Holy shit, I did it.
Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, then. I mean, I had an office directly below the top floor of one of the most prominent tech companies in the world. The man who made my life a living nightmare during high school had no recollection of who I was to him. And now, I had a blank slate of an office that I could decorate and bend to my will while getting a bird’s eye view of the financials of one of the tech giants in this country.
“I made it,” I said breathlessly.
“Knock, knock!” a woman sing-songed.
I whipped around and watched a bouncy, mousey-looking redhead fling open my office door. She wore a beautiful light green sundress with matching flats and the freckles that scattered themselves across her body only added to her bright persona. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug as if we had known each other for years.
Then, she stepped back and stuck her hand out. “Hi! Sorry for the intrusion. I’m Brittney, and I’m the other accountant Mr. Ryker has on staff here at the company.”
I shook her hand as a smile crossed my face. “So, we’ll be working a lot together, then.”
“Mmmm, maybe not as much as you think. I make sure his taxes are all in line while you’ll be doing quarterly calculations for the board and things like that. But don’t worry. I’ll help catch you up and get you filled in so you can have a smooth first day.”
Happiness filled my heart. “It’s really, very nice to meet you, Miss--.”
She dropped my hand before waving hers in the air. “Mr. Ryker uses formalities, but not me. You can just call me Brit.”
I nodded. “Okay, Brit. It’s really nice to meet you. I’m Rebecca, though everyone usually calls me Becca.”
She smiled brightly. “Becca it is, then! So, Becca, do you have any plans for lunch?”
“I don’t, actually.”
“Well, you do now. Me and a couple of the girls from the H.R. department go out to lunch every day. We go to this cute little café where we can sit outside and have some coffee and enjoy the sunshine when it’s out.”
“That sounds wonderful, I’d love to come along.”
She backtracked toward my office door. “Great! I’ll come knock on your door around ten minutes to twelve, then.”
I nodded. “See you then.”
She left my office and closed the door behind her, leaving me alone to digest how absolutely perfect this morning had gone. I walked over to my empty desk and tossed my purse on top of it before standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the back of my office. I gazed out at Los Angeles, a city that was so far removed from my hometown of Peachland, North Carolina. And even though part of my past had followed me here, it seemed as if Los Angeles was determined to give me a fresh start.
Until a knock came at my door.
“Did you leave something behi--?”
“We need to talk,” JoJo said.
The growl of his voice whipped me around and I watched him charge me. Those steel gray eyes came alive with the anger that had haunted me all throughout my young adulthood and I found myself speechless as he planted his hands on either side of my head. With his body pinning me against the windows, I felt my heart stop in my chest.
And I watched as his eye twitched with fury. “Despite the professional relationship we now have, don’t you think for one second that I’ve forgotten what your family did to me. The humiliation they put me through and the broken heart I was left with. And if you think I could ever forget something like that, then you’re really as stupid as you were back in high school.”
Tears crested my eyes. “JoJo, I swear, I had nothing to--.”
He slammed his fist into the glass. “Call me that one more time and see what happens.”
I trembled in my heels as he slowly backed away. His stare slid down my form before he grimaced, as if my very presence disgusted him. And before he turned his back to me, his gaze met my stare one last time.
Before he stormed out of my office and closed the door silently behind him.
Okay, so he does remember me. Fuck.
But did he honestly believe I had anything to do with what happened to him all those years ago?
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