Follow the Echoes // Ryan Lindgren, New York Rangers

Chapter Two

Sydney curses to herself as she sits down on the empty seat with her auction card in hand. The older woman beside her gives her a look and Sydney smiles back sheepishly. Her lack of punctuality never fails to amaze her. The painting auction began half an hour ago and just because she knew her target would not be introduced within this time frame; she used it as an excuse to come in late.

She tugs her floral dress down when she notices the fabric hike up in her seat. Jade's dress fits her fine, but she is a couple of inches taller than her sister-in-law, so this dress is more thigh length on her than knee length. Sydney is hoping that the older woman next to her does not notice her discomfort in the dress and at this auction.

The auctioneer gestures toward a middle-aged lady seated at the other side of the room as she holds her card high up in the air.

"The Midnight Rider for $25,000! Number 607!" the auctioneer exclaims excitedly, slamming his hatchet against the podium in front of him.

Sydney is taken aback at how expensive the painting went for. She glances at The Midnight Rider and does not feel that the painting is worth as much as Lady Number 607 is paying for. You are surrounded by rich people, Sydney reminds herself.

She is here today as part of an errand she promised to run for Jade. Jade has other commitments with the wives and girlfriends of the Rangers team, so she asked Sydney for this favor.

Jade is an heiress of an oil conglomerate and comes from a family of wealth and power. Before she married Chris, her family pushed her to get a prenup to protect her share of the family's assets. Jade, stubborn as always, threw a fit, and fought her father tooth and nail to drop the subject. She insisted that she loved Chris and that a prenup was not necessary. Chris had talked her into getting one done to appease her family. Besides, he is not interested in her family's empire.

Jade gave Sydney a blank check today to acquire a painting that had sentimental value to her great-grandfather. Sydney was told that her father sold the painting when he was trying to clear some room in his estate. When the rest of the family found out, they were livid. Fortunately, Jade's grandmother was able to locate the painting to this auction and requested Jade to acquire the painting at all costs. For some reason, Jade entrusted her with this task.

No pressure, right?

Sydney watched some YouTube tutorials on strategies to employ at auctions in hopes that she will win the auction without breaking the bank. Jade had given her a target number to take the painting at, but she reassured the younger woman that no price is too steep for this beloved piece. Nevertheless, Sydney will do everything she can to get a good deal on this painting. Hopefully, the rich folks at this auction have no interest in this painting.

"Next up is The Armored Maiden, any takers?" The auctioneer announces with his booming voice, gesturing for the two ladies behind him to bring the painting forward.

Sydney perks up at the name of the painting. It's showtime! She is going to have to fight every single person in this room to get the painting.

When the painting is uncovered, Sydney stares at the canvas blankly, unimpressed. She does not understand rich people at all. Well, at least it is not my money, Sydney scoffs to herself as the auction for The Armored Maiden starts.

"$500?"

About half of the room raise their auction cards up, herself included. The auctioneer looks around the room with a soft smile on his face.

"$1,000?" Not a single auction card is put down.

This guy is going to have to move faster. $1,000 is pocket change to these people, Sydney stares down the auctioneer intently.

"$2,000?"

Half of the raised cards went down, making her laugh. Never mind.

The process continues on and Sydney notices that interest in this piece dropped the higher the bid went. She is surprised that there are people willing to bid so much on an ugly painting. Maybe Sydney is not rich enough to understand and respect art. Nevertheless, she has to be relentless and bid until she is the last person standing. Jade set her up to succeed. There is literally no ceiling for her to stop her bid. If she fails at getting this painting, she does not even know what to tell Jade.

"$10,000?" The auctioneer inquires, looking around the room.

Sydney keeps her card raised and it appears that she is the last one standing. This earns the auctioneer's attention. She glances around the room, confirming that she is the only one in the room with her card up. A sense of relief washes over her. She did not fail at her one job.

"809, looks like you are..."

"FIFTEEN GRAND!" A booming male voice interrupts.

