Dallying with Ryder

Help Denied.

My hope for the current raging news circulating the tabloids dying off and becoming , what was usually referred to as ' yesterday' s news ' , had gone out the window . If any thing , I had a better chance right now of winning the lottery than this fiasco dying down .

A few days had passed by and the situation had only gotten worse . Ryder had been facing more scrutiny and judgement than even I was . I guess I should not be surprised by that granted that he was the country' s most eligible bachelor . There had always been speculating if he was so much as seen courteously shaking a hand of a woman to now having such an advancement to their expectation . It was why the bloody thirsty , boundary lacking , paparazzi was badgering him more than me .

The matter would not have bugged me this much if this was all there was too it . After all , if Ryder Huxley was being inconvenienced then so be it . I would swallow my guilt and let the Sharks have at him for a little bit . Besides , it was not like he was unable to out up with any of this . A man of such power and wealth certainly could not be gravely bothered by this . If it became too much for him to bare , he only had to make a single call to have this all shut down and him not doing so suggested otherwise .

The real reason for my concern and prickling need to do something about this , to even consider reaching out to Ryder was because it would seem like there were more individuals other than the paps badgering us and it was no longer solely Ryder and I suffering the consequences of one kiss .

Seeing as society had been reaching their own conclusions which were viewing me as the cheater and Ryder my accomplice , it spilled over to people holding the Sinclair name . My family , for exactly , had lost a major deal with an investor who had been close friends with Louis ' family , too , accusing my parents of being untrustworthy . When my mother had called earlier this morning to let me in on this , my bubbling anger knew no bounds . I wanted to find Louis and slap him a few times until I was satisfied but I was unable to leave my apartment before noon because my front yard would be crawling with paparazzi and tabloid reporters all waiting to pounce and the first sign of movement .

This was insanity .

I stared at the glossy black card resting above the my dressing room vanity counter top . It was evident that the matter was not going to calm itself down but rather the opposite would happen . The last week was proof enough . I picked up the card and held it between my thumb and index finger , flexing the card as I contemplated what I was about to do .

Ryder was never my favourite person least of all a decent one but despite my opinion of him , he claimed to have a plan and if he had a way to end this uproar then why the hell not . Ryder was always well planned and thought out , a calculated man , in fact . So , how bad could his idea be ? All that mattered was by the end of it , all parties involved would not longer receive such scorn and invasion of privacy .

Especially Ryder . As much as I revelled in his suffering , I could not let his business and social image be maligned because I used him to save my own ass in my escape of Louis and his greedy parents . I could find other ways to get back at Ryder but throwing him under the bus in such a careless way after he , I hated to even think it , helped me would be cruel .

A decision had been made .

I knew what I needed to do but the thought of his stupid grin that I was almost certain he would have at me caving in despite my initial stubbornness was enough for me to consider placing the card back down .

Focus , Lianna ! The sooner you cleaned this up the better and it would be way better if it got ironed out before I started my new job .

I groaned and then reached for my phone . Willing my mind to shut up , I moved across from my bedroom to the window situated in the far corner of the drawing room . Looking at the dull skies and light raindrop begin to cling to the windows , I punched in the number to Ryder' s personal cell but did not press the call button just yet .

What if he was going to suggest an awful plan ? One that I would not he able to carry through ? Did this make me look like I was caving ? Was he going to laugh at me ? He certainly will mock me , that was a given .

It was all good questions but they were questions that could not be answered unless I actually knew what his plans was all about . Without allowing another thought to swirl through my mind , I hit the call button and tapped my foot against the Egyptian carpet as the nervousness settled in . The phone rang and with each ringing , the unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach had grown until , finally , after three rings there was a crackle on the other side and the ringing had stopped .

I prepared myself to get an introductory sentence out . " Hey , Ryder , it' s L- " But he cut me off before I could say my name .

" Liana . " He said like he was anticipating my call and , from the way he had known it was me , like he had my number saved .

I blinked away the feeling of being taken aback and prepared to state my intention for this call even though I was certain he was well aware of why I was calling him . Hopefully , this would be a first and last time that I would have to do this .

The words felt that they were bruising my throat but I got them out regardless ." When can we meet ? " My fingers had began tapping against the window now and I noticed that the rain outside had gotten heavier .

