I look at Damien and relay that information. He huffs then says, “You can go. I will stay here with my son and his mother. We will all leave, once you get back. He has us over a barrel. We have to do what he asks.”
I mute the phone again to say, “Damien, he doesn’t sound like he’s threatening anything. He’s asking and being very cooperative.”
“He’s going to get what he wants. You don’t see it but I do. Go with him to Nebraska, Gia. There’s no other choice, no matter what he’s telling you.”
Taking the phone off mute, I say, “Ryker, Damien thinks I should go with you to my family’s farm, so I will. You do understand this is strictly business, right?”
Damien pulls his hand over his face then gives me another dirty look along with a scowl. He’s pissed!
“Yes, I do realize that, Gia. Thank you. This is for the better of our people, after all,” he says. “If it’s okay, I’ll call you this evening after getting with some more of my engineers. I’ll bring by a consulting contract for you to sign this evening. Or better yet, I’ll send a messenger with it.”
“You do that, bye,” I say and end the call to deal with Damien who seems furious. And he’s right to be. “I am so sor…”
“Don’t! Don’t say you’re sorry, Gia! You have me by the balls.” He gets up and starts pacing again and I cringe and move to sit on the edge of the bed.
“It’s not me…”
He spins around and is up in my face, his words are hot on my face as he says, “It is you. You gave that man enough information to ruin me. Completely! And it will be you who caters to his every want where you’re concerned. It will be up to you to make nice with the man, so I don’t lose everything. Because if I lose it all then so do you. And your family will as well.”
“I don’t think I like the way that sounds, Damien. An hour ago, I was to never talk to him until you leave the planet, now it sounds as if you’re saying if he wants me in his bed then I damn well better get my ass in it.”
Gripping my chin, he speaks through gritted teeth. “That’s exactly right, Gia. You’ve put yourself into a precarious position by running your mouth. Telling business that was not yours to tell. And spare me the attitude of prudish concern for being taken by the man. We both know you want it, anyway.”
I shy away from him as I move further back up on the bed to get away from him. “Not like this,” I say. “Never like this. Not with your downfall being held over my head. I hate this. I never meant to get you in this position.”
“Everything has to be rethought,” he says as he steps back. “You may have ruined it all.”
A sudden pain shoots straight into my heart. “Damien! What do you mean?”
When he looks at me, it’s as if he’s looking right through me. “I mean, I can’t afford to step on his toes where you’re concerned. The thought of you being with him and me too, isn’t a thing I can take.”
“Damien, I can make this work. I can! Let me try. Don’t drop me.”
“I can’t drop you. I still need you. I just don’t want you sexually if he insists on having you that way.” He looks at me with disgust and it makes me mad but I hold my tongue.
“He’s not that kind of man. He’d never want me like that as he holds something over my head for it. You have nothing to fear. I’ll stand by our deal, Damien. I will.”
“I have a lot to think about and I need to tell Svetlana that we’re not going anywhere just yet. We’ll have to unpack and that will take a while. You stay here.” He walks out of the hotel room, leaving me with a mess in my head.
My phone is lying on the bed. I am now at Ryker’s beck and call, thanks to my mouth. And Damien’s constant security I’ve grown to rely on, seems to be skating on thin ice.
Now, what am I supposed to do?
RYKER
Feeling much better about things, I make the call to Johnny Flynn to give him the great news that even his daughter will be attending our meeting. “Ryker?” he answers the phone. “What did you come up with?”
“Johnny, I have great news, Gia is on board as a consultant with Apollo Engineering now. I’ve just received the signed contract back from her and we’re all set up to leave on my jet on Friday. We’ll be staying two nights with you and I will have seven in the party. Is that going to be too much on you?”
“No, not at all. And you said Gia has signed on with your company?” he asks, sounding surprised.
“She did,” I hold up the contract in my hand the messenger just returned to me. “Isn’t that great?”
“It’s surprising,” he says. “She’s never worked since she and Damien got together. I though he didn’t want her to.”
I’m sure he didn’t. “I managed to sweet talk him into letting her do it if she wanted to. It seems she wanted to work. She’s brilliant, you know.”
“She is. And it’s going to be good for her to work. She didn’t act like the same old Gia when we spent the weekend with her. Thank you for that, by the way.”
“I think all Gia needs is to use that brain of hers again and that girl you knew will be coming right back to the surface. She’s just buried her true self to morph into what she thinks Damien wants. But Damien can take her for who she really is or he can move on,” I say as I run my finger over her signature at the bottom of the contract.
“Move on?” her father asks. “Is that something that might happen with her taking this job? I don’t want to interfere with anything between them.”
“I didn’t mean it the way you took it. They’ll be fine,” I say but I’m pretty damn positive they won’t. And they shouldn’t be. Gia shouldn’t be a pawn in the man’s ploy to distract his family from what he’s done. “I’ll have a car bring us in from the airport. See you around five or so, I’ll call you when we hit the ground.”
“Great, bye.”
With the call ended and all my plans settled, I sit back in my chair and put my hands behind my head. Things may work out after all. Putting one’s mind to work and shoving emotions to one side really works much better than living on emotions alone.
