by A. m Madden
Time dragged on all day, until it was finally time to see Doug. Even though he wouldn’t be where he was without me, I needed to remind myself to appear appreciative.
A hard knock on his door prompted him to look up from what he was reading. “Come on in, Carter.” The man had never called me by my first name.
“Thanks for meeting with me,” I said, taking a seat in the stiff chair facing his desk.
“Thanks for running out to LA,” he countered. “Phil called me last night and said all was under control again. You’re a magician, Carter.” Any other man would be proud to hear such a compliment, but I knew better. “How did it feel being back there?” And… there it was. The first hint.
“It made me miss being here,” I answered truthfully.
“Ah, but LA runs in your blood, son.” He rubbed a hand over his white beard while the hair on the back of my neck stood up. “You’re in your element out there. Unstoppable.”
“Are you saying I haven’t performed for you here?”
His chuckle seemed forced. “Of course you have… but in LA you’re a shark commanding the deep waters.” What the fuck ever. “Here, you’re more laid back… different. You’re going soft on me in your old age.”
He was such a fucker.
In California, my first six months there I had four new clients, most with multimillion-dollar contracts. In Miami so far, I’d nabbed three. Therefore, his claim was bullshit. Funny, everything Doug was saying I’d heard before. It had never bothered me, gotten under my skin as it had now. I could attribute it only to it being the first time in my career I’d prioritized my personal life over Morton Sports & Entertainment. That wouldn’t change.
Needing to get it over with, I took control of the conversation by saying, “Well, maybe I have gone soft.” I ignored the way he scoffed and continued, “Lucky for you, I groomed many of your other agents to step into a shark role in LA and here.” I pulled out a piece of paper from the folder and slid it on his desk toward him. “It’s time for someone else to bloody the waters.”
He narrowed his eyes on me and then on the letter of resignation. “What are you saying, Carter?”
“It’s been a privilege working for you, Doug, but I’m ready to move on.” Realization caused the color to drain from his face. When he focused on the folder in my hands, I knew that he knew what I held in it.
“You’ll never survive, Carter. All I have to do is sweeten their deals, and they’ll turn on you. This business is as fickle as the path of a tornado.”
He was right. Still, I had to smile at how quickly he wielded that dagger of his. Such was the nature of our business. As the saying went, an agent never sleeps… not because they’re working twenty-four seven, but more so because they’re always afraid their clients would be poached by a different agent. Legal or not, it happened, and there were many ways to spin it and avoid legal actions.
The bottom line was that money talked, and one licensing contract could change an agent’s client list in a heartbeat. Those verbal agreements I’d secured meant shit. Doug could decide to sue my ass for any number of reasons. And while we duked it out, another firm could easily come in and use our discord to their advantage.
I trusted in my relationships and was confident those who wanted to navigate their careers with a high level of morality would stick with me. Having said that, I also knew if a shiny golden carrot dangled before their eyes, they’d surely say, Ryder who?
The list of risks ran long… but that didn’t mean I had to be a puppet for the rest of my life.
“You’re making a huge mistake, Carter.”
“Maybe,” I conceded with a shrug. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.” I tossed the folder on his desk for full disclosure. He now knew who’d said they’d follow me. Game on. “I assume you want me to leave now?”
“You fucking assume right,” he barked.
I nodded and stood. “Despite what you think, I appreciate the years I spent at Morton and the opportunities you gave me, Doug.”
His response to that was, “Get the fuck out, Carter.”
As I did what he demanded, I finally felt free from the huge weight that had pushed me down for my entire adult life.
Chapter Nineteen
Riana
May
Was it possible for one person to be this happy? And I wasn’t asking for a friend. There wasn’t a time in my life I remembered feeling such a level of joy as I did now. If only I could bottle it, cap it, and place it on a shelf to pull out if needed in the future.
I also wanted to project it outward, toward others. The week Ryder had been in California, I used the time to get organized. Until then, I’d thought only of the foundation I’d be running under RMR Inc., filling a notebook with ideas as they popped up. Starting a foundation from scratch felt daunting until Ricky suggested we duplicate Angels on Earth in Florida.
It was a great idea. Not only could I mimic their structural bones and methods, we also could piggyback onto their accounting department to oversee financials.
After confirming with my former employer that a new chapter could be started in Florida, aptly named Angels on Earth II, RMR’s legal department began handling all the necessary steps to register the name. Ricky also appointed a few of his administrative employees to take on my foundation. That left me nothing else to worry about except for the day-to-day operations. I decided when Ryder was at work, I would dedicate a few hours a day to get the ball rolling on my end.
When Ryder dropped me off to go into the office this morning, I set up shop at the kitchen island and downloaded a website-creating software. The sooner I had a domain name secured and a page created, the sooner I could place social media ads to push it out there and solicit donations.
The next step would be to find a location where women would feel safe to come in and accept our resources. I decided to call my old manager and pick her brain.
“Angels on Earth… this is Janie speaking.”
“Janie? It’s Riana.”
