The Arrogant Mr. Ryker

05 : Opposing Moods

As soon as Cecilia laid her eyes on Demetria, a crooked smiled covered half of her face. "I see the date with your boyfriend went according to plan."

"Oh, it was a hundred times better than I had anticipated," she and to Cecilia. "My weekend was incredible!"

In the morning, when they had woken up in a tangle of sheets and limbs, they made love again and again. They then showered and Alex, again, insisted on paying for the room himself. They had breakfast at a small Italian restaurant near the hotel and spent the rest of the day together, kissing and making endless plans for the future. Her lips were slightly chapped from all the kissing.

Demetria sat behind her desk and took a few minutes to compose herself and change her mindset. The effects of her marvelous weekend would last throughout the rest of the week. In fact, she simply couldn't wait for the week to end. They made plans for the next week as well, so for the time being her life was in order and actually making a bit of sense.

She put her bag aside, unlocked her drawer and began paging through Friday's signed contract. Mr. Ryker wanted a full and detailed review, so she had to organize her thoughts and make sure she made no careless mistakes. He wasn't very fond of them. It didn't matter that he had been there. Why did he always insist on reviewing them anyways?

She heard the familiar sound of the elevator doors and shortly afterwards, Andrew Ryker was standing in the middle of the lobby, pointing a finger at her.

"Miss Cole, my office now."

He entered his office, shutting the door forcefully. The bang echoed around the reception area. Cecilia flashed her smile filled with sympathy and encouragement. Even though she was in a good mood, his rancid one was slowly infecting hers, and they weren't even face to face yet. She grabbed the contract and sashayed towards his office, plastering a smile on her face to keep her spirits high. The smile fell from her face the moment she saw the look on his.

"Good morning, Mr. Ryker." she said, keeping her tone light.

He looked up sharply from the screen of his laptop. "Is it? Is it really?"

She had nothing to say to that.

She moved closer to his desk. "I have Westpark's signed contract right here," she held it up to show it to him, then began paging through it briefly, "Their terms include—"

"Not now, Miss Cole." he cut her off sharply, putting a hand up. He was busy typing away on his laptop, the muscles on his neck strained.

"My apologies, Mr. Ryker," she said even though she felt anything but apologetic. "You asked for the review of the contract today, so I thought—"

"Do me a favor Miss Cole and don't think." he hissed. "I have other matters to deal with today, so you can put that aside for now."

Her grip on the official document tightened. "I'm sorry. When you called me to your office I assumed—"

"Don't assume," he fixed her a glare. "Wait for instructions. I do not pay you to think or make assumptions on why I summon you to my office, I pay you to follow orders."

She narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Sir, I can tell you're having a bad day. It happens to us all, I assure you. But the best thing to do is talk to someone about it and not—"

"Having a bad day, am I?" He sat back in his chair, his eyes a shade darker than usual. "Good of you to have noticed, Miss Cole. That means I do not have the patience for your intrusive statements and my tolerance is close to none today."

She gulped. "I was just trying to help—"

In a brusque manner, he shut his laptop. "This is becoming the most boring conversation I've ever had." He declared. "Do me another favor and stop talking. For the love of all that's holy, you're impossible today Miss Cole. Say another word and you can consider yourself positively fired."

That kept her lips sealed, but her eyes shot daggers at him. Something he didn't seem to notice or chose to ignore.

"Now that that's settled," he said in a measured tone. "I have something for you to do today. Something of utmost importance. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I can't say," she murmured. "I don't even know what it is yet."

His eyes narrowed infinitesimally, his mouth set in a hard line. "You'll take the company's car to Stanley & Will. Once you get there, you will speak to Bernard Stanley himself and explain to him, in much detail, the terms of our contract and you will also explain to him why he should sign it and what the benefits of entrusting his law firm to us are."

Her eyes widened. "You want me to negotiate with him?"

"I want you, Miss Cole," he stood, making his way towards her, "to do whatever it takes for him to sign this contract. Justify your salary. The only reason why I am entrusting this enormous task to you is because I won't be able to make it there myself. There is another matter at hand that demands my undivided attention. Now answer my question: do you think you can handle it?"