GIA
Damien has left me alone most of the time in the last two days. His disappointment in me isn’t an easy thing to take. I find myself feeling like a child who has misbehaved when he has come to see me for shorts amount of time.
I asked him if he wanted to end it all and he told me he didn’t. He said he needed me and I am to still play the part of loving girlfriend, even though he doesn’t wish to touch me anymore.
Deep inside, I feel like I did what anyone would do, being put in that position. People need to vent, every once in a while. It’s been years since I’ve vented about my situation with him. When you add in that he’s been unfaithful the entire time and is using me as a cover, well, I had to vent!
But to tell Ryker was stupid. I could’ve talked to my sisters about it. I told Ryker for my own selfish reasons. And now my selfishness is going to bite me in the butt.
My cell rings and I see that it’s Ryker’s new assistant, Tony. Ryker, himself, hasn’t spoken to me. He’s let others do that for him. He’s keeping things very professional. I like it but then again, I don’t.
Before I can say a word when I answer the phone, Tony starts talking, “Miss Flynn, I hope you’re having a pleasant day. I’m calling to let you know a car is being sent to get you and take you to the airport where the company jet is waiting. You need not bring a thing. Like I told you on Wednesday, Apollo Engineering is providing everything. Your uniform has been tailored to the measurements you gave me. The other women have been asked to gather their hair into a neat bun. We do expect paparazzi at both airports as this is an open topic. You are to wait for the driver to bring up one of the uniforms to you, so you can wear it. You will be expected to wear the uniforms you are given for this entire, two-day meeting, excluding bedtimes, of course.”
“I understand, Tony. I’ll see you soon,” I say just before I get off the phone.
It feels odd talking
to Tony instead of Ryker. I feel very much a part of the group but not a part of Ryker. I find I miss him. More than I should. The man is my boss now. I should put my feelings for him, away.
When my cell rings again, I look at it to find it’s Ryker and my heart jumps. I swipe the screen. “Ryker! Hi!”
“Hello, to you too, Miss Flynn.” His voice is deep and smooth as it falls on my ears that missed hearing it so much.
“Miss Flynn?” I ask as I look in the mirror to make sure my makeup still looks right.
“I like to keep everything very professional during company outings when the press is around. In private meetings, I’m more lax. So, Miss Flynn, you will call me, what?”
“Mr. Crawford. I get it, Ryker. Professional.” I find a smirk moving over my lips and try hard to stop it. It’s just so damn good to be talking to him!
“Great,” he says. “See you on the plane.”
Before I can say another word, I find he’s ended the call and a knock comes to my hotel room door. “Miss Flynn, I have your clothes,” a man’s voice calls out from the other side.
Going to the door, I open it and take the black garment bag. “Thank you. You can come in and take a seat while I change.”
The man nods and comes inside. I retreat to the bathroom to put on the clothes. In the privacy of the bathroom, I unzip the bag and pull out a skirt that looks to be knee length and pencil shaped. A military type of jacket is to be worn with it. The letter, A, is embossed on the silver buttons of the rust colored suit and the Apollo emblem is on the left side just above the pocket with my last name embroidered on it.
A small black bag is in the bottom of the bag and I pick it up and untie it to find a matching rust colored bra and panty set. Picking up my cell, I tap in a text to Ryker.
-I see you felt compelled to send me lingerie.-
He texts back right away.
-Not me, my assistant. Didn’t he tell you the company would be providing everything? That includes your underwear, Miss Flynn.-
My cheeks heat with embarrassment and I don’t text back as I feel like a fool. It seems he intends on treating me professionally. Like we never meant a thing to one another.
The thought has me feeling sad but as I get dressed and look in the mirror, I find a woman looking back at me that I haven’t seen in years. A real professional. The uniform makes me feel like part of a team. A team with a huge mission on its hands. A mission to get to Mars!
RYKER
Sitting at the back of the cabin, I watch Gia as she comes aboard. Her dark hair is slicked back into a tidy bun, just like the rest of the women I have on this team.
Tony hops up from his seat at the very front and quickly introduces her to everyone as he leads her back to sit across from me. She was the last to get here, meaning we’ll be leaving soon.
Looking at my tablet, I pretend not to notice her as she shakes everyone’s hands and greets them. I can see a rosiness to her cheeks that’s been missing. Her smile is confident and so is her grip.
It’s been such a short amount of time but I see something inside of her shining brightly. She’s in her element. For the first time in years, she’s where she belongs.
I offer her a curt nod as Tony says, “You’ll be sitting here, Miss Flynn. Once we’re in the air, drinks will be served. Do you have a preference?”
“Red wine,” she says then I cut my eyes at her.
“Try something different, Miss Flynn. Something you might have wanted to try for some time and just haven’t yet. Tony was a bartender while he went to college. I made sure we have a full bar on board for him to work with.”
Her eyes dart to mine, as she asks me, “Any suggestions?”
I look at Tony and nod. “Give her some ideas.”
“How does aged rum, ginger, and vanilla sound to you?” he asks her.
She smiles at him. “Very good.”
