After hours

Chapter Two

"Good morning Ryan." Daniel said as he entered the building carrying his usual blue and white insulated coffee cup with him.

"Good morning." I muttered back trying to hide my surprise. He wasn't one for big personal greetings. His assistants were usually some of his least favorite employees. They could never do anything right, atleast that's what I always heard him muttering on the phone to others, and most of them seemed obsessed with him, a laughable idea to me.

"When you get a minute Ryan, could you join me?" He called from his office. He never used the intercom. Never called my phone to tell me what he needed. Oh no, he always just yelled it across the office.

"Sure." I said rising. I wasn't stupid, when the boss says "when you get a minute" he really means "get your ass in here now or you're fired you worthless knuckle dragging imbecile." I smoothed out my dress before entering his office with a nice big fake smile.

"Come in please, shut the door would you? Thanks." He thanked me before I'd even shut it, obviously it wasn't a simple optional request. "Have a seat Ryan."

I sat of course, it was awkwardly quiet he watched me and tapped the end of his pen repeatedly on his desk. My God, I was stricken with just how badly I wanted to shove that pen through his ear!

"How long have you worked here Ryan?"

"About three months."

He looked surprised. "Has it really been that long?" The boss man earned himself another big ole fake smile. "Well Ryan, I'm sorry, but about this Benson deal..."

"Whatever you want me to do Mr. Metzgar." I said quickly like a well trained dog. "I was thinking maybe a family emergency that's taken me out of town, you could tell them I quit, maybe a mental break down or something-"

He stopped tapping the pen abruptly and leaned forward in his chair, he folded his hands together with obvious interest. "I'd like you to work the case with me."

If I'd had a drink, I would have spit it all over him. Maybe I should take a swig of his coffee just so he could catch the drift. "Oh Mr. Metzgar I'm not so sure about that."

"I know I'm asking a lot here." He held a hand up to silence me. "But the Benson's are really not the kind of people you can get away with lying too. Patrick has taken a real liking to you, something I've been trying to get him to do with me for...pfft. He's met my best employees and he wants you."

"I have no experience."

"I know." He sighed and leaned back in his chair picking his pen back up. He twirled it thoughtfully between his fingers. "If you bring the figures, as you are used to doing anyway, and I present them, that way it still looks like a team effort. Even if you read them off and I explain them."

"And if they ask me a question?"

He let out a thoughtful hum. "I suppose I'll cut in."

"And if they don't want to hear it from you?"

He sighed and set his pen back down. "Just get as familiar as you can with the case. If you're stumped we'll just have to tell them that. You're new, you're new to this case, you haven't gotten to go over the matter as thoroughly as you'd like to."

"I could lead them off into a debate about Star Trek verses War?" I suggested.

He threw his head back and laughed and I felt heat prickle to my cheeks. He was arrogant, and thought everyone would do whatever he asked of them, a lucky rich kid, born with a silver spoon in his mouth and who got a business dropped onto his lap. He was constantly test my patience but that laugh! I could see why so many people were attracted to him. He had a full and honest laugh, one that made me suspect he was mild tempered and kind hearted outside of these walls. "Dear God, please don't do that."

"I can learn everything about the deal, but I'm not sure I'll be able to come up with alternatives and changes on the spot."

"We'll make it work."

I let out a breath. "Well alright then, I should uh, get back out there, phones aren't going to answer themselves and if Mrs. Worther comes in here and isn't greeted immediately she's going to have a colossal melt down." I rolled my eyes.

He gave me a confused look. "Ryan you aren't my assistant anymore. You're on the team now."

I locked eyes immediately with him. "And when the Benson deal passes through? I'm obviously not qualified to stay on the team, I do you this huge favor and wind up jobless because of it."

"If this goes through, you probably wouldn't even need a job for a while." He laughed again. When I didn't join him in the enthusiasm he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ryan I'm not selfish and I'm not cruel." I doubted both of those, he had made me take Bernard, the 120 lb dog to the dog park for a "date" when I was wearing stilletos. "I take care of those who take care of me."

"A nice compensation?"

"I will consider you highly qualified if you can help me to pull this off. But I should warn you, we're looking at a lot of work. A lot of hours are going to be put into this, travel time, we're looking at months of work even after it's finalized. Seeing over the company's building plans and take off until it's ready to be passed on."

"What if I can't pull this off?"

He smiled gently. "Let's just work on pulling it off for now and we can deal with the latter should we have a problem."

"I don't want to be jobless." I argued.

"Your position has already been filled. Your desk is just across from the assistant's for now. This way I can keep an eye on you, see how you're coming along and I'll be right here if you have any questions."

I pursed my lips and considered this. This was, again, not something he was asking me to do.

"Ryan." I looked up and we locked eyes. "I know you don't like me." I opened my mouth to argue, to lie and say I did. "But do this, not for me, but with me. And it will be well worth your while."

"Do I have a choice?" I laughed coolly.

He smiled and it reached his eyes easily. "Patrick will be pleased to have you onboard." He stood and muttered quickly, almost as if hoping I wouldn't hear. "We have another meeting in three days."

"Three days!"

"Better get studying. Leave the door open on your way out."

~~~~~

A/N:

Chapter two, not super exciting or important but we're laying the groundwork. You still have approximately two chapters left before all the fun really starts.

Fun fact, I don't write in chronological order, which means that I write as scenes come to me. Sometimes it takes me a little while to get along to connect all the scenes. Like today? I wrote the ending of the book, and I don't even have half the chapters in between thought of yet! Lol.

Anyway, stick around for the next update which I will guarnatee to not be more than a week away but if you're lucky it'll be up maybe this same week!

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