chapter 6

As I came into work the next day, Nancy stopped me at the front desk.

"Are those cookies I smell?" She smiled.

I laughed "yeah I baked them for Mr. Saunders"

Her eyes widened "you made something for Ryan?"

I looked around uneasily "yeah why?"

"Oh, nothing it's just that no one ever gives Ryan anything. It's usually him gifting things to people, not the other way around" she shrugged. 

I smiled "well I guess I'm about to change that trend"

She laughed "you go do that. Have a good day Maddie"

"Thanks, you too" I smiled and went into the elevator.

As I came up to my floor, I set my purse down in my office and made my way down to Ryan's office.

I knocked on it twice and I heard him grunt "who is it?" In a really upsetting tone.

"It's Maddie" I managed to say in the sweetest of ways.

"Come in..." He said and paused to say something else but didn't

I walked in and smiled at him. He was wearing a pair of reading glasses and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up. He looked as good as my cookies.

I set down the plate of cookies on his desk "surprise" I smiled.

He looked shocked "you made these?" He asked.

I nodded proudly. "You're serious? You didn't go out and buy these?" he asked again. 

I shook my head and laughed "no, of course not. I made these."

"Thank you. Chocolate chip is my favorite" he said in a nicer tone as he picked one up and eyed it. 

I smiled as my eyes lit up "mine too! I hope you like them"

He didn't smile. Of course not. "I will. Thank you, Maddie"

"No problem...Mr.Saunders" I smiled at him and left his office.

At the end of the day, I was packing up my purse, getting ready to leave. I was slightly disappointed in the fact that Ryan didn't come into my office a single time all day, I guess he really is a busy man with better things to do. 

I turned around and Ryan was standing right at the foot of the door.

I gasped as I nearly ran into him "Jesus. you scared me" I laughed and took a step back. 

He folded his arms "it's Ryan, not Jesus. Would you like to get some dinner?" he asked, completely blindsiding me. 

I laughed at him "um sure. But please let me pay"

He rolled his eyes at me "1/9ths of the tab only" 

"what?" I laughed and threw my hands up. 

I shook my head as I walked out of my office. We were riding in the elevator in silence until I spoke up. The small elevator felt even smaller with him standing a mere few inches away from me. 

"How long were you standing there?" I asked.

He looked really deep in thought and it was as if i drew him out of somewhere when he answered me"Huh? Oh not long, you're very concentrated on the small stuff, like cleaning up pencil shavings" he pointed out and shook his head in disapproval. 

I nodded "they're gross, you scared the daylights out of me, by the way." I laughed.

I could see a smile playing on his lips...but it wasn't there yet.

We sat in a small restaurant eating pasta, talking about work and college when he started to ask me personal questions. I was not sure if I was ready to answer them but something about him made me feel safe. Deep down, I knew I could trust him. 

"You mentioned before that your mom didn't want to support you financially?" He asked.

I nodded and sighed "yeah. We're really... disadvantaged...poor I guess. My brother John is in the army, my dad is away...and my mom is away in her own sense as well" I tried to give him a small smile at my terrible explanation of my home life. He didn't reciprocate. 

He looked confused "what do you mean your dad is away?"

I looked at him straight in the eyes "he's in prison..." I said while running a hand through my hair.

"I'm sorry about that," He said grimly and looked down. 

I nodded and smiled "what about your mom and dad?" I desperately tried to change the topic of conversation. 

He shrugged "what about them?" he looked away.

I could tell that he was hiding something and probably did not want me to pry so I decided to change the topic.

"It was a great dinner, thanks for taking me out again," I said and smiled at him, hoping to get the same reaction. 

He nodded "sure, no problem. Thanks for coming with me. Let me take you home"

I bit my lip "are you sure? I really don't want to be a hassle for you in any way"

"Don't worry about it. I told you that I don't like being home alone anyway"

I shrugged and asked for the check. Ryan asked to pay at least 20 times but I was adamant about paying. So I finally paid and it felt great.

On the way home Ryan looked at me and answered my question "my parents aren't in the picture...anymore"

I frowned "I'm sorry. I know what it feels like"

He swallowed and looked down at his shoes.

We walked down the street to my apartment building when some drunk idiot decided it'd be okay to harass me. It occurs on near daily basis, so it was something I had gotten used to. 

