Stronger Than Bonds Read online

  “Hello, everyone,” Ryan came down the stairs and stood by me. Earlier in the day he had dropped by my apartment and had told me to conduct the meeting while he did some work upstairs. While I had considered pushing the censor button on my precious employees, Ryan told me not to.

  “I want to know what they really think,” he told me.

  “Are you sure about that?” I challenged him.

  “Listen, I know my employees don’t like me, I just… I think I need to hear it.”

  “You want to hear your employees trash-talking you?”

  “Yeah, I’ll take notes, too!”

  “That’s the spirit,” I said. I was pretty surprised, to say the least. Ryan was never democratic, in fact, he struck me as quite the dictator, but at that moment I became sure that he wanted to change. “Alright, well, try not to get hurt,” I warned him.

  Later that night I grew more and more worried, because the more comfortable everyone became, the more likely they were to yell profanities at pretty much anything. The tech department was far from prudish. We were all a bunch of rainbow-haired know-it-all’s, and so I wasn’t really sure if Ryan could take it. The second he appeared, however, everyone fell silent, and their eyes darted around frantically like they were blaming me.

  “What the fuck?” I heard Sadie whisper. She thought I couldn’t hear her, but when I shot her a fatal glare, she pursed her lips and looked the other way.

  “I’m sure none of you were expecting me,” Ryan said, bringing his hands together and shooting me a smirk. “But I thought I’d drop by to make sure that everything was going according to plan.”

  I wondered if that meant he didn’t trust me, but I brushed it off, anyway. Now wasn’t the time for boiling insecurities. “So, let’s start over, everyone,” I said, trying to avoid Sadie and Natasha’s grueling stares. “Mr. Ryan has a few clarifications to make. When Ryan’s done speaking, feel free to ask him any questions about the project.” Just standing next to him made me feel more like a professional. Then I asked myself, Is it possible for a person to radiate this much confidence? To the point where it rubbed off on other people?

  “Hello, everyone. I know most of you don’t know me very well, but you’ve probably seen me running around the top floor at least a couple times. my name is Ryan Callaway, and I’m the son of Frederick Callaway.” He paused for a moment and searched their faces for a reaction. I stared at the side of his face; he just exhumed power, didn’t he?

  “I’ve been working alongside my dad for as long as I can remember, but unfortunately, we’ve hit a road bump recently.” His feet were pinned to the floor like he owned the place. It was true we were just in my living room, but Ryan made it feel like he had a whole auditorium booked to himself. “The past couple of weeks have been hectic, but we’re working our way through it. Now, first thing’s first, I’m sure Sarah already told you that we’re discarding one of our most valuable projects.” Everyone nodded collectively. I expected them to say something, to clear their throats in objection, but clearly, no one, not even Miles, had something to say. “Well, let me just tell you that, as a company, we don’t discard anything. We’re just putting it on the shelf for now, in favor of something bigger.”

  My eyes landed on Amy, and she winked at me. I hoped Ryan didn’t see that.

  “And I assure you, no one’s salary is being cut. I’ll be funding the whole project myself, and part of that funding goes towards each and every one of you.”

  I looked around and everyone was nodding like students in a classroom. I watched Ryan from the corner of my eye, pacing with his back straightened against the air. Even though I made fun of him in my head all the time, I couldn’t believe he was actually in my house.

  “I have a question,” Miles said, his hand shooting into the air. “I understand that we’ll be serving the military with this project?”

  “That is true, yes,” Ryan replied. “But the details of the project will be revealed after I meet up with the board and get their final say.”

  “Okay, thank you.” My whole life, I had never seen Miles so invested. I mean, I’d seen him invested in his little gadgets, his motherboards, his chips, and his crushes, but I’d never seen him this interested in a navy blue suit.

  “Questions, anyone?”

  “I have a question,” Natasha hissed from across the room, Her cat-eye glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose. “Are you our new CEO?”

  The silence washed over us like a sea wave. My eyes snapped to Natasha, but she was shameless. She just smiled at me like the naughty kid in the classroom.

  “Why, yes, Natasha. I am your new CEO, yes.” Ryan paced a little and looked down at his own two feet. His shoes were polished enough. “Any more questions?”

  They shook their heads, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Ryan pulled his suit together, adjusted his wrist watch and then turned to me. “Well, I guess we’re done here,” he said. “That was fast.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to say anything else?”

  “You know what, I’m letting you take control of this whole thing. Promise you’ll make me proud?”

  I knew Ryan had better things to do than to lecture a bunch of buck-toothed software engineers in my living room, but a part of me wanted him to stay. Truthfully, though, he looked a tad bit too polished to be standing in this place. “Promise,” I grinned. We shook hands, and before I knew it, he was already out the door.

  “You could’ve given us a heads up, you know,” Miles said, munching on a slice of pizza.

  “Miles, where did you get that?”

  He pointed toward the kitchen. “Your fridge.”

  ***

  The sun had set and we were still working. My legs wobbled underneath me; I could barely stand up anymore. Everyone was in the zone, typing away at their computers, eyes glued to their screens. Every once in a while I’d sneak into the kitchen and have a sip of wine and walk back outside. All of a sudden the doorbell rang again.

