Knight in Shining Suit (37 page)

He didn’t say anything for
a whole minute. Then he sighed. “Whatever makes you happy, Ash,” he
said in a broken voice. “I gotta go. I have a meeting in five
minutes.”

“
Bye.” I hung
up.

My heart felt heavy. I
couldn’t help the tears from rolling down my face.
Damn!
He's not even my
boyfriend, and I'm sad and heartbroken already!

I was protecting my heart.
I didn’t think I could take the pressure of being Ryder Van
Woodsen’s girlfriend. It would be too demanding and I would want
from him more than phone calls, more than a few dates. I would want
more. I would want him to love me… not just
want
me.

I would want an ever after
with him, but this was not a fairy tale where Prince Charming meets
Cinderella and
boom
! He wants to marry her that very instant.

Ryder’s life was too
complicated for me. Plus he lived in Manhattan most of the time. I
didn’t want a relationship that was technically long-distance.
Bryan was right under my nose and he screwed me big
time!

I knew I made him sad with
my decision to stay friends. Someday, he would understand. We both
had to accept that this was the way we should be. Close friends
that were there for each other and do each other crazy
favors.

Since I was doing favors
anyway, I decided to grab my bag, hopped into a cab and went to the
grocery store. I bought boxes of milk, juices, beer, flavored
vodka, ice cream, patties, hotdogs, eggs, and some microwaveable
noodles and pasta. I also bought peeled, ready to eat carrots and
some other veggies.

It was a lot to carry, but
I was happy with what I was doing. I wanted to do Ryder a favor. It
was nothing compared to the necklace that he gave me, but when I
placed everything inside his fridge, I felt happy and excited. Now,
the huge expansive fridge looked like a real fridge. It was such a
small thing to do for him… in return for all the things he did for
me.

***

Friday, I finished with a
wedding before midnight. Ryder surprised me by picking me up at the
hotel where the reception was held.

“
I didn’t know you were
coming!” I said.

“
Then it wouldn’t be a
surprise.” He laughed. “You want to grab something to
eat?”

I smiled. “I’m starving.
But my feet are killing me!”

He drove to his place and
called his staff to bring some food to us.

“
Drinks?” he
asked.

“
Watermelon vodka would be
nice,” I replied.

“
Ahh…” He hesitated and
then he opened his fridge. I smiled to myself. I knew he noticed
how it was now filled with all sorts of things. “Hmmm… looks like
Santa did a stopover and filled my fridge.”

After a few seconds, he
was sitting on the sofa beside me. “That was sweet.” He said
looking at me deeply and then he handed me my vodka. “Thank
you.”

I smiled at him. “You’re
welcome. It’s not much compared to the necklace, but I’m glad you
liked it.”

“
I loved it,” he
whispered. He stared at me for a long while, his eyes holding
emotions I couldn’t understand.

I raised a brow at him in
question. He sighed and then he smiled weakly. That smile seemed
sad… frustrated even.

I looked away from him,
unable to look at him looking like that. He was my rock. And I
didn’t want to see him breaking because of me. But I didn’t want to
break because of him, too. It did not matter what I wanted now.
What mattered was
what I didn’t want to
happen again in the future.

When he took me home, I
took the ring off my finger and handed it to him. He raised a brow
at me.

I laughed. “You’re not
tricking me into wearing this without a reason, Ryder. You
promised.”

He smiled and then took
the ring from me. “Alright. A deal’s a deal.”

I nodded. “That’s right.”
Then I fished his keys from my pocket. “And here are your
keys.”

“
Keep it.”

“
Why?”

“
You promised to watch the
maid for me,” he reminded. “And it’s nice to have a restocked
fridge when you get home.”

I laughed. “Touché!
Alright, I’ll keep it.”

“
I’m serious, Ash. You can
really go there and stay anytime you want. When it’s late and
you’re still there, please don’t go out alone. Stay the
night.”

“
I’m not a kid, Ryder! Who
will assault me?”

“
But you, my love, possess
something that appeals to some criminals, particularly men. And I’m
afraid I’m not comfortable with the thought of you being on your
own in the streets at night.”

“
I’ve lived in this
neighborhood for months!” I rolled my eyes. “I know it’s not
Manhattan where you just go out of your apartment and people are
everywhere. But sometimes, it’s just your luck. You go, you
go.”

“
Have you heard of
something called, ‘tempting fate’? What if you’re not yet supposed
to go, but you twisted your own fate?”

I laughed. “This argument
will never finish! Okay, I’ll take care of myself. I won’t go down
any dark alleys. I won’t walk from your house to mine alone when
it’s dark.”

Our conversation was
interrupted by a phone call. It was my mother.

“
Are you okay, Mom?” I
asked.

“
I’m perfect!” She sounded
so happy. “Your father and I talked. He wasn’t having an affair. He
was planning a surprise for me actually. A little anniversary
celebration. He’d like to reaffirm his love for me. He’s been so
secretive about it, that I thought he was having an affair! I’m so…
stupid.”

“
Wow! That is great! But
I’m hurt! Why didn’t he tell me? I’m a wedding planner! I could
have arranged everything for you!”

“
He doesn’t want to bother
you, he knows you’re too busy with work already because you’ve just
started. Plus, it’s a small event. You and Ryder are expected to be
here next weekend for our family reunion. If you don’t come, I will
disown you.”

I laughed. “Alright,
mother. We’ll be there,” I said after my mother told me what day
and time we are expected. After I hung up, I stared at Ryder. “Are
you busy next weekend?”