"Hey, cutie come over here!" He yelled at me, well slurred, actually. 

I tried to ignore him but it seemed to have sparked a rage in Ryan.

"Cmon sexy! Don't you want a piece of this?" He smiled drunkenly and held up his bottle of what looked like rum"

I frowned and ignored him and continued walking away with Ryan. 

He ran after me and grabbed my arm when Ryan pulled him off and threw him to the ground. He threw a few punches to his face as he held him by the shirt.

"Next time you fucking talk to her like that I'll make sure you won't ever see daylight again!"

"Woah take it easy, I didn't know she was with you" the homeless man yelled, looking terrified, and almost as if he were about to do a number 2 in his pants. 

I ran over to Ryan and almost had a heart attack when I saw his bloodied hand.

"Oh my God, you're bleeding! You have to let me look at that. I am so sorry" I felt terrible. 

He didn't say a word and followed me up to my apartment, I didn't even know what to say.

Once we were inside, I made him sit on my couch as I went to go get my little first aid kit.

"Do men always talk to you that way?" He winced as I poured some alcohol on his hand.

"Yes. Every day. Happens all the time" I shrugged "I ignore it" 

"That's disgusting, I can't believe they talk to women that way," he muttered.

I gently took his hand and started to close up his wounds with some bandaids, making sure there was no debris in them. 

"How do you know how to do this?" He asked as he watched me intently.

"I had to clean up my mom after my dad...hit her," I said as I looked up into his eyes.

His eyes widened and he started to breathe heavier. I patched him up and threw away all the trash.

I sat back down on the couch next to him and looked at him. "I think you will make a full recovery" I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. He nodded and looked away. 

"Why don't you ever smile?" I asked.

He looked at me and shook his head "there's nothing to smile about. Nothing to laugh about"

I shook my head "you're wrong. You're so wrong"

My heart fluttered as we leaned in and pressed our lips against each other's. He kissed me back and put his healthy hand on my face as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He was an amazing kisser. I got onto his lap as we continued to kiss. Eventually, we pulled away and he breathed against my lips.

"We shouldn't be doing this" he whispered

"Smile, just smile Ryan" I whispered back.

He looked me in the eyes and gave me a full blown grin and kissed me again. I smiled back in delight as his injured hand traveled up to my thigh.

I heard keys going into the lock and I immediately pulled free from him. I fell to the floor as Maggie came through the door.

I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud. I started dying on the floor from laughter as Maggie's jaw dropped to the floor.

Ryan quickly stood up from the couch and put his serious face back on. She nodded slowly as she looked over the couch to see his bloodied and bandaged up hand with the first aid kit out.

"Wha...what happened?" She asked cautiously.

"Some douche bag started to harass her so I took care of the problem" he said in defense.

She nodded slowly with her mouth still hanging open "uh huh...so why is Maddie on the floor?" She asked while putting her purse down.

"I fell" I said as I scrambled up and fixed my hair. "Mags don't worry about it, nothing happened"

"Well if you say so...nice to meet you Ryan, I'm Maggie, Maddie's roommate" she smiled politely at him.

He shook her hand without a smile and grabbed his coat.

"It was nice meeting you Maggie and it was nice seeing you Maddie, but I should probably get going. Thanks for the cookies" he gave me a small grin and showed himself out the door quickly.

"Maddie what the hell?" Mags screamed out.

"Maggie calm down. It's not a big deal" I said as I put away the first aid kit.

"It's a very big deal because that's your boss and one of the most powerful men in the city. You shouldn't be messing around with guys like him, he's in the spotlight 24/7"

"We kissed"

Maggie's eyes widened and looked like they were about to pop out of her skull. "WHY?! WHAT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY POSSESSED YOU TO DO THAT MADDIE?!" She yelled as she put her hands over her face.

"WHAT WOULDN'T HAVE?! SO WHAT IF WE LIKE EACH OTHER?! HES NOT A BAD GUY MAGGIE!" I yelled back at her.

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT IF YOU THINK THIS WON'T HURT YOU IN THE LONG RUN! YOU KNOW HOW HE TREATS PEOPLE! HE WOULDN'T EVEN GIVE ME A PROPER SMILE AND YOU EXPECT TO BE IN A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS GUY? GOOD LUCK SWEETHEART"

"You know what? Screw you" I said as I left and slammed the door to my bedroom.