Sydney's entire body slumps in disappointment as she groggily turns to the source of the voice. Her eyes widen in shock as they land on him. He is staring back at her in amusement, as if this is all a game to him. After she overcame her shock, she glares at him. Game on, bastard.

Without missing a beat, Sydney raises her suction card up even higher.

"Twenty grand!" She counters.

Ryan Lindgren smirks at her and without even looking at the auctioneer, waves his card.

"Twenty-five grand."

The auctioneer opens his mouth to interject but Sydney does not give him a chance.

"Twenty-nine grand!"

"Thirty-two grand."

Sydney shoots up from her seat, visibly frustrated by Ryan. She came here determined not to let Jade down, but this is personal now. She will not lose to Ryan Lindgren. Not now and not ever. She is going to win this auction no matter the cost.

"FOURTY!"

Ryan chuckles, which makes Sydney even angrier. What does he want with this ugly painting anyway?

"Fifty," he says casually.

The auctioneer bangs his hatchet on the podium as an attempt to stop this auction that is now getting out of hand. The two bidders are staring each other down over this painting and if he does not stop them now, they will never make it to the next painting.

"Sir and madam, let's stop this now. We have a process to determine the winner, let's..."

"Fifty-five!" Sydney cuts in, disregarding the auctioneer.

"Seventy!" Ryan continues to stare at her in amusement.

He doesn't think I have what it takes, Sydney is going to outbid him, he just does not know it yet. He can underestimate her all he wants, but she is going to show him that he is wrong. Proving him wrong has always been her favorite pastime.

"One-hundred grand!" She declares definitively.

She is nearing the amount Jade's father sold the painting for. Jade had told her it was more than fine for her to bid higher than that, but she really prefers not to have to explain to Jade why she had to spend more than the painting's value to win the bid. Her longstanding rivalry with Ryan Lindgren is probably not a good explanation.

Instead of displaying the panic that is slowly creeping up on her, she grins at Ryan in challenge. There is no way Ryan would spend over $100,000 on an ugly painting just to spite her. While he is a professional athlete with a multi-million-dollar contract, he cannot afford to go any higher over a dumb painting. Unlike Jade and her family, Ryan's financial resources are not a bottomless pit.

Ryan laughs lightly, shaking his head. He shrugs at her and puts down his card. Fuck yeah! Sydney tries to hide the satisfaction on her face as she maintains eye contact with the hockey player.

"The Armored Maiden for $100,000, going once... going twice..."

Sydney and Ryan do not break eye contact. The raven-haired woman raises an eyebrow at him, as if daring him to raise the bid. He shakes his head and mouths something to her. Sydney is no lip reader, but she is pretty sure he said, "you win, SK."

"The Armored Maiden for $100,000! Number 809!" The auctioneer exclaims in relief and gestures to the side entrance, "please collect your painting just through that door!"

The auctioneer had not done that with the winner of the previous bid. This is probably a nudge for her to leave, not that she is complaining. She cannot imagine how long she will have to wait before the end of the auction.

Sydney walks over to the side entrance as instructed. She can see Ryan get up from his spot and follow her. He makes it to the entrance before she does.

"What do you want, Lindgren?"

He gestures for her to go through the entrance first. Rolling her eyes, she enters the room. Employees of the auction are bringing in paintings and meeting with patrons who Sydney assumes have won their bids. She looks around and notices two employees bring in The Armored Maiden. This painting is not appealing to her in any way. If she were as rich as Jade's family, she still would not spend $100,000 on it.

Sydney turns to Ryan and catches him staring at her body. His eyes roam down from her stupid floral print dress to her legs. Sydney clears her throat.

"Eyes up here, buddy."

Ryan snaps out of whatever compelled him to stare at her, focusing his attention on her face.

"You look like a flower shop threw up on you," he says.

She rolls her eyes and examines his choice of outfit. He is wearing a black button-up shirt and dark dress pants.

"And you look like you're going to someone's funeral," Sydney fires back.