“Oh. My. God. This can’t be my good friend, Riana… because I was convinced that she was either running from the law, suffering from malaria in a third world country somewhere, or dead!”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. In my defense, I’ve been very busy.”
“Save it.” A notification appeared on my phone for a video call from her cell. Reluctantly, I tapped on the icon to see Janie’s scowling face. “Seriously, Riana. So many times I wanted to call you but worried things weren’t going well for you.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “But things are going great. I promise. First you. What’s happening in Jersey?”
Taking the opportunity, she filled me in on every detail of her life. In a nutshell, she was still waiting for an engagement ring from Ross and made it very clear his time was running out. She then went on to tell me the guy she’d tried so hard to set me up with was seeing someone. According to Janie she was a skank, and I was to blame for her misery because I should’ve been the one to be dating Jake.
“You yourself said we had no chemistry,” I reminded her.
“Bullshit. When someone is horny enough… bam… sudden chemistry.” Another tirade ensued, and based on the microwave’s clock, she rambled for eight minutes without stopping for a breath.
“So you’re back at Angels?” I asked when she took a pause.
“Yeah. I kind of have something to tell you.” I could only imagine what it was she had to say, when she sighed and added, “They asked me to come back the week after you left. It seems they received a huge donation and were able to bring everyone they let go to resume as normal.” Having no idea that had happened, it took seconds for me to know that donation had Ricky’s name all over it. “I also kind of got a promotion out of it,” she reluctantly admitted. “It should’ve been you, Riana. I’m sorry.”
“Janie, being let go was a blessing, and my life is right where it needs to be,” I assured her.
“What’s happening
with the bun-in-the-oven situation?” she asked, only then remembering.
“I’m pregnant… due in December.” Silence. No way would I tell her it was twins. That would send her into a tizzy. Taking her stunned state as an advantage, I quickly went on to say, “So, the reason I called is because I need a favor.” I explained the plan to mimic Angels on Earth in Fort Lauderdale, and that all the legalities have been handled. “Can you pull together the pamphlets, informational flyers, and any other tools we used? I want to look into printers down here to duplicate them.”
“Of course. I’ll throw in anything else that may help.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And the minute you pop those babies out, you are coming here for a girl’s spa weekend and to get you back on track to find a man.”
“I kind of found one,” I said hesitantly. “I’m back together with Ryder.”
“The Ryder!” she exclaimed so loudly that I didn’t doubt the entire office heard her.
“Shh. Yes, the Ryder.”
“Scratch coming here. I need to come down there and meet the man who broke your heart and then recaptured it.” Good Lord. Kayla suddenly went nuts, bolting to the door while barking and circling. “You got a dog!”
“Oh yeah. I forgot that part.” Needing to investigate what Kayla heard that had her whining, I then said, “I gotta go. It was great talking to you, Janie. I miss you.”
“I miss you too. Ree, I’m happy for you. Congratulations. Everything you wanted is happening, and you deserve it all, sweetie. And now that I know the reason you didn’t call had nothing to do with failure or death, be prepared to hear from me a lot.”
I giggled. “Deal.” Just as I hung up, Ryder let himself in, only to be charged at by a very excitable golden retriever.
“Hey, girl,” he said, squatting so she could get a good lick at his face. Through a grin, he looked at me. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey. What are you doing home so soon?”
“Long story.” Using his happy demeanor as a sign that whatever happened wasn’t negative, I waited until the greeting with Kayla was over before leaning up to kiss him. “Mmm,” he said, wrapping his arms around me to lengthen it. And it was a good thing he had a solid hold on me, because the kiss made me weak in the knees.
Once we broke apart, he took my hand and dragged me along with him while grabbing a beer from the fridge, popping it open, and taking us out onto the balcony. He then placed the beer on a side table and me on his lap as Kayla lay at his feet.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m more than okay.” He cupped my face affectionately, but the intensity in his gaze still worried me. “I quit today.”
My mouth gaped open, causing a small smile to lift the corners of his lips. “Why?”
“It’d been something I wanted to do for a few weeks now. I’m not happy there anymore,” he admitted on a shrug. “I’m sick of being used and my personal life suffering because of it.”
“Being used how?”
“My boss has always depended on me to get done what he was too lazy to achieve. Sure, it made me a success in my field and more than enough money, but now that I have you back, I’m not willing to make even one more sacrifice for him.”
It felt as though he spoke in code, until the meaning behind his words hit me. “He was going to transfer you again?”
“Not right now, but it was coming. I had gone out to California to end another potential shit show that was about to implode. Instability is common in my business, as is betrayal and greed. Since his executive agent in LA walked out, Doug was kind of hinting that I should be back there running things.”
Guilt consumed me, as did déjà vu. “Ryder, if you want to be in LA, we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”
He cupped my face, forcing my eyes on him. “I don’t want to be in LA. I want to be here, with you. I want to work for me, be my own boss.”
“You’re starting your own firm?”
“Yes. Wes will help, and my loyal clients will follow.”
