Chapter 17

KATE

Lisa was in her pajamas on the couch, drinking coffee. Thanks to the pharmacy pregnancy tests I did the night before, I managed to sleep, and now I was feeling more at ease. It didn't even seem like I had almost freaked out before finding the courage to check the results.

"Good morning," she said lazily.

"Good morning; did you arrive today?" I asked.

"Yeah, in the early morning."

"Did everything go well?"

"Yes."

"That's great! And when do you start?"

"Next week. Say hello to the new assistant to Carter's CEO."

"Wow!"

"It's not just you who's super important now," she laughed. I hoped she wouldn't have the same luck as me, I thought as I poured myself a coffee.

"Kate?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Congratulations!"

Lisa always knew when I wasn't okay, but she didn't press further.

"Okay. Are you doing anything tonight?"

"No."

"Then, can you accompany me to Emy's birthday party?"

"Emy?"

"The one you met at the mall."

"Emily Miles?"

"Yeah! Please, Kate."

"I'm sure you can find a much more interesting companion than me."

"No! I want you to go with me! Please?"

"I... I don't know, Lisa!"

"I promise it'll be fun! Please, please!"

"Okay. I guess it might be good to distract myself a bit."

"I love you. You're the best. Hey, aren't you late?"

"No, I have to take care of something before going to work."

"Oh... Should I ask?"

"It's nothing important."

"Alright. I'll go shopping. Something for tonight. Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you."

"Okay. I'm going to take a shower. Have a good day at work!"

"Thank you."

Later, I was at the doctor's office when my phone vibrated with a message from him, surprising me.

From Nathan: "Where are you? Did you resolve our matter? You're driving me crazy with no information! You said you'd keep me informed."

I typed a short reply.

From Kate: "We'll talk when I get to work, Mr. Ryan."

He instantly replied.

From Nathan: "Are you testing my patience? It's not advisable, Collins."

I didn't respond. I wasn't in the mood to talk to him. But I admit that annoying him was becoming one of my favorite pastimes. I put my phone away when I was called in. Even though I had taken two home pregnancy tests last night, which were negative, I wanted to be sure.

The doctor took my blood for the test, and the result would be available in about an hour, so I went out for lunch and used the opportunity to call my dad.

Soon, I would have to face Ryan again. And I needed to think about how to make him understand that he couldn't continue trying to seduce me. I had already tried to reason with him, but it seemed impossible. It also seemed impossible to resist him. What did he want from me? From what little I knew about him, I thought it was just about sex. And he had already achieved that. Why not leave me alone, then? What the hell was I going to do?

Quitting my job was out of the question. This job was the most important thing in my life. And if I don't put an end to this soon, I might lose this chance. I have to make him stop. I could play his games, but I shouldn't. This has to end. Even if I don't want to, I have to do it.

I returned to the doctor's office later, and the test result confirmed that I wasn't pregnant. I had never felt so relieved in my life. It could have ended badly. In the end, the doctor prescribed some contraceptives to avoid such disturbances.



The elevator stopped on the twenty-fifth floor, and Meg entered.

"Hi, Kate." She seemed a bit apprehensive.

"Any problem, Meg?"

"Let's just say the boss is in a bad mood."

"What happened?"

"He's been a complete jerk this morning. He asked me to come up since you weren't here, canceled all his appointments for the day, and criticized everything I did. He's full of sarcasm and seems irritated."

"Do you know why he's like that?"

"No."

But I did. I tried not to smile.

"You don't have to go up now. I'm here already."

"I think it's better not to contradict him."

"Trust me."

"Kate..."

"I'll handle it, Meg. Don't worry." I smiled to comfort her, pressing the button to stop at her floor.

"Good luck, then."

"No problem. I'm sorry for leaving you with him. I'll deal with the jerk." We laughed.

"See you later," she said before leaving.

Great! Now I felt guilty that he treated Meg so badly. But it's not my fault; he's an insufferable jerk. Alright. I can deal with Ryan. It's not that hard. I can play this little game; I just need to avoid feeling worthless because of him.

The elevator doors opened on my floor, and I headed toward the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. Large green eyes stared back at me with an odd glimmer. I let my hair down from the ponytail. My brown hair, slightly voluminous and messy, fell on my back. I took out a dark red lipstick from my purse and applied it. What was I doing? Well, it's just a way to feel more confident.



I knocked on his door.

"Come in."

Wow! He had messy hair, without his jacket. He only wore a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a gray tie. Delightfully sexy. I approached. He was reading something.

"Miss McCartney, why did it take you so long? I don't have all day," he said before lifting his head, his expression getting even more serious when he saw me.

"I dismissed Megan. I thought I wouldn't need her anymore since I'm here," I said, feeling his gaze run over my body for what seemed like an eternity.

"Sit down."

The last time he told me to sit, things didn't end well. I sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"I'm sorry for arriving late."

"No need to explain. Not about that."

"Alright. You can relax."

He squinted his eyes.

"Are you telling me you're not pregnant?"

I nodded, and I noticed his face soften.

"Megan told me you canceled all your appointments for today. So?"

"Really?" he smirked. "You keep me hanging here the whole morning, and you think you can just pretend everything is fine? A damn message would've been enough! Why did you ignore me? Do you enjoy irritating me? Is that it?"

"What do you want? Aren't you happy? I wasn't trying to pull a pregnancy scam or anything like that! I'm here, and you already know what you wanted to know. You just had to wait. Or do you think everything happens on your own time?"

"You're a... bitch."

"I think now is not the time for compliments. We should get back to work."

"I don't think you learned anything last night, Collins," he said, getting up.

I stood up too, before feeling cornered.

"I learned many things. I learned that you're nothing but a jerk, egocentric, and controlling."

"You've got a lot of courage. I admire that. But you have to control that mouth of yours. You're quite daring, and that can end up harming you."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Me? Why would I do that?" he said with a sarcastic smile.

"Because... you don't like me."

"That's a lie! I adore you." He gave me a once-over, his smile turning into mischief. "And I especially adore what's under that dress."

Damn, it. Play the game, Kate.

"You just called me a bitch, and now you're saying you adore me? That doesn't sound very coherent, don't you think?"

He circled the table, stopping in front of me.

"You're an adorable and hot bitch."

He was too close. I moved away, trying to breathe. Damn it. He always distracted me completely.

"I think you should forget about what's under my dress. Because you won't see it again."

"Do you think so?" He stared at me with an arrogant look. "I can see now if I want." He came closer.

"This tendency of yours to think you can do whatever you want will end up ruining you... Ah! I think it's already too late."

"You're very cheek... and I like that."

"I just want you to understand that I'm not willing to continue with this little game of yours."

"What game?"

"Tell me what the hell you want? What else do you want? Haven't you gotten what you wanted? I don't understand."

"It wasn't enough. I still haven't done everything I want to do with you."

I tried not to let his words affect me.

"You better be content with what's already happened. I'm serious when I say that nothing else will happen between us. Just work. Do you remember what you told me that night? That you couldn't offer me more than one night. I would love it if you put that into practice."

His expression changed as if he were pondering my words. He remained silent for a few seconds, staring into space, then cleared his throat.

"Fine."

He went back to his chair.

"You're dismissed for today."

"But..."

"I need to leave now, so I won't need you today."

"Are you firing me?"

"No, Collins. I have a commitment, that's all."

"Okay."

I walked out of the room, bewildered. He sent me home. Does that mean he's permanently dismissing me? No. He wouldn't do that. Well, I agreed to go to that party with Lisa. So I'll have more time to prepare. Maybe going out will help me forget all of this a little.