There was a pause on his side for a moment and I thought he had hung up until I heard papers rustling . " Tonight . Eight p . m . sharp . " He said in businesslike , professional tone . I couldn 't help but roll my eyes at him .

I swallowed , itching to just hang up but I had one more question . " Where shall I meet you ? " The words tumbled out of my mouth eager to be done with this . To see this to an end so that he and I would never have to face each other again nor be associated with the other person .

If a conversation as simple as this one felt like such an impossible thing to do , how would I get through a whole meeting with him .

" I will send a car . " Was the man smiling ? Laughing at me , perhaps , for having caved in ? I couldn' t put a finger on it but he sounded elated . I hung up and turned away from the window .

I couldn' t blame him . We all wanted to be rid of this mess that I had caused . At least for that , we could find it within ourselves to be civil .

I was no longer the young girl that he had bullied , and troubled once before . I was a grown , successful women about to start in , what would probably be , the peak of my career . He could only irk me as much as I allowed him to .

That is what I had been telling myself over and over and over again . All through the time I fixed myself up with a light snack of baby carrots and hummus , that was all I told myself . Ryder would not get under my skin because I would not allow him to . No matter how hard he tried .

I decided to switch the television on again to see if there had been any more rumours and speculations that seemed to go further away from the truth with each passing day . It felt like an assault against my ears as the headlines had been thrown out one after the other to the extent that it is now being said that Ryder and I had orchestrated this entire scene to bring down Louis and his family' s reputation . I scoffed so hard it hurt my nose .

Perhaps , the mistake was mine from the get go . Maybe if I had not told Louis in advance about my intentions to leave him and saperate our paths for good , snatching away his family' s brilliant plan to feed of my family' s name , then maybe just maybe , Louis would not have had time to plan his down payment on revenge .

Anyways , we all learn from our mistakes .

At least , at some point .

I watched for roughly five minutes but it felt like a full ten before I had had enough of all the nonesense that people had come up . Literally making a mountain out of an ant hill . But it had only fueled me further in to seeing how important it was for me to hear , and comply , with Ryder to shut this matter how once and for all .

By the time it was seven p . m . , I had showered and carefully picked out something more formal for me to wear giving . This was business and not some play date where I needed to win his favour . I picked out a pair of black pants and then matched it with a grey button front shirt that I tucked in to the band of my pants before adding a skinny belt to the waist . I left my hair loose and around my shoulders and chose a pair of black pumps to give me some height . I was not by any means or definition shirt but I was significantly shorter than Ryder .

I applied a neutral toned lip tint , blended in the lightest amount of concealer before throwing a coat in and grabbing my bag . A shiny black car pulled out in front of my condo a minute before eight . The rain had stopped completely but everything around was still dripping wet from the down pour .

The chauffer had held the door open for me as I got in and settled myself in the back seat . The door was shut and he got in to the drivers seat and began driving of to , either , my solution or an even greater dilemma . Nevertheless , I kept my head hight and my chin proud . Regardless of what this meeting with Ryder may reveal , I was determined to stay hopeful . He seemed to be the only one to have had a plan unlike myself .

The New York city faded away in the dusky night sky . The further away from home we went the further the hope of mine had began to flourish that Ryder would be a way out , a means to silence the wagging tongues of those who twisted the narrative to their benefit .

Surprisingly , I was nowhere as nervous and jittery as I was earlier today when I had made that call but that was a good thing . It was surprising to me that I had not known where Ryder had been residing when he was in the country but , truth be told , I never really cared to even ask .

I scoffed as the driver steered the car on to a slip road and I could only hope that we were going to be there soon . The sooner I got to him the quicker this would all be done and I would have some direction in terms of what we were going to do . We drove for another ten minutes before the car slowed down and I had been craning my neck to get a glimpse of where the mighty Ryder had stayed and what his abode had looked like .

It was certainly not humble .

The gates , tall enough to be the size of my condo , had opened and let us in . The chauffer drove the car down the smooth , long driveway and I gasped at the sight in front of me . This was not fit to be called an ordinary home but a whole mansion . The lighting outside his home made the dark sky bright enough to disillusion a person to assume that it was still before noon .

