“Yeah, I suppose so,” I agreed.“She doesn’t seem the type.”
“You know, I was surprised that her and Joseph stopped seeing each other,” she remarked casually.“She said that he was a cool guy.”
“He’s definitely a better choice than Teddy,” I grumbled.“Still, if I understand it, it’s Leandra that hadn’t wanted to take it any further.”
“Yeah, she’s...she’s a bit of a free spirit,” Rya replied thoughtfully.“But with the way that she’d spoken about Joseph, I really thought that she might try to make it a go with him.”
“Ah, well...Joseph’s a big boy,” I told her.“I’m sure that everyone will move on perfectly well.”
Just then, the cook called out our orders, and so I got up to go grab them.When I placed the plates on the table, she immediately reached for the bag of condiments, and I learned that Rya liked green sauce while I was a red sauce kind of guy.She’d also insisted on salt, claiming that she’d worry about high blood pressure later.
“So, what’s it like being a Wilder?”she asked before taking a bite of one of her tacos.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.“Since it’s the only life that I’ve ever known, I have nothing else to compare it to.”
Rya’s brows furrowed a bit as she looked over at me, and I could tell that she’d been expecting a generic answer.“But...surely, it’s a different kind of life from us regular folks, right?”
“You say that like my life isn’t a regular one,” I replied after swallowing a bite of the best tacos that I’d ever tasted.“Again, it’s the only life that I’ve ever known, so it’s pretty regular to me.”
“Don’t be obtuse,” she chided.“Not everyone grows up surrounded by billions or is in line to inherit a very successful conglomerate.”
“Up until I graduated college, the money belonged to my parents, so I’d just been a regular kid who’d been dependent on his mom and dad.Like most kids that age, I suspect.”
“And then?”
“Then I started my job at Wilder Technologies, and after spending months working my way through the entire system, my father hired me.He had also gifted me and my sister our shares of the company, so to prove that I was worthy of it all, I’ve been working my ass off for years to shake off that nepotism baby moniker.”I shrugged as I took another bite of my taco.“These are great fucking tacos, by the way.”
Rya grinned.“They really are.”
Just then, a group of about four guys came walking up to the taco truck, and one of them was eyeing my car, and the fact that I didn’t care kind of made Rya’s point about me.While inconvenient, the loss of my car wasn’t a big deal for someone with my financial security, but if I made a big deal out of it, then it could make me look like a spoiled brat.Honestly, I couldn’t win either way.
“Nice ride, man,” the guy in the black shirt said.“Is it yours?’
I could feel Rya tense as I looked over at the newcomers.“It is.”
“What’s something like that run ya?”the guy in the Angel’s hat asked.
Since lying would make me look like a pussy, I said, “Around eighty.”
The other two guys ignored us in favor of ordering their food while the other two approached our table.“That’s a lot of money,” Angel’s hat remarked with a low whistle.
“It is,” I agreed.“But you have to dress for the job you want, right?”
Just then, the guy in the black shirt grabbed his wallet from his back pocket, and I watched as he pulled out a business card.“I have a buddy over on South Langdon, and he’s killer with auto detailing.”I took the card as he added, “He’s the best around.”
“Thanks,” I replied, the card in my fingers.“I appreciate it.”
Then he looked over at Rya, throwing her a wink.“Hey, Pretty Girl.”
“Yeah, no,” I immediately said.“I’ve got no problem with you eyeing my car, but I have to draw the line at you eyeing my girl.”
The guy looked back at me, a huge grin on his face.“I hear you.I’d be throwing up my fists for her, too.”
With that, the two guys went to go join their other friends, and when I looked back at Rya, she still seemed tense.“Baby, it’s okay.”
After a few seconds, she whispered, “Why did you tell them that I was your girl?”
“Because you are,” I informed her seriously.“But even if you weren’t, telling people that you’re my girlfriend is a lot safer than telling them that you’re just my date.”