  “Must be pizza!”

  I looked through the peephole and it was Ryan. “Hey,” I said, inching the door open. “It’s Ryan, everyone.”

  “Oh, now she gives us a heads up,” Miles whispered, but I don’t think Ryan heard him.

  “May I come in?”

  “Of course.” At that point, my house had turned into a pig sty. I tiptoed my way around perched bodies, and eventually, we got to the couch. “Sorry, I wasn’t really expecting you to come back.”

  “Well,” he said, his eyes fixated on mine. “I just got out of a meeting with the board, and they’re really loving the idea of a missile guiding software.”

  “They are?” I asked him, the silver of my eyes flaring up. We kept our voices down so the rest wouldn’t hear us. “So they’re all on board with this?”

  “Yeah, they are,” he said. “Now, we can go on with the merger as planned.”

  I looked around and everyone was distracted. Ryan and I were on an island of our own. Every once in a while he ran his fingers through his soft brown hair then stroked his stubble; the perfect five o’clock shade. “Sounds great,” I said, searching for other words to say. I picked up my laptop and typed away at the keyboard, basically pretending to work.

  “How about you take a break?” he asked me.

  “To do what?”

  “Listen, do you trust these people with your home?”

  “They practically live here, so yes,” I said.

  “Great, then let’s go grab a drink,” he told me, and at that moment, my heart skipped a beat. I felt like a schoolgirl again.

  Ryan ended up taking me to one hell of a fancy bar in Times Square. I walked in and the soft pink lights drowned me. “I’m definitely not dressed for a night out,” I said, looking down at my work pants and checkered shirt.

  “You don’t need to worry about that,” Ryan said, grabbing my hand and leading the way to the bar. My nails brushed up against the roughness of his palm, then our hands broke apart and we climbed onto th
e bar stools. “You’ve been working really hard, Sarah, I think you deserve some downtime.”

  “Well, maybe you deserve some downtime, too,” I said.

  He waited until he met the bartender’s gaze, and then he raised his eyebrows at her. “I’ll just have a beer, what are you having?” he asked me.

  I was put on the spot, and just like a confused teenager, I looked down at the menu and pretended to study it. “I’ll just have a glass of red wine.”

  “Why aren’t you a classy one?” he nudged me with his elbow.

  “You ordered a beer, boring much?”

  “What did you expect me to order?”

  “I don’t know.” I looked around the place, at all the spotlights and crystal chandeliers. “A cocktail, maybe?”

  A giggle escaped his lips. “Nah, I’m not a cocktail kinda guy. To be completely honest, I prefer sports bars.”

  “Because you’re rugged and manly?”

  “Now you’re just confusing me.”

  I chuckled. “Come on, tell me the truth. What do you like to do on a typical night out?”

  “To be honest, I just like to stay home.”

  “And do what?”

  “I don’t know, watch Netflix or something.”

  “Netflix and chill?”

  “No, just Netflix.”

  I laughed again. “I don’t really feel like I know you.”

  “I don’t feel like I know you, either,” he told me. “I mean, I know a lot about your childhood, but that’s just a past version of you. I want to know what present day Sarah’s like.”

  “Well, present day Sarah also prefers to chill at home, order takeout and watch House of Cards.”

  “Oh, you watch House of Cards, too?” he asked me, his eyes wide. “I love that show.”

  “Well, what else do you like to do?” Our drinks were just sitting there, but we barely even touched them. I realized that Ryan wasn’t that big of a drinker unless he was upset; I was like that, too.

  “I box,” he said, although a bit too proudly. “I’ve been boxing for years, I think it’s my passion.”

  “Oh, you already told me this before.”

  “I also have the short-term memory of a carrot.”

  I chuckled. “You’re funny, too.”

  “And you’re nice, you compliment people.”

  “Maybe that just makes me a hypocrite?”

  “Doubt that you are.” He peered at me through his ocean blue eyes. The world around us melted away; the people disappeared and our drinks became lukewarm. We delved into a conversation like never before, and I completely forgot about Miles and the rest of the team. They called me a bunch of times but I didn’t pick up, and then eventually I told them to set up camp in my sitting room. Ryan and I just talked for the rest of the night, and the next thing we knew we were doing shots together.

  “Not much of a drinker, aye?” I teased him.

  “I’m only in it for the good company,” he told me.

  I downed one shot after the other, but I wouldn’t let myself get drunk. Ryan was looking into my eyes. Our knees bumped every once in a while. Then our shoulders touched, and he held my hand.

  Twelve - Sarah

  “After you,” Ryan said, showing me into his penthouse apartment. I tiptoed across the room because it was so quiet, then I checked the time on the clock; two AM. “Here, make yourself at home,” he said, turning the lights on and throwing his suit jacket onto the L-shaped couch.

  “The city lights, they look so pretty from up here.” I ran over to the window and just stood there like a dog wagging its tail. “How do you resist the urge to stand out here all night?”

  “That’s what this chair is for,” he said, gesturing for me to sit down. “I fall asleep here almost every night, then I move over to the bed when I’m really fucking tired.”