“Then I’ll bring you a drink called, Midnight Oil.” When she nods, he leaves us and goes back to his seat, just as the pilot comes over the speaker to let us know we’re taking off.
“It’s a pleasure to be working with you, Miss Flynn. I’m looking forward to it.”
She nods and smiles, shyly. “I look forward to working with you too, Mr. Crawford.”
We put on our seatbelts as we’ve been instructed to do and I find myself thinking about her and I, leaving on the first mission to Mars and how I wish she’d consider it. But I hold my tongue. I’m determined to treat her with respect and let her see how that feels. I know she’ll like it.
She seems calm as we start to taxi down the runway, so I ask her, “Are you okay with flying?”
“I am. Damien and I fly a lot.”
“Of course,” I say, forgetting about that.
With her looking the way she does, professional and part of my team, I seem to be forgetting that she’s with the man. And I’m kind of glad to see that happening.
I want to reach out and hold her hand but I push that urge down and close my eyes, doing what I do many times when we’re taking off, pretending it’s a rocket ship. Once we level off, I open my eyes and see her looking at me out of the corner of her eye.
“You like to think about going to Mars more than you like to think about anything else,” she says.
I nod. “That’s true.”
“And anything anyone can do to help you see that dream come true makes you pretty happy,” she says as she smiles at me.
“Very happy, Miss Flynn. Having you with your exquisite brain on my team is a Godsend.”
Pink fills her cheeks and she looks away. “I hope I don’t disappoint you.”
“You won’t.” I reach over and pat the back of her hand. “I know you won’t.”
A flash of anger moves through her eyes as she looks at me and whispers, “Is that because you have me over a barrel?”
I’m surprised by her actions and words and shake my head as I whisper back, “I don’t have you over anything. I asked you to join us in this endeavor because I need your expertise and I thought you’d like to be a part of something. Especially since it’s your family farm that will be included in this. If you thought I meant to use what I know if you didn’t accept my offer, you’re mistaken. I used that threat only to get to talk to you. I won’t be using it anymore.”
Her eyes go soft and she whispers, “I’m sorry I said that then. I had the wrong idea.”
“Most likely because it was planted there,” I say as I think about Damien and his influence over the poor woman. “I want you to know, I believe in you. That’s why I asked you to come work with us.”
She nods and looks down at her hands then smooths out her skirt and bites her lower lip. I know she wants to say more but she’s stopping herself. This isn’t the time or place to get into any of our personal business and she knows that.
Tony starts serving drinks and conversations start to pop up as everyone begins to loosen up and move around a bit. The young woman, sitting in front of me, turns to look at Gia. “Mr. Crawford told us about what you invented. I think that’s fantastic. I too am into the food sciences. Hence, my presence on this team. He also said it’s your family’s farm we’re going to be using. Do you, by chance, know what the soil samples have in them?”
Gia lights up as she begins to tell the other scientist about what kinds of things her father has used to increase nutrients in the soil that’s gone unused for three years. I sit back and enjoy how animated and excited she is about this and I know I did the right thing by using that threat when I did.
It may seem unethical but I don’t give a crap!
GIA
Sipping on some coffee after eating Mom’s homemade apple pie for desert, I find myself feeling more than I’ve felt in what seems like, forever. Sandra, Tabitha, and I have formed a special team, within the team, to research everything we can about corn and its use as a fuel.
Dad is talking to Ryker and some of the other men about the machines he uses to do what he does with the soi
l and the crops. While my mother and sisters take care of cleaning up after dinner. I offered to help but was quickly told by Ryker that I was here on his team and he expected me to work with his other scientists on this visit.
To the side, he told me he’d bring me back anytime I wanted, to make a normal visit with my family. I love that he did that. I’m a viable asset to the mission, is what he told me. It made me feel pretty damn special and I haven’t felt that way in a very long time.
“What if we infused nitrates into the seeds?” Tabitha asks as she writes things down on a tablet in front of her.
“It could be done,” I say as I lean forward and tap into my tablet and bring up a site that shows every part of the seed there is and just how others have engineered them before. “I think I can get us some time at the local co-op. I worked there one summer when I was in high school. The old men there have more knowledge than we’ll ever get out of the internet.”
The girls hold up their hands for high-fives and I give them what they’re looking for. Our attention goes to Ryker as he stands up and announces, “Bedtime, troops. We’ll get at it again at first light.”
Murmuring is all I hear as everyone gets up and heads to the bedrooms my mother doled out to us all. I got my old room, of course. Before I head out, I go to find myself a bottle of water to take up to my room and find Mom in the kitchen.
“Hey, Mom,” I say as I come in. “Thanks for doing all of this.”
She nods then I see her gesture behind me and find Ryker is there, which I didn’t know. “Apollo Engineering is paying us well to host this conference. No thanks are necessary.”
“You are?” I ask Ryker as he moves past me to get a bottle of water himself.
He reaches into the fridge and pulls two of them out, handing me one. “Apollo is,” he corrects me. “This is business, Miss Flynn.”
Mom laughs at him calling me that and she shakes her head as she leaves us alone in the kitchen. “Goodnight guys. I’m headed to bed.”
Rockstar Untamed: A Single Dad Virgin Romance Page 113
