including the respect of her parents. They still hadn't met Eddie, nor attempted any communication. It was silly, but the vehicle was one of the only tokens she had from her parents.

Riya cleared her throat. "Plus, with the car, we could have brought Athena with us. Everyone at the office loves her!"

Eddie laughed. "Except Grace."

"Oh, right, Grace," Riya muttered, rolling her eyes. Grace Fitzgerald was the big boss' assistant and she was the one everyone dealt with. She looked over the Eddie Brock Report and everything went through her. Riya had butted heads with Grace quite a bit over the years, but they still remained somewhat impartial toward one another. Of course, Riya would never want to spend more than two minutes alone with the woman, but she still treated her with respect. After all, Grace had worked hard for her position. "It's not my fault that Athena threw up on her, you know? I think Tom fed her some candy by accident and Grace was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

​​"I doubt it," Eddie retorted as he stole a glance back at Riya, but quickly returned his gaze back to the road. They were almost at work, a block or two to go. "Honestly, it's crazy how in tune you and that dog are, Riya. It's like she senses your emotions and your thoughts and then acts on them. I think Athena realized that you dislike Grace and decided to act upon it."

Riya smiled at the thought. She adored Athena with all her heart and she would always be thankful to Dr. Palmer for recommending a service dog. "Well, it's what she's trained to do, babe," Riya reminded as she rested her head against Eddie's back. It was a sunny day and the heat was causing Riya to grow tired, but she had to remind herself that it was still morning. "I miss her so much already."

"Just eight hours, darling," Eddie reassured. Riya wasn't too worried since their neighbor's teenage daughter, Courtney, walked Athena whenever Eddie or she couldn't. Usually, they were able to or they took Athena with them to work, but Courtney was available when they couldn't.

"Yeah, just eight hours."

━━ ━━ ━━

IT WAS ALMOST SEVEN HOURS LATER and Riya was absolutely exhausted. She wanted to go home and sleep for hours, but there was still so much work to do. The only sound that filled the room was the constant sound of typing and the occasional slurp of coffee. Thankfully, Eddie and Riya had been given their own private office that had been closed off from the others. Riya was seated at her desk on the far right side of the room while Eddie's desk was located on the left side. She was absorbed in the edits she was making to the latest video while Eddie was typing up a report. It was quiet between the two ━━ both busy in their own little worlds.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door and Grace burst into the room. Riya fought the urge to roll her eyes at the woman's entrance. She couldn't even wait for one of them to shout come in. Her blonde hair had been pinned up in a tight bun and she wore a royal blue blouse with a black pencil skirt. Her lips were painted a deep red while her eyes were a smoky brown. Grace was a beautiful woman and it seemed as if she had popped out of a fashion magazine. It was a drastic difference to Riya's simplistic black top and black jeans.

Grace's eyes were on Eddie, but he hadn't seemed to even notice her come in. Riya cleared her throat, catching Grace's eyes. "What can we do for you, Grace?" Riya asked, giving her a polite smile.

Grace frowned as she glanced down at the file she held. She had a tight grip on it and Riya wondered what the contents of the file were. "I need to talk to Eddie," Grace spoke, not skipping a single beat. "Alone."

"Whatever you need to say, you can say it in front of Riya," Eddie responded, not bothering to look up from his laptop. He didn't like Grace that much either. After all, she had threatened to boot his show and fire him many times in the past.

Riya fought the smile that was making its way to her lips, but she decided to be the bigger person. She had no desire to get on Grace's bad side. She stood from her seat and grabbed her phone, a binder full of photographs, and her ID card. "It's okay," Riya started as she began to make her way to the door. Her eyes met Grace's steel blue ones before she returned her gaze to Eddie. "I need to go deliver a few photos to Olivia. I'll be back in a few."

Eddie sighed as he nodded. He didn't want to be left alone with Grace, but it seemed that Riya wasn't giving him a choice. "Okay, see you soon."