  “Oh, do you like it more out here?” I asked him.

  “Definitely, but you get used to it.” He let out a long frustrated sigh. “You know I get lonely up here sometimes.”

  “Yep, just you and the clouds,” I teased him. For a while, we were quiet, a bit too quiet. “You know I’m so glad our plan is working.”

  “Oh, they’re falling for it, alright,” he said, raising an eyebrow at me. “We need to keep it up for as long as we possibly can. You know, I planted a mole in Luxem.”

  “You did?” I asked him, my eyes growing wide.

  “Mhm,” he nodded. “I’ve got eyes everywhere. Samantha doesn’t know a thing… that, and she’s already moved her resources to beat us at the new contract.”

  I chuckled. “Already?”

  “Yeah! I even convinced her that the military will be visiting the company soon to view our progress. I’m almost certain that she’ll drop her software right in our laps; she’s pretty impulsive like that.” He paused for a moment, considering. “God, I would never start a business with her.”

  “Now you know,” I teased him again, but he was quick to flash me a wry grin. “What, too soon?”

  “Little bit,” he said, turning his back to me.

  “Hey, don’t leave!” I gotta admit, I was just a tad bit drunk.

  “I’m just going to the kitchen, jeez, don’t get all clingy.” He snickered and walked away,

  and I just sat there, staring at everything and nothing all at once. I realized that the view from Ryan’s house looked pretty much the same as the view from mine, and that was when it hit me that the two of us lived pretty close to each other.

  “Oh my God, I can see my apartment building from all the way over here! Look!” I pointed in a vague direction, and that was when Ryan walked back outside and joined me by the window. “Look!” My building looked like a tiny, negligible thing, low and close to the ground like a lego. It was weird being all the way up here, looking down at the city like I owned it with all its people, buildings and things.

  “Hey, how come we never ran into each other?” he asked me. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, and to be honest, I kind of liked it.

  “I don’t know… it sure would’ve been nice to run into you during my morning jogs,” I said, my eyes fixated on his. I got up from my chair and stepped a bit closer to him.

  “What?” he asked me.

  “What?” We got a little bit closer. Ryan flashed me a wry grin, and before I knew it, his lips were on mine.

  ***

  This was the first time I’d ever felt this way about a human, or at least, that was what it felt like at the time. For a second, I froze, trying to figure out if what I was feeling was true. I felt all tingly on the inside like something was tugging at me. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. I just stared at him endlessly, as though I was looking at the love of my life. Except I didn’t know much about him, in fact, I’d be lying to myself if I thought I knew anything at all. “Oh, you’re pretty special,” Ryan said, slumping down on the couch next to me. I gazed into his eyes for a second before I leaned in and kissed him again. As he breathed me in, our lips interlocking and his hands soft on my thigh, I felt like nothing else mattered. Gone were the feelings of fear and the unknown, replaced by complete emotional bliss that wrapped around me like a warm blanket.

  I could feel the thin fabric of my skirt slide upwards as his hand explored my thigh, and he gently pushed me onto my back, his lips pressed against mine as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks, and as his lips traced a line down to my neck, I embraced the full weight of him on top of me and the hardness pressed up between my thighs. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I couldn’t believe I trusted him this much.

  My breathing quickened, and my fingers interlocked in his hair. His hands explored me, moving everywhere, and somehow, without me even realizing it, had found their way under my shirt and were cupping my breasts. I closed my eyes and sighed, my back arching against him and my hands pulling at his shirt. A wave of emotions raced through me as I reveled in what he was doing to me, how he was making me fee
l.

  I gasped when I felt his lips move away from my neck and lightly touch the side of my body, just under the hem of my shirt, his warm breath sending bolts of electricity through me. I looked down as he kissed a line across my stomach, his hands strong on my hips as I rocked gently against him. I shuddered slightly as one hand found its way back to my breasts and gently began massaging them. His mouth soon followed, his tongue tracing circles around my nipple and sucking it in between his teeth, the soft grazing sending shivers up and down my spine. “Oh my God,” I whispered under my breath.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer, feeling the bulge in his pants press against me. I reached down, snaking my hand into his pants and grabbing him. I bit my lip in a wicked grin when he exhaled against my neck, his lips quivering against my skin. I rocked harder against him and could feel myself getting wetter by the minute as I closed my eyes and let the world around me spin out of control.

  I couldn’t absorb what was happening. It was like everything was flashing past me like I was watching it from an outsider’s perspective. That was what being with Ryan felt like to me; an out-of-body experience. I hadn’t felt this happy, this euphoric, in a very, very long time. No one’s touch had ever made me feel this special. No kiss has ever made me feel so alive. At that point, I just wanted to ride him. The way his fingers gently clawed at my skin gave me chills, and I could feel myself growing more fond of him with every passing second.

  I just wanted this moment to last forever, uninterrupted. I thought that maybe all of this had happened for a reason, that the two of us were meant to be together. But then I dismissed that thought and pushed it to the very back of my mind. I hated being delusional. For now, the best thing to do was to bask in the moment, to give into Ryan’s touch, and that was exactly what I did.