The decor of the place was simply stunning. I had held no doubt it would be classy, however—as I came to realize— I hadn't prepared myself for how classy it would be. Although I was dressed elegantly enough to blend in with the cultured and well groomed crowd, mentally, I kept setting myself apart. I don't belong here, my subconscious chanted. This is so not my scene.

The more I said those words in my head, the more I wanted to exit this beautiful hall that had been decorated to perfection in one of the most expensive hotels in all of D.C. and head home.

"Calm down," Ryder moved in close and whispered in my ear. The feeling of his hot breath so close made me shiver unconsciously. "There's no one here tonight deserving of your fear."

"I'm not scared." I lied straight through my teeth.

I was. Very much so and ready to bolt out of here.

"Really?" He raised a brow, his lips curling as his gaze shifted to our hands.

Sometime between leaving the elevator and speaking with a few people, Ryder's and my hand had become enjoined and I was squeezing the fuck out of it. If that wasn't a huge telltale of my wrecking nerves, I didn't know what was.

Mortified, I went to pull away but he didn't let go, his grip tightening around mine instead.

I tried to ignore that little, potentially insignificant action as I swallowed a large gulp of the bubbly champagne in the flute I was holding. "Well, I beg to differ. I see a ton of people who could change my life in a snap of their fingers hence warranting my discomfort."

As I said the words my gaze shifted to a group of men who I identified as congressmen in their pressed charcoal black suits and the pin above their breast pockets bearing the American flag. Then, on to a senator who stood next to a lithe, stunning redhead lady who didn't at all look to be his wife and whispering God knows what into her ear that cause her to blush.

"The only person relevant of whatever it is that you're feeling is standing right next to you, Nicole. Trust me." Ryder said, a devilish smirk on his lips. I had no doubt that his words rang true and that helped to alleviate my nerves a little.

"Okay." I gulped.

"Now come, let me introduce you to some people." Ryder tugged me out of the little hiding spot where we stood, simply perusing the room, and into the main event.

Almost as if he was burning hot flame and the guests were moths, people began flocking to speak to him. Everyone seemed to want a piece of Ryder Stone. Everyone including me, I admitted to myself as I watched him make conversation with people effortlessly. How he knew each and everyone of their names, and even the back story of some, astounded me as I could barely remember the name of the first person that I was introduced to at the start of this event.

At some point I made a move to leave, however Ryder wasn't having it as he held me close to his side and even introduced me to a few guests.

"I'm ready to go." He announced out of the blue thirty minutes after we arrived.

I looked at him, confused. "But they haven't even started the main event yet." The auction, which was the main money maker of the fundraiser, was set to begin in less than ten minutes and at this point I was actually curious to see what they would be auctioning.

"Which would be a total bore, unless of course you want to stay a bit longer."

I didn't. "You, Mr Stone, are somewhat of a recluse, do you know that?"

"I may have been told that a few times." He grinned, a boyish smile that made him look hundred times more handsome in that moment, his eyes lighting up playfully.

"While I still have my manners intact, let's quickly speak to the hosts of the event and then we can take our leave." He said and nodding, I followed him behind him.

The hosts, an elderly couple I couldn't recognize, were engaged in conversation with a man, however, the moment they sighted Ryder, they ended that and their smiles widened.

"I'm glad to see you came." The man beamed as Ryder kissed the cheeks of his wife who had a bright grin of her own on her lips.

"Of course, old man." Both men laughed as they hugged.

It was surprising to see that Ryder was more affectionate towards this man than his own father, and their easy banter made me wonder the role the man who I had come to know as Jim Warden played in his life.

"Is this your date for tonight?" The elder woman, Gwen, turned to me, her almond eyes twinkling.

"Oh, no, I'm his assistant." I said before stretching out my hand to them. "Nicole Smith."

"It's nice to meet you, Nicole." Gwen said sincerely, her warm hand in mine.

"Same here. You put together a lovely event."

The woman looked proud of herself at the compliment. "Thank you."

"She's a beauty, this one." Jim said, pointing at me, a smile that had the crows feet around his eyes all the more pronounced on. "Keep her."

His words caused my cheeks to heat up, or maybe it was the way Ryder's gaze turned to me as he said, "I plan to."

His words sounded like a promise, but once again, I didn't allow myself read into them regardless of the slight flutter that I had in my belly.

We left the event soon after Ryder had handed Jim an enveloped check that had made his eyes widen slightly when he opened it, then we returned to the car which was still in the underground parking lot and before I knew it we were leaving, gone as quietly as we came in.

"So, why don't you like the press?" I ask.

"It's not exactly them that I dislike. It's having my face splashed across tabloids that irritates me." Ryder divulged.

Well, it's a rather handsome face, I thought to myself.

"I'm glad you think so." Ryder had a smirk on his face.

My eyes widened as I realized that I actually said that out loud. Fuck. I was embarrassed and he seemed to know, the curl of his lips lifting further.

"I think you're beautiful too." I don't know if he was telling me that to pacify me and make me feel less stupid, but I took it regardless. Coming from a man who rarely made two polite sentences to me at the office, I ate the compliment up.

