Beyond Love Lies Deceit (5 page)

****

“S
o how long have you lived in Los Angeles?” Ryan asks, tilting his wine glass to his lips before taking a drink, his eyes not leaving my face as he does.

“Well I grew up in Bear River Wyoming.” I lie, taking a drink of my own wine.

“Bear River?” He questions, clearly having never heard of such a place.

“Never heard of it?” I laugh, setting down my wine glass. “Don’t worry, you aren’t missing much. It’s so small it’s practically non-existent.”

“So you didn’t move to California until...”

“College.” I finish his sentence. “Bit of a culture shock but I adapted.” I laugh lightly, already feeling the heat from the wine flooding my face.

“Do your parents still live there, in Wyoming I mean?” He asks.

“Yes, I’m sure they will live there forever. You couldn’t pay my dad to leave.” I say, swallowing down the hard lump that forms in my throat at the lie.

“I can understand that. I doubt I could ever leave L.A.; at least not for any real amount of time.” He immediately moves the conversation in another direction. “So what do you like to do for fun?”

His transition from one conversation to the next is a bit abrupt and sometimes makes little sense but I do my best to keep up without letting my annoyance show through. In just the short time we have been here it has become very clear to me that Ryan Scott is not a man to discuss matters of the heart, always changing the conversation before it can become to intimate.

“I don’t have tons of hobbies.” I finally answer his question after a long pause. “I love to read and paint. And the beach, I love the beach.” I add.

“What’s your favorite beach?” He leans back in his chair, his eyes still locked firmly on me.

“Well considering I have only been to Santa Monica, I guess that one.”

“I’m sorry what?” He fakes like he’s having trouble hearing me which I think is meant to come across as cute but really just sours the taste in my mouth further.

“Bear River, remember?” I laugh, gesturing to myself.

“Oh you haven’t been to a beach until you’ve seen Palawan Beach in Singapore. It’s set around these really dramatic limestone formations and has the whitest sand you’ll probably ever see. The water is so blindingly blue it makes all other water look murky in comparison and has by far the best sunsets you will ever experience.”

“Sounds like a beautiful place.” I drain the remainder of my wine before placing the empty glass back down on the table.

“I must take you there.” He says, his smile turning wildly wicked.

“Someday maybe.” I’m not sure how else to respond so I casually blow off his statement.

“Why not today?” He cocks an eyebrow up at me.

“Um, because we can’t.” I say like it should be pretty obvious.

“Why can’t we?” He seems genuinely confused by my reluctance.

“Because a trip like that takes some planning I’m sure. Not to mention I have to work.” I add on.

“One, you work for
my
company.” He puts an emphasis on
my
. “And two, I can have the private jet fueled and ready to leave in an hour.”

“You’re crazy.” I shake my head playfully at him, trying to play it off as he’s joking when I know full well he is very serious.

It has never been more blindingly clear that Ryan Scott views nothing as out of the realm of possibility.

“I’m serious. Let’s go.” His cocky smile slides into place as our waitress reappears with the bottle of wine; topping off our glasses before silently excusing herself.

“I can’t.” I wait until she walks away before finally answering.

“You mean you won’t. When you’re with me Allie, can’t isn’t an option.” He leans forward, his hand coming to a rest just above my knee underneath the flowing white linen that covers the table.

My heart immediately picks up speed as he squeezes firmly, the look in his eyes making my stomach twist. I have to play into this, I know I do. But it makes me ill to think about how far I may need to take this in order to gain access to Ryan’s world.

“Fine, I won’t. But not because I don’t want too.” I add on to lessen the blow. “I don’t want to skip out on work before I have even completed two full weeks. Regardless of who owns the company, it’s not the way I operate.”

He leans back, the contact between us ceasing allowing me to relax slightly. Cocking his head to the side, he studies me for a long moment before a slow smile creeps across his handsome face.

“You’re not like the typical women I take out.” He finally speaks after several long moments of silence.

“Is that a bad thing?” I ask, not sure if it’s a compliment or an insult.