Ryan's eyes glance down at her dress again. Sydney is feeling a bit self-conscious, especially with how short the dress is. She reaches down to the hem of the dress to pull it down again.

"Isn't this dress a little too short to be wearing to an event like this?"

"If I recall, you were totally checking me out."

Ryan smirks again.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Sydney groans. I hate him so much.

"No I wouldn't, actually."

She turns from him and makes her way to where the two employees are packing The Armored Maiden for her behind a counter. She can hear Ryan trail behind her. What on earth does he want?

"Can I help you, Lindgren?" Sydney turns on him, annoyed.

Ryan shrugs nonchalantly.

"I know Kreids did not agree to drop a hundred grand for you to buy some ugly painting."

"Oh, you mean the same ugly painting you were willing to spend seventy grand on?"

Sydney is trying her best to stay away from Chris's teammates and now this one will not leave her alone. She technically only vowed to stay away from her ex-boyfriend, but running into his best friend is almost worse. Ryan used to be a close friend, but since she started dating Adam, he has become despicable. He relentlessly put her down, made hurtful comments towards her, and deliberately started shit with her for no reason. Sydney had no choice but to fend for herself and fight back. She found herself to be a formidable opponent against Ryan in most challenges he forced her into.

Today, she has defeated him thanks to Jade's deep pockets.

What she cannot understand is why Ryan cannot leave her alone. He has always made it clear to her that he hates her very existence. Why is he going out of his way to make her life miserable instead of just going away?

"Need a hand carrying that painting?" Ryan asks condescendingly.

Sydney ignores him and proceeds to the counter to retrieve the painting. Not surprisingly, Ryan follows her.

"Number 809?" The woman behind the counter asks.

Sydney hands the woman her auction card and takes out Jade's checkbook from her purse. Jade had signed the top check and made it out to the organization. The only item she left blank was the dollar amount. Sydney pulls a pen from her purse and writes in the dollar amount.

"Ah, you got the sister-in-law to fund your spending habits," Ryan comments.

"This is her painting, okay?" Sydney snaps at the blonde hockey star, "I'm just running an errand for her."

She rips the check from the checkbook and hands it to the woman behind the counter. The woman, in return, hands her a stack of papers.

"Please fill out this form and the shipping address for this painting."

Sydney turns to Ryan with an eyebrow raised. He stares back at her expectantly.

"Shipping address?" Sydney questions.

"Yes, we will ship the painting to you," the woman responds patiently.

Ryan had offered to help her carry the painting earlier. Sure, he was mocking her and had zero intention of being her muscle. Nevertheless, Sydney is about to change that.

"Actually, my friend here just offered to carry the painting back to my place," Sydney beams at Ryan, "we can take it from here."

Ryan's jaw drops.

"I did not..."

"Oh, you can't handle a little painting? It's only twenty blocks from the penthouse," Sydney returns the condescending tone he used on her earlier.

Ryan opens his mouth to speak but Sydney cuts him off again.

"Don't you need to pack a few more pounds this season? If this is too much for you, that's fine. I won't tell..." she winks at him.

Ryan groans, throwing his hands up. He is tempted to agree and turn this around on her. However, Sydney is wearing a short little dress and four-inch heels. There is no way she can carry the large painting by herself back to Chris's penthouse. He signed up for this, and he refuses to give her the satisfaction of going back on his word. Besides, he would love to see Sydney walk twenty blocks in those heels.

"Not a problem at all, SK," Ryan says nonchalantly, "meanwhile, you're just going to take an Uber back to the penthouse?"

Sydney knows a Ryan Lindgren challenge when she sees one. If she is going to make him carry this painting all the way back to Chris's penthouse, he is going to make her walk back with him. She certainly did not wear the right shoes for this, but she will not back down from his challenge. Besides, she will have the satisfaction of watching the hockey player struggle with the large painting. He may be a professional athlete but there is no way he will make it.

"Of course not. I'll walk with you to make sure you do not cause any damage to the painting," Sydney grins at him.