The car was quiet which made the small sound of my stomach rumbling all the more loud in the confined space. I inwardly groaned as my hand went to cover up my belly, rubbing slowly as I prayed to God that he hadn't heard that. Maybe he had gone momentarily deaf.

I hadn't eaten anything since brunch with Megan, and of course my forgetful self hadn't remembered until now. But funny enough, I wasn't actually hungry. I swore that I was going to give myself an ulcer one of these days goddamnit.

"Strangely enough, I don't want this night to end. Would like you to have dinner? I did after all deprive you of eating by leaving early," Ryder said easily.

The request shocked me as I tried to wrap my head around what to make of it. Was Ryder Stone, my egotistic asshole boss, asking to buy me dinner?

My common sense told me to say no, to refuse his kind offer and have him drive me home to my husband who was no doubt waiting on me.

But it seemed like when in the presence of this man, this sexy hunk of a man, common sense was often overruled.

"Strangely enough?" I laughed. "Wow, I've never heard anyone use that one before asking me to have dinner."

He almost look embarrassed, almost, but he smiled once he caught on that I was merely pulling his legs. "I guess I owe you one for that insensitive phase then."

I snorted. "You do. All would be forgiven, if you buy me ice cream. I'm not really hungry for food." No. I needed something cold to quench the growing fire in my loins that seemed to always be blazing when this man was around me. Flustered, didn't even come close to describing how I felt. And it was becoming even harder to act otherwise.

Mirth swam in Ryder's blue eyes as he stared at me from across the car. "Fair enough." He knocked on the partition demarcating the car space and the drivers side and whispered something to Mikhal that I couldn't hear.

Turning to look outside the window, I watched as people hurried down the streets, trying to go about whatever they needed to do quickly seeing as the sky was rapidly darkening. It rained an awful lot here and usually I loved it, but tonight I found myself hoping that the inevitable downpour will hold off for a little while.

Most people resented the vicious weather of Seattle, however I couldn't think of a better way to live. Maybe it was because growing up in Boston, my life didn't consist of many interesting things. It became even worse when after suffering a devastating loss, I had felt as if I was at an impasse in my life and I wanted nothing more than to get out of that city and start afresh in a new environment.

Seattle was my escape of choice and now, several years down the line, I didn't regret that.

The car slowed to a stop on the street and without waiting for Mikhal, Ryder pushed open the door before reaching in and helping me out, that same tingling feeling returning with a vengeance.

The sign above the cozy looking shop had the words, Sweet Alchemy, right above it in blinking blue lights. The interior was just as cozy looking as I thought it would be. The small space quaint, yet colorful.

There were a few patrons seated around and they turned to us when they walked in. I had no doubt that we made an odd pair, with myself still dressed in my long dinner dress and uncomfortable heels, and Ryder still wearing his dashing tuxedo. A handsome pair, but an odd one nonetheless.

"This is nice, how did you find this place?" I asked Ryder as we made our way to the counter.

"I have a bit of a sweet tooth from time to time." We shared a smile at that before it was interrupted by a server behind the counter.

As she showed us the different flavors of ice cream, a variety of which I had never seen, my mind created an image of a laid back version of Ryder in his penthouse, eating ice cream and just being...normal. I felt like it should be an odd picture, but it really wasn't. I think somewhere along the line, after meeting him, he began to seem less like a man who enjoyed the simpler things in life, and more like untouchable enigma. His actual personality was unintentionally misconstrued and I found myself both annoyed with myself for thinking that way, and highly intrigued about the man behind the persona he presented.

I was a bit confused on what to order cause there were so many sugary and delicious looking treats, but finally, after long contemplation, I decided to go with the Pumpkin Spice Latte flavored ice cream. It looked heavenly and I figured that if I liked the coffee, I'd like this too.

After getting the ice cream, we found a seat at the back of the room where it was a little more quiet and private.

There was a comfortable silence as Ryder and I settled in and simply ate our ice cream as we basked in each other's presence it would seem.

"This is not how I saw tonight going. At all." I declared after swallowing down a spoonful of the frozen treat.

He grinned playfully. "How did you expect it to go?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Anything but having ice cream with my boss."

"Well, I'm man full of surprises, aren't I?"

"You sure are, Mr Stone." I teased, and he simply shook his head as he shoved a spoon of chocolate ice cream into his mouth. The flavor was simple yet so sexy to watch him eat.

My eyes followed that spoon like a lifeline, skittishly watching as it made its way past his full, pink lips and briefly wishing I could be that spoon.

Get a hold of yourself, Nicole, I cautioned mentally.

To distract myself, my eyes shifted elsewhere before landing on his fingers which were tapping on the table rhythmically.

"Why do you do that?" I asked abruptly.

"What?" Ryder replied, confused.

I gestured to his hands. "That tapping thing. You do it a lot, I noticed."