As Riya left their office, she began to walk across the floor to the area where Olivia Lance, one of the main reporters, was located. She was friends with most of her co-workers, but Riya still found it hard to trust them. Riya only had one friend she trusted with all her heart ━━ Anne. After all, the woman had been by her side through thick and thin. Anne, along with Eddie, had always been there for Riya and she couldn't be more grateful for them.

"Hey, it's Riya!" one of the interns, Malcolm Sanders, called out. He was the youngest member of the crew, only twenty-two years old. He was a sweet fellow, but he barely ever did anything right. A chorus of greetings welcomed Riya and she waved to the crowd of people. Malcolm rushed up to her and gave her a bright smile. His curly hair bounced with his movements before they fell in front of his eyes. "How are you today?"

Riya offered him a warm smile as she began to walk towards Olivia's desk; Malcolm followed close behind. "Really good, and you?"

"Better now, since you're here," Malcolm replied, smiling even brighter at her. Riya tried not to laugh at his words, but she couldn't help the smile that spread to her lips. Everyone in office knew of Malcolm's tiny crush on Riya, but no one really thought it would amount to much. After all, Riya was happily married to Eddie. It was a harmless crush, but Riya would be much happier without it.

"Oh, leave her alone, Malcolm," Olivia's voice sounded and the two looked at her. She stood next to her desk, holding what was her sixth cup of coffee and a sandwich in the other hand. "Don't forget she's a taken woman."

"Yeah, yeah," Malcolm mumbled softly. Riya waved him goodbye as he made his way back to his desk. He reminded Riya of a kicked puppy, but there was nothing she could do to help him.

"He's rather annoying," Olivia muttered. Her eyes lingered on Malcolm's distancing figure before she looked over at Riya. She smiled as she took a seat at her desk. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, it's what I can do for you," Riya said as she handed Olivia the file. The other woman took it from her and looked through the contents. She smiled as she shut the file and placed it on her desk. Riya tilted her head. "I take it that you like what you see?"

"Oh, I do," Olivia answered as she returned her gaze to Riya. Her green eyes shone brightly as she looked up at Riya. "Seriously, thank you for this. It's the first time one of my articles has reached the front page and I just need it to be perfect, you know?"

"I get it," Riya whispered, smiling at her. She was happy for Olivia. For the past couple of years that Riya had known Olivia, she had always been a hard worker. She deserved the recognition. "I'm happy for you, Olivia. You're gonna be big, I just know it."

"It'll be soon, just you watch," Olivia added as she winked at Riya. Riya had no doubt that Olivia was going to make it big in the world of journalism.

Riya was about to reply, but the sound of her phone ringing quickly caught her attention. She pulled it out of her back pocket and noticed it was Anne. She glanced at Olivia, giving her an apologetic smile, but Olivia didn't seem to mind as she went back to work. Riya walked off to a private section of the area and picked up the phone. "Hey, Anne."

"Riya, hi!" Anne's voice flooded through the tiny speakers on Riya's phone. "We haven't talked in so long!"

"It's been two days," Riya reminded as a chuckle left her lips. She began to make her way back toward her and Eddie's shared office. "Still, how are you?"

"Oh, you know, it's been busy down at the firm with the endless cases against the Life Foundation. I swear that place has so many problems, but honestly, it's just more money in my pockets," Anne replied as a groan left her lips. Riya could just imagine the irritated expression on Anne's face. Anne enjoyed her job, but she also loved complaining about her job. "Enough about my work though, I was calling to ask you if you and Eddie are free tonight? Dan and I were thinking about hosting a dinner, and we really want you two to be there."

"I think that sounds like a lot of fun," Riya answered as she opened the door to her office. She immediately noticed Eddie's angry expression and Grace's annoyed one. She frowned as she glanced between the two and then remembered that she was still on the phone. She whispered softly. "I'll ask Eddie about it and I'll get back to you, but hey, it's a yes from me."