"Ma'am, are you sure? We can ship it within two business days. It is not a problem at all," the woman interjects.

"Lindgren?" Sydney defers to Ryan.

He does not back down.

"Yeah, no need to ship the painting. I'm sure Jade wants her hands on this bad boy ASAP."

Sydney then proceeds to complete the paperwork for this transaction and about fifteen minutes later, Ryan is carrying The Armored Maiden out of the building with Sydney in tow. The two do not speak to each other for the first five minutes of the trek back to Chris's place. Sydney can tell that Ryan is trying his best to appear unfazed by his task. She observes sweat drip down his forehead and a look of concentration on his face. His arms are firmly wrapped around the painting to secure it in place.

Sydney catches herself staring at the flex of his arm muscles. She wonders how firm his arms would feel under her touch. Oh god, stop thinking about him like that, she stops herself. It has been a while since she has seen a man as fit as Ryan. Why else would she be thirsting after his toned arms and athletic build?

"Why were you at the auction?" Sydney decides to make conversation to avoid thinking about his arms.

Ryan did not answer for a few moments. At first, Sydney is sure he will just ignore her until they get to Chris's place. But she is surprised when he finally speaks up.

"I just bought a place. Thought I'd stop by to see if I can find a good painting to put up."

The two falls into comfortable silence after that. Ryan is not as chatty as he was earlier, and Sydney reckons that he is too focused on not overexerting himself. She can tell that he wants a break, but he will not give her the satisfaction of asking for one. At various points during the walk back to the penthouse, Sydney contemplated asking for a break multiple times, more for Ryan's sake. She knows that this is a competition between the two, but she is feeling bad about making Ryan carry the painting.

However, she knows he would turn around and make her seem like the loser if she did ask to rest. Her sympathy for him only goes so far.

About an hour later, the two arrive at the entrance of Chris's penthouse building. Sydney can see Ryan visibly sigh in relief as he hands the painting off to the doorman.

"Be careful with that," Ryan warns the doorman.

Sydney is just as exhausted as Ryan. She can feel blisters forming at her feet from the long walk.

"Do you want to come up for some water?" She offers.

"Sure."

The two do not say anything to each other as they walk into the building and the elevator. The doorman presses the button to Chris's floor after he gently sets the panting down. When the elevator stops at their floor, the doorman carries the painting to the front door for them. Sydney and Ryan each mutter a 'thanks' to him as he heads back to the elevator. Sydney takes out her keys to unlock the door.

"You did better than I expected," she notes as she pushes open the front door.

"Likewise," Ryan picks up the painting and brings the item inside.

Sydney walks in after him and closes the door after her. She immediately makes a beeline to the kitchen to pour Ryan a glass of water.

"I cannot believe Jade paid $100,000 for this," Ryan walks into the kitchen and sits down at the bar stool.

Sydney brings the glass of water to him. He takes the glass and presses it against his lips. She watches him take long gulps of water, trying not to stare at his throat.

"Neither can I," Sydney responds as she kicks her high heels off. She feels immediate relief after removing her shoes.

Ryan empties the glass and gently places the object back on the counter.

"Are you going to make me leave before Jade comes back so you can pretend that you brought the painting back yourself?"

Sydney laughs.

"Tempting, but I don't think she'd believe me."

"Not in those heels and that little dress," Ryan gestures toward her attire.

This is the second time he has brought up her dress.

"I'm starting to think you really like the dress," Sydney teases.

"Don't flatter yourself," Ryan retorts.

She rolls her eyes for what feels like the millionth time today. Leave it to Ryan to keep her humble whenever she gets cocky. She pours him another glass of water before walking past him to get to the staircase.

"Well, it's your last chance to kiss this dress goodbye because I'm changing out of this," she warns.

Ryan waves a hand at her dismissively.

As Sydney starts ascending the staircase, she swears she caught a glimpse of Ryan eyeing her body in that dress.

I hate that bastard.