His lawn was impeccably neat with carved hedges , flower beds , and other landscaping details . I was willing to bet on it that he had a schedule by which gardeners would come in and maintain the area . A huge stone fountain had been set in the center of the lawn poised proudly and without even an inkling of a scratch on it . The car dropped right in front of the mansions entrance and , before I could even sling my bag over my shoulder , the door closest to the entrance of the mansion had been held open for me .

I mounted the three steps that led to the wide doors carefully to find them being pulled open for me from the inside . The interior matched the exterior perfectly . It was neat , grand , and prestine . I could barely contain my eyes at how fine and regal it at all looked . Cost him a fortune , too , no doubt but Ryder wouldn' t even have felt it not would it have rented his finances in the least . The man gave away millions in charity , one could only imagine how much he was worth .

I was currently standing in the foyer of the house taking it all in when the same man whobhad open the door for me had stood to my left with a formal , pleasant smile about his lips . He must have been nearing his fifties if I were not mistaken .

" Right this way , Miss Sinclair . " He motioned in front of him before he lead the way through the massive house and out to the back . I was expecting to be lead to a dining room , maybe even a visitor' s lounge so it took me by surprise when the butler had lead me through a sliding door that lead us to the out and open air .

By some miracle , it seemed to have been completely unaffected by the rain . A decent sized table had been spread in the finest China and crystal with an array of appetizers to nibble on . Far too extraordinary for a mere meeting with ones arch enemy , I thought but went with it . Perhaps , this had been one of his principles . Feed thy guest well regardless of who they may be .

I did not miss his demanding presence at the other side of that table watching my every move , counting my every breath , looking for even the smallest c***k in my composure but he would not find it even if he had disected me open .

" It took you long enough . Were you waiting for our reputations to become completely beyond repairs before you decided to step up ? " Ahh , there he goes . Typical Ryder trying to creep under my temper like the menace that he was .

I bit my lip to keep back from being snarky . " It is nice to see you , too , this evening . " I avoided his gaze and neared the chair across from his already seated frame . The chairs were ample and not by any means deemed small but his broad frame certainly made it appear that way .

I heard him scoff in amusement causing me to look up at him . " Oh , please . The day you truly mean that , hell will freeze over . " His voice had been a contract between light hearted amusement and something completely on the other spectrum of those two .

Once I got seated and place my bag to the side of me , I flashed him a fake , tight smile . " So long as you are aware of that , I am happy . " Something flashed in his striking , unnerving green eyes that I made the grave mistake of looking in to .

A mischievous smile spread across his lips and I averted my gaze before I could relive that night in the reception where I carelessly kissed him in the middle of a room full of people . " You really have grown up a lot . " He said , more to himself than to me and I shrugged .

" Is that not how life works ? " I pointed out and he tilted his head . I reached out and plucked a green grape set on top of a small glass stand .

" Perhaps but not everyone grows quiet as well . " I narrowed my eyes at him . I must have misread him . Was Ryder Huxley complimenting me ? I never thought that I would ever live to see such a thing .

I popped the grape into my mouth and chewed the crip , sweet grape only to find Ryder watching my mouth . I swallowed both the grape and the uneasiness that came from his intent gaze and told myself that I was not going to let him unnerve me .

I raised my face , jutting my chin out . " Did you expect that all of your bullying would have rendered me a weakling ? For that , I would have actually had to care . " His eyes danced at me talking back to him , something I rarely did before and not the effect that I wanted from him .

Ryder , even tonight , wore his three piece suit and looked too big for his chair . His dark hair was combed back like he actually put in an effort for tonight 's meeting and had not shown up directly from a full day of work .

He reached for his glass filled with an amber coloured liquid , swirling it before he took a sip . " Not a weakling , per say , but you have matured impressively . " He said again , like it was a point that he could not seem to get over .

My cheeks heated up . I was not used to this . Not with Ryder . " Since we have established that , can we get on to more serious matters , one that is the reason why I am here at all . " I said smiling at the lady who filled my cup with Red .

Ryder darted his tongue out to run over his lower lip to moisten them , I assumed , and I willed myself to not follow the path it traced . " You mean the mess that we are in because of you , " He said with a hint of humour and touch of sincerity . " yes , we can discuss that . " I couldn' t argue with him on that because he was not wrong .