He stopped then, looking at his hand as if he didn't even realize that he was doing it. "Force of habit, I suppose. I've played the piano for as long as I can remember, so sometimes my fingers move on surfaces unconsciously as if it's the damn instrument." He let out a light chuckle that made me smile.

"I've always wanted to learn how to play an instrument. But I gave up after I realized that I just wasn't musically inclined." I shrugged nonchalantly as I briefly remembered that phase in my life where I was desperately searching for that one thing that I was good at. "Who taught you to play?"

Ryder was silent, his face thoughtful as his eyes glued at a spot. "My mother. She loved to play, it was her escape from everything. I used to watch her play and soon I started trying it out for myself."

The tone with which he spoke of her, the reverence, tugged at my heart something fierce. That had to be what prompted me to reach out and clasp his big hand in mine. "Well, I'm sure that she was a phenomenal player. And you too."

Ryder's eyes shifted to our joined hands and even though it made me want to pull away, I didn't. His hand tightened around mine as a small, grateful smile tugged on his lips very briefly.

It was silent between us momentarily, before Ryder asked out if the blue, "If you were at home right now, what would you be doing?"

The question gave me a pause. I knew that he just wanted to lighten the mood by changing the subject, however I was a bit hesitant to tell him. He had shared something personal about himself and I wanted to do the same, so I said, "I'd probably be drawing."

Ryder seemed mildly surprised by my response. "You're an artist?" I nodded. "Interesting. What do you draw?"

And then I found myself wishing I never brought it up. But seeing as I'd already started the conversation, I might as well just jump in with both legs. "Lingerie."

Ryder looked into my eyes deeply as if to see if I was being serious before a wide grin broke across his face. "I never would have guessed that one."

Releasing a low chuckle, I said, "I've always loved it. And somewhere down the line, my love for it transitioned from wanting to wear it, to wanting to make it."

"That's great. Do you do that as I side job?"

I wished that I had the balls to, I thought to myself as I shook my head.

"Why?" Ryder asked with a tilt of his head, giving me a penetrating stare. I simply made a noncommittal shrug in response before eating some more of the rapidly melting ice cream before me. "Do you have a passion for it?"

Releasing a sigh, I replied honestly, "I do. But it's just not something that I can do right now. It would require energy, investment, and my time which is mostly spent working for you. I don't know if I've ever told you this but you're a pretty demanding boss." I blurted, and when the words came out, I wished I had chosen my words more carefully. We may have been having a casual conversation, but there were still boundaries between us that I didn't want to cross.

However, Ryder surprised me by laughing, a deep sound that seemed to resonate in my bones. "You should see your face." No, thank you. "It's okay to say that. I know. I require a hundred percent from everyone who I employ so I try to push them to give me just that. And yes, I know I push too hard sometimes."

I gaped at him. "Who are you and what have you done to Ryder Stone?"

He laughed again, the sound light and earthy causing me to smile. This wasn't the man I was used to, not by far, but I liked this version of him regardless. A little too much. "Back to your lingerie designing—you're not getting out of it that easily." He fixed his eyes on me, the intensity of it causing me to nervously tuck my hair behind my ear and lick my lips. "Is lack of investment the problem?"

"It's not just that," I said a little timidly. Even though I was a woman, telling people that I liked to design and create lingerie wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. No one, except Knox, Megan, Hailey and a few others knew that I designed female undergarments in my free time and I wanted to keep it that way.

I knew where my fear stemmed from. My simple inability to ever do anything out of my comfort zone. This caused many restrictions in my life but sometimes, staying in that box that you created for yourself just feels too damn safe. That was a problem I'd always had. A bad habit I didn't know how to break.

Ryder seemed to read the conflict on my face which I was sure was as clear as daylight and I saw sympathy flash in his eyes so quickly that if I had blinked, I just might've missed it. "Nicole, fear to follow your passion is not going to get you anywhere-"

"I know," I cut him off. "I just need more time." But even on my lips the words tasted like a lie.

"Listen to me, time is a fickle concept. Nobody is ever truly guaranteed tomorrow so don't let fear rule your today. If you fucking want to make lingerie to make women feel sexy, you do that shit and you own it too." His words were firm and for a minute I found myself wondering, 'what the hell am I waiting for?' The man could be a motivational speaker if he wanted to.

"If investment is what you need, all you need to do is ask." His words stunned me. Was he really offering to give me the capital to start of a business I'd just told him of?

The shock was evident on my face no doubt. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Ryder deadpanned.

"I'll think about it. It will have to be a loan though. I'll pay you back." I said firmly. The thought of not returning the money wasn't one I even entertain as that wasn't my person at all.

Ryder simply nodded.

"So, you won't mind if I quit my job to actually do this?" I teased, but my voice edged with seriousness.

"As long as you find me a replacement first." Ryder joked. "Seeing as you're the best assistant I've had in a long while."

My cheeks blazed at his words of compliment and although he had said them as a joke, his eyes told of a seriousness that made my heart swell.

"You're the best boss I've had in a while too."
__________
Please don't forget to VOTE & COMMENT YOUR THOUGHTS. Thank y'all for your support on this book so far, I really appreciate it💕