Page 41 of Wrecked By You
When the Earth tilts on its axis,
hold on for dear life.
Who am I,and what am I doing here?
Johannes’s out-of-the-blue invitation to accompany him to a business meeting had completely stunned me. Not only the unexpectedness of it, but also his reasoning for it.
“I’d appreciate your views on Ryker as a potential business partner.”
I was the wrong person for a task like that. I’d married a drug baron without having a clue who he really was. I’d been blinded to the man beneath his polished exterior until it was almost too late. I didn’t trust my instincts. I’d been too gullible, too innocent, and I’d believed every word that had come out of my husband’s mouth without questioning a single one of them.
But how could I refuse a request by my boss to accompany him to a business meeting? I was his assistant, a job I’d come to relish these past two weeks. My confidence in my abilities had grown with each passing day, and with it, the real me, Eloise, not Ella, had emerged. When I’d run from my home with what few possessions I could carry and a few hundred dollars in my wallet, I’d made a decision to play a part.Stay quiet, hide in the shadows, be respectful and submissive. No one noticed the little mouse in the corner. But since Johannes had hired me as his assistant, we’d grown closer, and as a result, my true personality had crept to the fore.
For some strange reason, Johannes didn’t seem to mind my sass. I’d go so far as to say he enjoyed it when I bantered with him. And the laugh he’d shared with me… it had crawled into my heart. I craved to hear it again, over and over, and know that I was the one who’d broken down his barriers. I’d never met such a closed-off person in my entire life. No one voluntarily imprisoned themselves, and while Johannes Kingcaid had riches beyond my wildest dreams, they brought him little, if any, happiness.
I wondered what would make him happy. The award he was hell-bent on winning? More nightclubs? More riches? Who knew? I hoped that one day, he’d find that missing piece.
Maybe I could be the one to unearth it.
I laughed to myself.Don’t be silly. You’re an employee. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The hostess led us over to a table set for three in the center of the dining room. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the silverware sparkled, and the tablecloths were pressed to perfection. The whole thing oozed elegance… and money.
How the other half lives.
How I’d lived, once. I wasn’t unaccustomed to wealth. Mateo had taken me to all the best places. We’d stayed in five-star hotels, vacationed on yachts in the Gulf of Mexico, and drunk wine at ten thousand dollars a bottle. And all the while, I’d believed his lies. He profited off the misery of others, and his so-called business had put my daughter in danger.
I’d never forgive him for that. Never forgive him for leaving us so exposed that a rival drug gang had broken into our home and tried to take me and Chloe as bargaining chips to force Mateo’s hand into agreeing to relinquish the territory he’d stolen. If Mateo hadn’t come home unexpectedly after getting a tip-off that something was going down, anything could have happened.
“Ryker.”
Johannes’s greeting brought me back to the present. I pasted on a welcoming smile and waited for him to introduce me.
“Good to see you.” The two men shook hands. “This is my assistant, Ella.”
He pressed a palm to my lower back again. I savored the warmth from his skin, the pressure of his touch. Goose bumps peppered my arms, the hairs standing on end.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Stone.”
“Ryker, please. Only my wife calls me Mr. Stone.”
My eyebrows flew up my head, and I searched for an appropriate response to such a comment until I spotted the glint in his eye. I laughed, and he did, too.
“Athena, that’s my wife, isn’t the compliant type. She’d never stand for such a thing. Might make me call her Mrs. Stone, though.” He winked, then sat.
I liked him.
Enormously.
Johannes held out my chair, and I almost choked. Was he trying to impress Ryker or just make up for his lack of chivalry earlier tonight?
Or had our lighthearted banter shifted something between us?
“Thank you.” I smoothed my dress beneath my thighs and sat down.
The waiter brought over a bottle of wine I presumed Ryker had ordered before we’d arrived. I took the smallest sip. The last thing I needed was to get tipsy. This might have been outside my normal working hours, but I was still on duty, still representing Kingcaid, as Johannes had pointed out in his unique, blunt way.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Johannes as he and Ryker talked about strategy and growth and how their different businesses might align in a joint venture that, from the sounds of it, would benefit both parties. He was more animated than I’d ever seen him, his enthusiasm contagious. Even I began to get excited about his future plans to grow across the United States and, eventually, overseas as Ryker had done with his dance clubs.