I did do a stupid move and now I had to bear the consequences of it . I am currently bearing it .

I stared expectantly at Ryder' s expression and watched it drop to that of seriousness which had been enough to communicate to me that he had switched in to serious mode . " As it currently stands , Louis and Camilla are going to announce their engagement in the next few days . " He started and my jaw clenched at the mentioned of those two but relaxed reminding myself that I had escaped a worse fate .

Although , I was intrigued enough to wonder how he had come to find out such an unannounced bit of information. " How do you know such a thing before everyone else ? " I questioned him . If this was not out in the open yet then how was he aware of it . " If the both of them are yet to make an announcement themselves , I find it hard to believe that such information would just miraculously pass through your ears . " I narrowed my eyes at him .

Ryder seemed impressed that I pointed it out . " I have my ways . " He said in a cocky manner that screamed leave it alone . So , I did . " If they get engaged , it would look like they have been sincere from the start and we are the ones who have been messing about for the sake of it . As it stand , we already are the bad guys to the media and all who are friends with Louis ' family . Not to mention that we still have not made a statement to the public regarding the matter . " Oh , so this was the plan . A public statement . I could do that .

I brought my leg to cross over the other underneath the table . " So , we make a statement before their engagement announcement and clear the air . All will be well . " I did make it sound like it was a piece of cake when , in actuality , it would not be that simple .

Something on his face told me that I was completely off track here . " Not quite . See , the matter is delicate . You already bear the image of someone who had been disloyal from the get go and Louis is merely honouring Camilla . What ever statement we make would never be good enough . If we say that we are nothing but friends , it would not be believed given how far the rumours have spread already . " He paused and I inhaled deeply and quite audibly already feeling exhausted by this .

He was right about that . Our statement would have to be precise and solid if we were to emerge from this unscattered . " We could say that we have saperated based on mutual understanding . " I suggested but he shook his head .

Ryder drained the contents of his glass like he was dependent on it for continuing this discussion or whatever it is that he was about to say next .

When his green orbs met mine again , they were as serious as I could have possibly imagined . " I am on the verge of losing the biggest deal that I have been working on because of your little trick that night . " He said firmly and pressed my lips in to a thin line . " I do not say it like so to be bitter but you have placed me in a very delicate and unsavory position . " He inhaled again and I felt like he was building up to something much bigger and much more than I have come prepared to hear .

I sighed hautily , pushing past my guilt . " I am aware of the gravity of my mistake . " I owned up to it but his nostrils flared for a spec of a second at something but I ignored it .

He waved a hand brushing my acknowledgment and silent apology away . " Aside from this , just as I helped you not make a fool out of yourself at your brother' s reception , I would like to ask for the same favour back . " I was frowning at this point not fully aware and understanding what he was trying to say .

" I - I am not quite sure that I understand . " I said honestly .

" I am to inherit from my late great grandmother . However , there is a clause in there preventing me from aquiring that large inheritance but it is something that you can help me with . " Oh , so he wanted legal help and advise .

I must say , that had surprised me beyond belief . I wouldn' t have thought that he would seek me out for my profession .

I straightened my back preparing to go in to fill business mode . " I am not sure what I can do about the clause in a will but I can take a look at it and offer you any suitable legal loop hole there is . " I offered him willing to help him as he had helped me before I went back to despising his guts again .

But Ryder had shook his head several times . " The clause entails that I have to be married for one year and above before I can attain my inheritance . There is no loop hole . Believe me , I have checked . " He said with finality and I was sure that he had . There would be no loop hole with that unless he actually got married .

I shrugged and relaxed back against my seat . " Then how else could I help you with that if not through my profession ? " I asked , confused at what he was trying to say .

The corners of his lips lifted up ever so slightly and I could have sworn he was laughing at me . . laughing at me for missing something that was clearly indicated to him .

" Be my pretend wife . Just for a year . " He said loudly and did not stutter . I blinked a few times , my body becoming motionless , ridgid , and like Medusa herself had turned me in to stone .

His tone was clear , his words were calculated and any thought of him toying with me had been abandoned .

Never has a gasp left my lips faster nor my eyes widen to such an extent that I feared the outer edges of my eyes would attain micro - fissures .