He was standing about a foot away from her, holding her gaze. She knew it was a big responsibility, and now she could understand why he was in such a sour mood. Did she really have a choice? Could she say no? On one hand, this was her opportunity to actually practice everything she was learning. She would be getting her degree soon. This was exactly the kind of practice she needed.

She nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, I can." Her voice was loud and confident. Every doubt she had was erased by her sudden certainty. She could do it. She would do it.

He seemed to visibly relax, but the urgency and seriousness had not left his eyes. His words were low and formidable. "You cannot fail, Miss Cole. They would be powerful clients, capable of possibly changing the fate and reputation of this company. Do you understand?"

"I do, Mr. Ryker."

"I would not have given you this task had it not been completely necessary," he repeated. "As reckless as it seems, I am putting my faith in you. Try not to disappoint me."

She once again assured him that she would do her absolute best and began backing away. "Oh and Miss Cole, if you perchance happen to bring me a blank, unsigned contract, consider yourself fired."

°×°×°×°

She took deep, calming breaths before exiting the car. She looked up at the enormous building, butterflies clawing at the walls of her stomach. She was doing this, she thought to herself. She was really doing it.

She said goodbye to the company's driver Tom and walked towards the building, her footsteps loud in her ears, her heart pounding against her chest. She met the receptionist, who informed her with a vibrant smile that Mr. Stanley was waiting for her in his office, her smile comforting her inexplicably. She should smile at Mr. Ryker that way often. Maybe then he wouldn't be such a moody bastard.

She was escorted all the way to the tenth floor by a bulky security guard. He towered over her and did not say a word, but she didn't allow that to intimidate her. She kept a positive attitude and took more calming breaths.

Bernard Stanley was waiting for her in his office, a friendly smile on his face. He was a short man wearing an expensive-looking brown suit that perfectly matched the color of his hair, a striking red tie adorned his neck. He greeted her by shaking her hand and offering her a seat and a drink. She took the seat right across him, but declined the drink.

"Andrew Ryker called me about thirty minutes ago to inform me that he was sending his personal assistant, that lamentably, he wasn't going to make it to our meeting." He said, taking a slow sip of his tumbler filled with whiskey and plenty of ice.

"Yes," she confirmed, tucking her hair behind her ear, "Mr. Ryker is a ridiculously busy man. There was a matter that demanded his urgent attention, and he couldn't outrun it for the world."

He chuckled. "I perfectly understand, we all have those days." Another drink. "Miss..."

"Cole," she said hurriedly. "Demetria Cole."

"Miss Cole," he inclined his head. "Where is the—"

"Firstly, I'd like to explain to you the reasons why you need to consider our company." She went about explaining to him everything in detail, making sure to keep her tone friendly but professional. The man listened to her intently, although eyeing her rather strangely, nodded his head to certain points and took more sips of his beverage. She made absolutely certain she didn't stutter or lose her train of thought. She remained confident, her heart beating violently against her chest. When she had said everything she had to say, she sat back and kept her gaze steady as Stanley Bernard surveyed her, his eyes squinted in concentration.

She drummed her fingers against the arm of the chair, taking slow steady breaths. The wait was killing her slowly, the uncertainty even more. She had no idea of what he was thinking, of whether he was impressed by her explanation, he gave absolutely nothing away. He drained his tumbler, smacked his lips together. To her immense surprise, he extended his hand.

"We have a deal, Miss Cole."

She exhaled, relief flooding through her. "Thank you, Mr. Stanley! I can't thank you enough!"

"I'm quite impressed by your company's standards. Doing business with you will be a pleasure. I'll be looking forward to that meeting on Monday,"

He signed the contract and just then, she could have hopped all over his office humming the national anthem. She thanked him all over again and sashayed out of his office, feeling like the luckiest woman alive. She wasn't getting fired. She was going to keep her job. She proved to herself that she was competent enough, that all her hard work could pay off in the end. There was no greater satisfaction.

This week was one of the best she ever had.