"Great! So, I'll see you both there!" Anne replied before the line went dead. It was a given that they would be there since Eddie always went along with whatever Riya desired. She tucked her phone back into her pocket as she gave Grace and Eddie her full attention.

Grace shot Riya an irritated glare before she looked back at Eddie. He leaned away from his desk as he kept his gaze on the floor. "Look, I wasn't asking, Mr. Brock. You do as I say, got that?" Grace spat out. She didn't wait for Eddie to reply as she began to walk out, shoving past Riya as she did.

Riya closed the door behind her before she walked over to her husband. She stood in front of him, tilting her head to get a closer look. His face screamed distress and Riya wanted to soothe him, but she had no idea what was wrong. "Eddie," she whispered softly, placing a gentle hand on his warm cheek. "What happened?"

"Grace is trying to control the show again," Eddie spat out. His gaze was still on the floor as he tried to gather his thoughts. Riya watched as a whole array of emotions flashed across Eddie's face. Finally, he looked down at her. "She wants us to have an episode on Carlton Drake."

"The CEO of Life Foundation?" Riya asked. It was the second time she was hearing about that company in the past ten minutes. She didn't know much about Carlton Drake, other than the stuff she had heard on the news. And, the things that Anne revealed by accident when she spoke about work. From what she had heard, he didn't seem like the best person in the world. "Why is that a problem?"

"She wants us to do a fluff piece about him and his stupid rocket," Eddie muttered and his anger suddenly made sense to Riya. Her husband always strived to tell the truth and expose the wrongdoers in the world. He would never write a fake positive piece on someone who didn't deserve it. "I don't see how we're going to get out of this one."

A million different thoughts ran through Riya's mind as she thought of what would be the best direction to take. Grace was forcing them to have Drake on their show, but they couldn't compromise the reliability of the show. "I... I don't know, Eddie," she mumbled softly. "Maybe he's doing good things with his rocket? We could just focus on that party."

Eddie shook his head, deep in thought as he tapped a finger against the desk. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Anne..." he mumbled softly, grinning as he met Riya's gaze. "She's a lawyer for the Life Foundation, isn't she?"

"She is..." Riya said, shrugging her shoulders as she was unsure what he was getting to. "She did invite us to dinner tonight. I told her we'll be there."

"If we could get our hands on the cases that Anne has done for Life Foundation, we might be able to uncover some dirt on that scumbag, Riya," Eddie grinned, standing to his feet as he held her hands tight. "We'll be able to expose him, put an end to whatever secrets he hides behind closed doors."

"I don't know, Eddie," Riya mumbled, shaking her head. It was too risky to take on someone like Carlton Drake, but she knew that Eddie wouldn't rest when he's put his mind to something. "I don't want to involve Anne... She might get into trouble and━━"

"Trust me, Riya," he said softly, gently squeezing her hands. She looked up at him, letting out a small sigh. It was as if she could see the gears turning in his head. "Once we bring down Carlton Drake, I'm sure all of us will be due for a promotion. Including Anne. It's what he deserves! We can't let him get away with the shit he's done."

Riya sighed, nodding her head. "Fine, Eddie, I trust you."

♡

HI, I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS! DOUBLE UPDATING THIS TONIGHT. It was mostly just me explaining a little bit more about Eddie and Riya's job and their dynamic! In the next chapter, we'll be seeing Anne and Dan! I'm excited for them and to write the group friendship dynamic!

By the fourth or fifth chapter, we'll be fully following the movie's plot ━━with some changes from me where I see fit! 😊 I am so so excited to write Venom into this! During the original writing, I never got to the point where Venom came into the story, but we'll definitely see him this time around!

I just want to say thank you so much for all your support of this book! It still means a lot to see people reading, even after years.

━━ AMARA
[ original PUBLISH DATE ━━ 11.23.2018 ]
[ rewrite PUBLISH DATE ━━ 04.14.2022 ]