After hours

Chapter Ten

There was a loud knock at my door, I rolled off the couch and moved over to the door. I pressed my eye to the peep hole.

Daniel Metzgar.

"Shit." I whispered to myself. "Shit, shit." I crouched low to the ground and scurried away from the door and hid behind the kitchen island. I pressed my back against the island, why was I hiding? Why was he here! Why couldn't he just let me be?!

"Ryan?" I heard his muffled voice through the door followed by another loud knock. "Ryan are you in there?" There was a moment of silence. He must have (mistakenly) realized that I wasn't home. Maybe he thought I was on my way to work now, ha!

And then, I heard the most horrifying sound I'd ever heard in my life. The doorknob turned and the door crept open. Oh why, oh why, did I never lock my damn door! The door shut ever so slowly.

"Ryan are you in here?" He called uncertainly. "The door was open." He called to the presumably empty house.

I heard the footsteps moving slowly across the room. He didn't think I was home, so what was he doing now?

"What are you doing back there?"

In my surprise I snapped my head up to see him looming over the island and peering down at my and in my haste smacked the back of my head off of the cabinets behind me.

"I-I-I just d-dropped my contact!" I said quickly.

"Oh. I didn't know you were contacts." I didn't. "Why didn't you answer me when I called out?"

"Oh. You know." I muttered with a weak shrug. "Busy. Looking for that, uh, contact and all." How. Fucking. Lame.

"Where were you today?" He asked coming around to my side of the island and offering me his hand.

"What do you mean?" I tried to play dumb and hesitantly took his hand. He pulled me upwards and into his chest and gripped both of my arms before I could pull away oh so predictably.

"Uhm, work? Your job? The thing that funds your apartment and buys your food?"

"Oh. That." I said flatly and arched backwards. "I, uhm, I meant to text you."

"To text me?"

"Yeah." I wiggled my arms to signal that I was okay to be released but he didn't let go.

"Text me what Ryan?"

"Uh, I quit."

"You quit?"

"Yeah."

He considered this for a moment before letting go of me. I really wished I had actually gotten dressed today, the unbrushed hair and the flannel pajamas were certainly not a turn on. "You know you can't collect unemployment if you quit."

I crossed my arms self-consciously over my chest. No bra Monday. "I figure this big bonus can hold me for awhile."

"We don't get it until the company is built Ryan. In fact the next six months will cost Metzgar's money. The money doesn't start to come in until the profits start to come in."

"You've got to be shitting me." I groaned and threw my head back. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence I made a decision. "Well you'll just have to fire me then."

He laughed. "I can't fire you. You haven't done anything to warrant it!"

"I think you owe me this." I shot back.

He raised a suggestive eyebrow. "I owe you alright."

I felt my cheeks burning and I let out a frustrated groan. "Daniel please."