TWENTY SIX

Lexie

If I had previously thought he appeared angry at the airport, it's only because I hadn't seen him in a truly angry state before. The way his dark brows were drawn together and the way the skin on his face was pulled so tightly that it stretched over his bones gave him an extremely menacing appearance right at this moment.

I made a poor decision and am already starting to feel bad about it. I was aware that it was a poor plan, but Samantha had been so adamant about it. Her words of encouragement came back to torment me.

"Oh, come on, Lexie. He is quite interested in having lunch with you. He does not strike fear in me at all. He is my father! That means, considering the fact that I am your older sister, he is essentially your father.

When that happened, I came very close to swallowing my tongue.

"Oh, no! He's not!"

But she had laughed and coaxed, and of course I'd gotten off the phone with her absolutely persuaded that I'd misread Ryder all wrong and that he really did want to take me to lunch even though I'd misread him as not wanting to take me out. After further consideration, I came to the conclusion that my initial thoughts had been correct.

After the cliquey, narrow-eyed, whispering crew of Brand Development left for the lunch they planned next to my desk without inviting me, I should have eaten alone in my cubicle. I should have done this after they left.

I immediately apologized and stated "I'm sorry." I wasn't entirely sure why I was offering an apology, but based on my past experiences, when someone looked at you in that manner, it meant that you had done something extremely inappropriate.

The furrows between Ryder's eyebrows deepened. He sounded just as irrational as he was and asked, "For what?"

“For…” I made a hesitant hand gesture. "I'm not sure, I think." I couldn't help but laugh out of sheer anxiety. "You appear to be very irate right now."

I knew I had surprised him because for a whole minute, he did nothing except look at me in complete silence. After that, the tension in his features eased, and he even forced a reluctant half-smile toward me.

"Yes, but it's not because of you that I am," he replied.

"Well, if this is such a bad time...," I was already going backwards again. I wouldn't mind if I had to eat alone in my cubicle. I was so happy to see everyone else leave without me. Anything to avoid being alone with this fierce, darkly handsome man who looked like he was about to explode with anger for an hour.

"No, that's not it." I stopped when his voice cut through the air like a whip. He took a look at the clock. "I have one hour."

I muttered, "Great." One hour. How was I going to spend an hour sitting across from him? As we walked back to the elevator in silence, my throat got tight. This was like being in the car all over again, but worse. He wasn't distracted by traffic, and I didn't have a GPS to look at while the minutes went by.

As we walked down the block to a restaurant that I could never afford, I cursed Samantha again.

"Are you a vegetarian or not?" The question made Samantha's father frown.

I half-wished I could shake my head. This place seemed fancier than the steakhouse my mom took me to when I graduated from college. Samantha had come to join us, and she thought it was cute. I could figure out why now. Compared to this place, Morton's Steakhouse looked like a cute little brother or sister dressed up like its older brother.

The front desk was run by a maitre d' instead of a host, and he recognized Ryder right away. "Mr. Williams, Mina just called to tell us that you're coming to dinner with us today. "Your food is on the table."

The room was open but comfortable. The booth he told us to go to was in a corner, away from where people came in. When he brought me a menu with a leather cover, I curled up and said, "Thank you." I opened it and looked for an appetizer or side dish I could order without drawing attention to myself.

Each corner of the leather folio had a gold ring that was used to attach two thin strips of cream paper. On one side, they only sold wine and whiskey by the bottle, and the prices made me feel sick before I even saw the food. It was worse than I thought it would be.

The least expensive item was the Caesar salad starter, which cost $25. The most expensive thing was a steak that cost just under $100, but didn't come with any sides.

Ryder must have seen my surprise because he said, "This is on the company," without looking up from his own menu. We buy lunch for every new employee."

I wasn't sure if I believed him, but my stomach felt a little less tight. I got the cheapest main dish and a glass of water. I didn't hear what Ryder asked for because I was too busy trying to come up with something to say to him so we wouldn't have to go through another awkward silence. I was about to ask him how he started his own agency when I noticed that the waiter was gone and Ryder was staring at me.

He said something, but I couldn't figure out what it was for the life of me.

"I asked, "How did you become friends with Samantha?" He said it again, with a small smirk at the corner of his mouth that made his face look anything but friendly.

"We met during rush week," I said, happy to get back to the subject. We should talk about Samantha, of course. We only had this one thing in common. "She was in her first year of college. I turned into her Big."

"I was surprised when she told me she wanted to join a sorority," I have to say. Ryder took a sip of water and looked at me over the edge of the glass.

I bristled. I had already heard that tone a dozen times. A comment that seems harmless, except that it was said with mockery. "What gives?" I tried hard to keep my voice upbeat and bright when I asked.

He gave a careless shrug of his broad shoulders. "I just didn't think she was the type of girl who goes to a sorority."

"The type of girl in a sorority?" I said it again, still determined not to let my voice show that I was getting annoyed. I just couldn't get mad at Ryder. He was my boss, paid for this lunch, and, most importantly, was Samantha's dad.