“Quite the opposite actually.” His brown eyes focus on my face as he takes in my reaction. “What do you say we get out of here?” He asks.

“Bored of me already Mr. Scott?” I joke, feeling a wave of panic ride through me.

“Oh no Miss Reynolds, with you I’m just getting started.” His words don’t just hold a promise, they also hold a command.

As he stares back at me, waiting for my reply, I realize that if I let him in that easily, he will discard me as quickly as yesterday’s trash. While I am fully aware that there will come a point where he will expect more, I also know that making him work for it will keep him interested longer and hopefully buy me a pass behind the scenes for more than just one night.

“I suppose I should be heading home. I have to be back at the office in just a few short hours.” I retrieve my purse from the back of my chair without so much as an acknowledgement of the statement he just made.

“Oh come on. The night is still young.” He insists; clearly not ready to let me go that easily.

“To you maybe.” I give him a shy smile.

“Well at least let me drive you home.” He scrambles to his feet just as I stand, clearly thrown off by how quickly the night is ending.

“Please.” I place my hand on his chest as he steps directly in front of me. “Stay, finish your wine.” I look up into his dark eyes. “Thank you for the lovely dinner.” I push up on my tip toes and place a feather light kiss to his cheek.

“Goodnight Ryan.” I say, pulling back and giving him a slight nod.

“Allie.” He steps back, allowing me to pass.

Despite my elation over how disappointed he seems, I manage to hold myself together until I exit the restaurant a few short moments later. The laughter building inside of me spills out the second the cool night air surrounds me.

The look on his face when I stood from that table was priceless. Hell, I would bet money this is the first time he has ever taken a girl to dinner and not taken her home to his bed afterward. And to think, he thought he could win me over by what, skirting me off to some foreign country and showing me what his millions can buy?

A weird sense of satisfaction settles over me on the cool walk home. I know it’s a small win but it’s the first win I have gotten since setting this plan into motion. It’s something. I don’t know why but I just expected that the moment I started working for Sco-Tech my plan would just sort of magically work itself out. I didn’t realize just how difficult it would actually be to infiltrate the illusive world of Ryan Scott.

Getting just one step closer, no matter how small the step, feels like an amazing victory. I still may have no idea what I am looking for or what to do if I find anything on Ryan or Nicholas, but knowing that I might just get the opportunity to find out, makes everything I have sacrificed these last two years to get here worth it.

Nothing will bring my family back, I know that. Nothing will right the wrongs done to them, I also know that. But I still believe that I can find peace in the eye of the storm. I believe that I can bring at least some sense of justice to what happened to my brother, and my parents. At the very least, I will find a way to bring Ryan Scott to his knees.

He may view me as just another quest, another woman to conquer, but he couldn’t be more wrong. I am going to make Ryan Scott mine and then, I’m going to destroy him.

––––––––

L
uke

“Boy that assistant of yours sure knows how to make a man work for it.” My brother’s voice startles me from behind and I turn my head to see him waltzing out onto the patio where I am sitting; watching the storm roll in over the ocean.

I want to comment on the fact that he just comes right in like he owns the place but I am too distracted by his comment to get past anything but that.

“I’m sorry?” I question, taking a long drag of my beer, not attempting to move from my lounging position.

“Allie.” He smiles, flopping down in the chair next to me, propping his feet up onto the unlit stone fire pit in front of us. “That girl is something.” He licks his lips and makes a pleased sound.

“Ryan.” I warn, knowing he already knows how I feel about these types of situations, especially where my new assistant is concerned.

I wish I could say her being my assistant is all that bothers me about this, unfortunately that would be a lie. I can’t deny the pull I feel towards the young Miss Reynolds. There’s just something about her.

“Relax. She’s playing right now, but rest assured I will get her there.” He says, his confidence unwavering.

A wave of relief washes over me when I realize what he’s saying.

“Shot you down did she?” I take another long gulp of beer, not able to contain my pleased smile.

