"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I move to stand, but Ryker is on his feet first, pulling my chair back for me. He had been just as attentive when I took a seat at the table before dinner. "Thank you again for the flowers, Mr. Moore."
"Tell her to drop that, Moore." Crew scoops up a birthday card that's next to my wine glass. "She should be calling you Ryker."
"I agree." He brushes his hand over my forearm. "I've asked Lark several times to call me Ryker."
He has, but I've seen the scowl on his face whenever any of my colleagues refer to him by his first name. I won't set myself apart just because my older brother owns part of the company.
"I'll call him whatever I want." I turn to look at Crew. "It's not a big deal, Crew. Please don't worry about it."
"She's almost as good as you are, Ryker." Crew smirks. "You should watch your back. Lark's gunning for your job."
Great. What a fantastic way to end my birthday. The man I've thought about having sex with for the past year thinks I'm trying to take his job away from him. That seals the deal that Ryker will never want me the way I want him.
Happy Fucking Birthday, Lark.
Chapter 9
Ryker
I was so close to just putting it all out there. I was one sentence away from telling Lark that I wasn't talking about work when I blurted out to her that I can be bad. I can be bad, or dirty, or sensitive and tender when it comes to fucking. I can be anything the woman I'm with needs me to be. With Lark, I know I can be more.
Crew walked up behind her, though. Right when I was about to invite her out for a drink to cap off the night, he stepped into my view. I spit out that bullshit about trying to be a good boss to cover my tracks. I put a spin on my words so he'd avoid catching on that I want nothing more than to take his sister to bed and never let her leave.
This is so many ways of fucked up I can't count them all.
I didn’t pursue her after we kissed last winter because I didn’t want to risk the job. It's always been about the job for me. I graduated from college and set out on a sprint to be the best. I didn't have a thing to prove to anyone. I wasn't on a quest to make someone proud. I live for the thrill of taking a company to the next level. I get high from the knowledge that I'm the best at what I do.
I've spent the past year trying to push down my attraction to Lark by spending time with Gem after meeting her at a bar. I wasn't using her at first, but it morphed into that after I realized during a Monday morning marketing meeting months ago that Lark is, without a doubt, unlike any other woman I've ever known. She's beautiful and smart. Her heart is kind and open. It's not tarnished with doubt and regret. She's pure and full of promise.
She was dating a struggling actor who worked at the deli down the street when I had my epiphany, so I took Gem up on her offer when she invited me on a weekend trip to Vegas. She saw it as us taking our relationship to the next level. I saw it as an escape from the knowledge that I may have fucked up my one chance with a woman I felt something real for. I never felt anything for Gem beyond temporary lust and occasional fondness. She gave me an escape, and I gave her a male prop for her pictures. I became a pseudo-celebrity because I was hanging out with a woman who craved fame more than her next breath.
The deli guy was still in the picture a month after I returned from Vegas. I broke up with Gem during that trip, but she wanted me back, so I gave it another chance. It was fun for a few weeks, but that didn't last. In the past two months we slept together less, fought more and then last week when I tagged along on a photo shoot she booked with one of her sponsors in the Caribbean, everything blew apart.
I thought we were on a nude beach, so I stripped because it was too damn hot to wear anything. I have no problem being naked in front of anyone as long as I'm aware and alert. Gem knew we were being photographed. It was her intention for the pictures to go viral. She set me up, and once I realized it after reading an email she left open on her phone, I lost it.
I came back to Manhattan with the intention of swearing off women altogether for the foreseeable future but then I heard that whatever Lark had with the deli guy ended some time ago when he got a bit part in a movie and moved to Los Angeles.
She's still Crew's sister though which means I need to tread lightly, but I want to tread. The work is good. The job is the best I've ever had, but it can't replace what I felt when I kissed Lark.
"Did you just finish a late lunch? What did you have?"
Speak of the devil. I look up from my laptop to see Crew once again in the open doorway of my office. It's nearing six which means the marketing holiday party starts in an hour in the corner boardroom down the hall. I got an update from John when I arrived at the office this morning. The party was moved back a day to accommodate Lark's surprise birthday party.
"Lunch?" I shut the cover of my laptop. "I went to that pub around the corner and had a sandwich hours ago. Why?"
"Something in here smells good." He rubs the bridge of his nose. "Are you wearing new cologne?"
I know the unspoken rule about wearing anything in the office that's not branded by Matiz. I wear the company's cologne and it's not just because I've been given carte blanche to request a complimentary bottle from the store below our offices whenever I want. It's one of the perks of being a senior executive. I wear Matiz cologne because it suits me.
"Not a chance." I smile. "What can I do for you, Crew?"
"Lark was asking questions about you on the way to her party last night."
Questions are good. The fact that he's not flipping the fuck out about it is even better. If I wasn't working for him, I have a sense he'd be okay with me pursuing his sister. I'm three years older than her, established in my career, I rent an apartment on the Upper West Side and I'm a good guy.
"What were the questions specifically?" I ask because he doesn’t offer and I'm too curious to drop it.
"She wanted to know if I knew where you'd been fucking off to the last couple of days." He takes one full step forward. He's as aware as I am that John left for the day so no one can overhear our conversation.