“But—”
“There are no buts, Ree,” he interrupted. “I can do my job anywhere. The traveling part was to do Doug’s dirty work. And because I carried that out successfully each time, prompting him to move me around like a fucking chess piece meant he got richer and richer. I’m done.” His gaze held mine. “I want this, Ree. As of today, I’m officially president of the R. Carter Agency, employer of two.” His grin was infectious, and he kissed me when one of my own spread. “I want to build a life with you here… and build my business. I want to reap the benefits for ourselves. Any travel would be on my terms or for our pleasure. And I want to sprint into our future and not look back.”
My heart squeezed within my chest with emotion. They were all good emotions, with the love I held for him dominating. “I want that, too, all of it… with you.”
A brilliant smile spread over his handsome face, while his deep-blue eyes danced with optimism. In that moment, all the stress he carried seemed to leave his body before my very eyes. When he kissed me again, that time slower, more purposeful, I felt all the stress in mine leave as well.
We seemed to flip our living arrangements around. Since Ryder quit his job two weeks earlier, we now spent our weekdays in Fort Lauderdale and weekends in Miami. The best part was having him home every day. He took over my small spare room, making it his office. And I did my work in the living room or on my balcony.
Ryder made it a point to keep to some sort of a work schedule… kind of, because every day he came to find me for a “Ree break,” as he called it.
He and his best friend, Wes, decided to become partners, and for the time being they each would work from their respective apartments. Once things were up and running, which could take months, Ryder said we would all decide where their office location would be. He claimed that I had just as much of a say as they did. Of course, Ryder had already hinted it should be in Fort Lauderdale, arguing that if one of them had to commute, it would be Wes… who didn’t care as long as he could keep his swanky bachelor pad in Miami.
Of the twenty-four clients Ryder had at Morton, only six followed through and actually left with him. Ryder didn’t seem to be too concerned and admitted he suspected as much. That made securing new talent first and foremost on his agenda, and while he focused on that, Wes would handle the administrative end of the business.
They’d already incorporated themselves as the R. Carter Agency, since Ryder’s name would be the draw for new clients. They had also already hired a lawyer and an assistant for Wes. Her name was London, a leggy blonde who’d left Morton the moment she heard Wes had quit. Based on their sexual chemistry, Ryder warned him to keep it in his pants. Especially since they would both be working together out of his apartment.
At hearing all that, my quirked brow forced Ryder to say, “He most definitely will not be keeping it in his pants,” with an exaggerated eye roll.
As for me, a second sonogram showed the twins were progressing normally. We heard the heartbeats and were given a more definitive due date, give or take a week. Cooper and Ricky were out-of-their-minds excited. Rebecca had to sit them down and have a heart-to-heart, explaining excitement was okay, but they needed to be cautious with how anxious they were in preparing for the babies’ arrival… meaning no extravagant purchases, something Ricky loved to shower his niece and nephew with.
It was a somber discussion. There was always the possibility something could go wrong, although I left that part out for obvious reasons when recounting the situation to Ryder. Some could argue that focusing on negativity wasn’t healthy, but anyone who lost a child before term would beg to differ.
So far, I felt fine. The dreaded morning sickness I’d read about hadn’t hit yet. Granted, it was early in my first trimester, but on Rebecca’s advice I had a stock of saltines on hand just in case. My breasts were a little sore, and Ryder liked to think that was because of his over-the-top affection toward them. Just last n
ight those said affections were mind-blowing, and that led to memories of all the other affection that he showered me with.
“You ready?” he asked, scaring me since I’d been so lost in thought.
While dragging the zipper around the carry-on, I nodded. “Ready.” He came over and lifted the luggage off the bed. “When will you tell me?”
He rolled his eyes at the broken record I’d become. “When will you stop asking?”
The mystery was all part of Ryder’s master plan. As long as I felt up to it, he planned to take me on a secret trip once a month. According to his calculations, we could hit four or five locations before I’d be restricted from traveling.
This idea of his was sweet, but it had caused a bit of an argument between us. I knew he wanted to show me the world, and I loved that he did. There was one tiny caveat… I wanted him to save his money. He argued he had plenty of it, and a small weekend getaway every few weeks wasn’t going to make a dent.
That led to a lengthy conversation about finances. There was no need for us to keep two apartments. My condo was paid, thanks to selling my place in Jersey, and I felt we should give up Miami or at the very least rent it out. He agreed and decided to move the rest of his things to my place and find a tenant. Except for clothes, a few trinkets from his mother, or pictures of us, he left everything else behind, claiming he preferred my decorating style better.
“You packed bathing suits, right?” he asked, reminding me of the only hint he’d given.
“Yes… three string bikinis.” I grinned at his responding groan. Wait until he saw those string bikinis. “Do I need to pack saltines just in case?” I asked, only half-seriously and more so fishing for info.
“We can buy saltines if we need to,” he replied before tweaking my nose and walking out of the room.
When I followed him into the living room, Kayla looked from us to the luggage he dragged and charged for the door. “She’s not going to be happy when she finds out we’re leaving her behind,” Ryder said with a sad pout.