“
Your mother talks quite
loudly, I heard half of your conversation already,” he said
chuckling. “I’m glad they’re okay now. And yes, I will come to your
family reunion… as your fiancé.”

I smiled at him. “Thank
you, Ryder. You’ve been… so patient with me. I don’t even know why
you’re doing this.”

He smiled at me. “Someday,
I’ll tell you.”

I don’t know what he meant
by that, but I didn’t insist.

“
Okay, so pick me up at
three on Friday? Is that okay with you?”

He nodded. “I’ll be here.
On the dot. Promise.”

I smiled. Then I reached
out for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you,
Ryder.”

“
You’re always welcome.”
He smiled.

20.

ARRANGED MARRIAGE:

A marriage born out of a
business arrangement where both parties aim to benefit from the
other.

A
dam asked me to have dinner with him. But I knew my cousin
better. He only invited me over for dinner to either drop a bomb on
my head or he’d touch base on what’s going on with the business. So
even though it was casual, I was ready with the figures in my head,
just in case he asks.

“
Business is good?” he
asked casually.

“
I knew you took me to
dinner for a reason!” I accused, pointing a finger at
him.

He chuckled. “Just
asking.”

I smiled at him. “It’s
great!” I said. “In a few months, you’ll see those figures going
green.”

“
Maybe it’s time to
expand.”

I stared at him. “What do
you mean?”

He shrugged. “Well, my
investor saw the last reports we gave and he… was impressed. He
sees opportunities in bigger cities and asked if you were willing
to take the business there.”

“
Adam, it’s too soon.”
Although I admit I have been thinking about this.

He smiled. “And yet look
how far you’ve gone! The numbers you’re giving me plus the ones on
your pipeline are pretty impressive.”

“
Wow!” I breathed. My
heart jumped for joy. It’s always good to be complimented for a job
well done… especially by Adam. “Tell him, I’m flattered. It’s good
to know that your investor understands that businesses take time to
earn profits, but we are going on an amazing rate.”

“
That’s why he’s serious
about branching out,” he said.

Talk about luck. It seems
so timely for Adam’s friends to think about branching out. Just a
couple of weeks ago, Ryder was mentioning the same thing to
me.

“
I’m thrilled, Adam! But
it’s a huge step! I don’t think I’ve even proven myself
here.”

He smiled. “I think you’ve
proven yourself enough for him to believe that this idea will work
if taken upscale, too.”

“
It will take a lot of
money!” I said wearily.

“
And my investor has deep
pockets!” He grunted.

“
How... soon?”

“
As soon as you say yes, I
guess. You can work out the proposal.”

“
What will happen to this
branch? Will they close this down? I don’t think I can bear that.
This is my baby.”

He laughed. “Relax. You
can run two branches, can’t you? This branch will still stay. You
can hire someone to oversee everything so you don’t need to be
hands on, and then you can build the second branch.”

We discussed the
possibilities. By the end of dinner, he convinced me that this may
be a big step, but it’s a great opportunity for me. I told him I’d
hire Nicole to manage the Malibu branch. Ryder crossed my mind, and
I knew the first city I’ll look into.

“
Can I choose where to
go?”

“
My investor already has a
city in mind.”

My heart sank. What if I
don’t like the place they want to go to? I hope Adam doesn’t say
Timbuktu or anywhere outside the country.

“
Wh-where?” I asked
wearily.

“
New York.
Manhattan.”

Wow! Talk about luck! Or…
fate!

I did have my heart set on
Manhattan; Ryder was there. I’d been there. Ryder already showed me
the places where I could get supplies.

That was really good! But
you know, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably
is.

My hands started getting
cold. A thought played in my mind and I didn’t know what to do with
it. I was afraid to ask Adam. I know I still had to, because if I
didn’t, that thought would not let me sleep at night.

When Adam took the check,
I asked, “Adam… you have very rich friends don’t you?”

“
Well, yeah. It’s good for
my job.”

“
This investor or
investors, aren’t they asking to take some profits now?”

“
The red figures on the
report decreases every month. Now we’re on breakeven. When you
invest here and there, you know the rules. I’m sure the pressure to
see the green will not come until after three months or
more.”

“
How many investors were
there?” I asked.

“
One,” he replied. Then he
stood up. “Come, let’s go.”

While we’re waiting for
the valet to bring Adam’s car, I asked, “Is there another investor
who came up to you and suggested a branch in Manhattan would be a
good potential? Or is this the same guy?”

He looked at me and drew
his brows together. “Why are you asking these questions,
Ash?”

I shrugged. “Putting up a
new branch takes a lot of money. I just want to know if we’ll
answer to more than one guy if we branch out in Manhattan.
Different people respond to different types of news.”

“
Same guy, Ash. Let
me
worry about that. You
just do what you do best,” Adam replied in an irritated
tone.

The car came and Adam and
I drove to my place. I was still lost in thought. Adam’s news was
great! But somehow, I found it too great. And just too much of a
coincidence!

“
Why so quiet?” Adam
asked.

I took a deep breath. “I’m
thinking, Adam.”

“
Hey, you can think!” Adam
said with a feigned shocked expression on his face.

“
Ha-ha! Very funny. And
I’m usually smart too! That’s why I feel compelled to ask… You have
one investor. Is his name
Ryder Van
Woodsen
?”

Adam didn’t answer. I
stared at him. He was staring ahead at the road. I counted.
One, two, three…
it
seemed to go on forever.
Nine, Ten.
Still Adam didn’t respond and that alone told me
the answer I was waiting for.