“Shit. No one shoots me down. She just needs a slower approach. Though I must say, I’ve never had a girl refuse a trip to an exotic beach before. Hell, usually all I have to do is mention the private jet and they are tripping over themselves to get on board. But this one, she barely batted an eye.” He rubs his forehead.

“A woman that you can’t buy? What is this world coming to?” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I turn back towards the water.

“Fuck you Luke.” He pulls my attention back to him. “Why do you always have to be such a dick?”

“Not indulging in your childish bullshit is not being a dick. I have no choice but to tolerate you because you’re my brother, that doesn’t mean I have to play sunshine and rainbows.” I meet his narrowed stare.

I can see the surprise on his face, though he does relatively well masking it. It’s not like I haven’t said the same thing to him on countless other occasions over the past ten years and yet he still seems shocked when I more or less tell him to fuck off.

“See, this is what I get for trying to bond with my brother. What the fuck man?” He pushes into a stand.

“No this is what you get for barging into my home unannounced for the sole purpose of rubbing it in my face that you were out with Miss Reynolds tonight.” I reply dryly, not attempting to move.

“Last time I checked, Dad owns this house.” He points out like so many times before.

“Last time I checked, he also owns the apartment in the city that you call home. You don’t see me just barging in on you do you?” I lash, sick of his bullshit.

This whole thing with Allie has taken my ability to somewhat tolerate my brother and completely obliterated it.

“Yeah well it will
all
be mine soon enough.” There is a threat behind his words, as if his threats scare me at all.

“And I am sure you’ll destroy it all, just like you do everything you touch.” I holler after him as he crosses the patio towards the back door that leads inside.

“Don’t worry, I’ll start by destroying that sweet little ass assistant of yours. Have a fucking awesome night brother.” He spits, disappearing inside before I can respond.

I tip my beer up and drain the bottle empty before tossing it at the four foot stone wall that surrounds the outdoor living space. The bottle shatters, causing tiny shards of dark stained glass to spray just feet from where I am sitting.

Leave it to Ryan to disrupt what little time I have to myself. The vision of him and Allie together flashes in my mind and an instant chill runs through me. As much as I don’t want to, I know I am going to have to talk to Allie about Ryan. I hate to think it’s come to this but he has left me no other choice.

****

“Y
ou got a minute?” I knock lightly on the door frame of Allie’s office, causing her to look up from her computer screen and hit me with a sweet smile.

“Sure.” She replies, gesturing for me to come in. “Is everything okay?” She asks, causing me to realize I must be wearing my dread for this conversation on my face.

Closing the office door, I quickly cross the space and take a seat across from her before answering. “I actually wanted to talk to you about Ryan.” I say, watching the color fall from her face slightly.

“Okay.” She immediately seems nervous which oddly enough makes my attraction to her even greater.

There is something so incredibly fucking sweet about this girl, especially when her pale cheeks flood with pink and she can’t seem to hold my gaze. It drives me fucking crazy, in a good way of course.

“I know you went out with him last night.” I start, not sure exactly how to word this. “And there is no policy saying that you can’t.” I reassure her when I see the panic flash across her features. “But as your boss, I wanted to at least express to you my concern.”

“Okay.” She replies weakly, waiting for me to continue.

“You have expressed interest in moving up within this company and honestly, based on what I have seen, you definitely possess the skills to do so. I would hate to see your career goals derailed over someone like Ryan. Please forgive me for being so blunt but my brother is not someone you want to get tied up with. If you are getting involved with him thinking it will be anything beyond a hookup, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I realize this is completely unprofessional of me but I like you Miss Reynolds, you seem like a really bright girl, and I really don’t want to see you fall victim to Ryan like so many other past employees have.” I say, stopping to gauge her reaction.

When she doesn’t respond immediately, I continue.

“I won’t tell you that you can’t see him and there will be no repercussions on my end as long as it does not affect your work. I just felt like I needed to at least let you know what you’re getting yourself into.” I finish, meeting her gaze as she nervously twirls her hair around her finger.