"I don't really know what you mean."

"Stupid," he said straight out. "More interested in parties and boys than going to class," his lip curled down.

I drank some of my own water to cool the hot words that were about to come out of my mouth. He kept a close eye on me, and I could tell he was having fun.

"I think you have the wrong idea about sororities," I finally said with as much saccharine sweetness as I could hold on my tongue without throwing up.

"Probably because you work in an industry that doesn't really understand the bonds of sisterhood and, as a result, treats women like bimbos and sluts."

He laughed and raised one eyebrow. "Well please, enlighten me."

This was the easy part. I could think of a dozen good things about sororities. When he was trying so hard not to smile, it was hard not to let my irritation show in my voice.

"Parties and boys might be important to some sororities, but not all. Ours was about being together. We did volunteer work and held fundraisers. It teaches you how to be a leader. I was the vice president, so I basically learned how to run a home for forty girls. This taught me how to make a budget and deal with conflicts.

I didn't stop until the waiter brought our food. He put them in front of us and waited politely for a break in what I was saying.

I finished by saying, "And, of course, the networking." "I might not have met Samantha if it weren't for the sorority, and I wouldn't be sitting here right now."

I sat back, and my heart was racing. I wasn't exactly mad, but I was very interested. Even as I told the waiter that I didn't need anything else, my cheeks were getting red and my mind was already thinking about what he might say.

Ryder moved his head to the side, and the man left. There was another pause, but this one wasn't as awkward. He was looking at me with what seemed like a mix of curiosity and surprise.

He could have been rude, but instead he said, "Okay, you've got me."

My jaw just dropped. "As simple as that?"

He laughed as he raised his wrist and looked at his watch.

The redness spread to my cheeks.

I said this as a defense: "I have a lot to say about the subject." "When people find out you're in a sorority, you wouldn't believe what they'll say to your face."

"All I can do is guess." Ryder's lips turned up in a sly way. "It will help you get ready for what people will say to your face in this town."

I knew he wasn't just talking out of the blue because he sounded frustrated. I cocked my head as I waited for the story to start.

He gave a head shake. "It's about an actress I want to cast in a movie, but I can't really talk about it. Not yet. I can't risk it leaking."

I looked around with as much pride as he had looked at his watch. I said, "I don't see anyone hiding in the plants."

I could tell I had hit a nerve, but for once, I didn't give a damn about it. Anything to distract him from his attention on Samantha

"Of course," I said. "But even so, your father did start it, right? I mean, he is the Williams from the beginning."

"Technically," he grudgingly admitted in the end.

Then there was complete silence. When the waiter came by with the water pitcher, I had just finished eating my steak salad and I shook my head.

"Just the check," Ryder said. "Nothing else." His words were brief, but the expression on his face suggested otherwise.

When he signed it, I averted my gaze because I did not want to see the total. After that, I went with him back out onto the crowded street. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but there was a gentle breeze that took the edge off of the heat.

Because there were now more people in the area, I had to move closer to him in order to avoid colliding with any approaching pedestrians. The crowd seemed to part around him as people moved their eyes to the periphery of their sockets in order to watch him leave. It wasn't just the women who were drawn to him; even the men did as well. Beyond his good looks and understated wealth, he exuded a mysterious quality known only as the "X factor." It was a gravity, a power, as if he were the center of something and those in his orbit were powerless to do anything other than revolve around him.

Samantha possessed charisma, but this was a different kind of appeal.

Despite the warmth of the day, I shivered; however, when we arrived at The Williams Agency, I was surprised to discover that I was disappointed. It was finally time for the moment that I had been waiting for ever since I found myself in this difficult situation. The only thing left for me to do was express my gratitude for the meal, and then we could both go on our separate ways. If Samantha were finished putting pressure on him, there is a good chance that I would not spend another minute alone with him for the remainder of the year. After all, he was a very active man.

The lighter look on his face gave the impression that he was thinking the same thing. He came to a stop in front of the structure and announced, "I'm going to drop you off here," as he did so. "I have some errands to run on the other side of town," you say.

I was able to pick up on a shadowy smirk in his tone, as if he was looking forward to bending someone's will to the point where they were compelled to see something from his point of view. Even though it was ominous, I couldn't help but feel excited about it. What was the matter with me? I'd never been attracted to someone like Ryder before. My friends had always had a thing for the gloomy, brooding guys, but I'd always had my eye out for the bright, sunny ones. the ones who made you laugh rather than make you uncomfortable and who got along well with my mother were the winners.

But I had to be honest and say that I was never really that interested in them for very long.

I had never been in love.

I put my hand over my eyes and looked up at Ryder. My heart was beating fast for no reason. "Thanks for lunch," I said, out of breath.

"Of course," he said without thinking, "and I always take new employees out for a lunch to welcome them to the agency."

No way could that be true. I knew for sure now. He had too much to do to get rid of every mail clerk and intern who came through. When his eyes met mine, lust shot through me like a spear.

I moved toward him before I could stop myself.