I took a sip of beer (because the ball park didn’t sell vodka) before answering. “Nope. Didn’t ask.”
“Could he be meeting with Viktor?”
“I’m not doing this,” I said, turning to fix him with a glare.
“Not doing what?”
“I didn’t invite you here so you could quiz me about Parker,” I said.
“Since what Parker’s doing has a direct impact on you, my asking is less about the case and more about how much danger he’s putting you in.”
Ryker’s frank response had me staring dubiously at him. “After all the BS you’ve been shoveling my way today, how am I supposed to take you seriously?”
He had the audacity to look confused. “What BS?”
I waved my hand. “You know, all the compliments and teasing, telling me how great I look, et cetera. You’ve been laying it on thick—which I appreciate, don’t get me wrong—but then how am I supposed to know when you really mean something you say?”
He didn’t respond for a moment, then reached up and slid off his glasses. The blue of his eyes was as clear as the sky above us.
“Sage, I’ve been perfectly honest with you today. It’s not BS. You’re gorgeous and I like making sure you know it. This isn’t a pickup line or a performance designed to get you into bed.
“If you don’t want to talk about Parker,” he continued, “then we won’t, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying to make you see sense when it comes to him.”
Okay, well he’d been doing good up until the see sense part. I sighed inwardly. He hated Parker, distrusted him, and nothing I said was going to change that.
“Let’s just enjoy the game, okay?” I asked. It was a peace offering, and it seemed Ryker recognized it as such because he smiled as he slid his sunglasses back on.
“Sounds good to me.” He draped his arm over the back of my chair, his hand lightly resting on the back of my neck bared by my ponytail. It felt nice, kind of possessive, and I liked it.
A few minutes later, my cell buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and grimaced. I’d known it was coming but still, a confrontation with my boss was usually something I avoided.
“Why the hell didn’t you do what I said?” was his opening line the second I answered.
“You gave me the afternoon off,” I replied coolly. “What I do when I’m not on the clock isn’t regulated by you or anyone else at KLP Capital.” Not quite true, since I’d been at Parker’s beck and call for over a year, but it was past time for that to change.
“I gave you time off so you’d get out of town until it’s safe for you to come back,” he retorted.
There was a crack of the batter hitting a ball and the crowd cheered. Music played over the sound system.
“Are you at a fucking baseball game?” Parker growled in my ear.
I cringed at the anger in his voice, but kept up my bravado. “Not just a baseball game. The Sox are playing today.”
“So although I tell you it’s not safe, you’re at a public venue, alone—”
“Who said I was alone?” I interrupted. Of course since I’d been fawning over him the other night, he’d assume I had no one else in my life. Wrong, buddy. “Ryker’s with me.”
Silence.
“Trying to get back at me, Sage?”
That stung, because it hit too close to home.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped. “I know it’s impossible for you to comprehend that he might actually be into me, but you’re wrong.” I glanced at Ryker, who was listening and now had a big grin on his face. Quickly, I covered the phone’s mouthpiece and spoke in a hushed whisper. “He is wrong, right?”
Ryker slid his fingers up my nape to curl around my neck. “Oh, yeah. He’s very wrong.”
Good to know.
I spoke into the phone again. “So have a good weekend,” I said. “I plan to.” I ended the call without waiting for a response. Darn close to hanging up on my boss, but I’d been pushed beyond my limits this week.
And had I just insinuated that I was going to sleep with Ryker this weekend? Kinda. Hmm.
So maybe I had invited Ryker just to get back at Parker, but it had been done unconsciously, so I didn’t think it really counted. I was hurting from his rejection, so yeah, maybe I had wanted to