Hate or Love?

Prologue

"Mr. Ryder?" Jayce knocked on the door of the office, poking his head in. His client, Lucas Ryder, was sitting at his desk, his blonde hair neatly combed back and glasses falling down his nose. The button down shirt he was wearing, accompanied by a tie, seemed to barely fit his scrawny figure. The jacket was draped over the back of the chair, and he looked up, smiling.

"You must be Jayce!" he exclaimed excitedly, standing up and closing his laptop. He grabbed his jacket, pulling it over his shoulders. Jayce's suit, meanwhile, was neatly buttoned up, the silver watch on his wrist his only accessory. Lucas grabbed his laptop, shoving it into a laptop case and greeting Jayce with a smile.

"How are you doing today?" Lucas questioned, putting an arm around Jayce's broad shoulders.

"I'm doing alright, thank you Mr. Ryder. How are you?" Jayce started with the small talk, and Lucas scoffed, pushing his glasses up on his face.

"Come on, don't be so boring! All the other guys my dad has hired for this job have been so boring!" Lucas put emphasis on the second 'so' as he walked down the hallway, his slightly shorter legs almost struggling to keep up with Jayce as he walked down the empty hall. Jayce stopped at the end, opening the door and was met with a fist to the face. He stumbled back, one hand grabbing Lucas and the other grabbing his nose.

"Son of a bitch it's you!" he exclaimed.

"Son of a bitch it's you!" the man yelled at the same time.

"Who are you?" Lucas asked, confused.

Andreas walked in with no issues. The woman at the front desk was far too occupied with her phone gossip to notice him sneak by and to the elevators. His target was on the 17th floor, in his office at the end of the hall. It would be easy. As far as he knew, there were no bodyguards, nobody to defend him. He'd just eliminate him and walk out like it never happened.

As he got off the elevator and went to open the door that led to the hall, he heard voices. One of which was all too familiar.

"God damnit." Andreas mumbled, and the door swung open, and without thinking, he swung at the surprised face that greeted him. The face belonged to, of course, Jayce fucking Leuth. The stupid asshole. He stumbled backwards, glaring at Andreas.

"Son of a bitch it's you!" they exclaimed in unison. The scrawny man behind him, Andreas assumed was his target, looked confused.

"Who are you?" he questioned unsurely, fiddling with his tie.

"I'm here to kill you." Andreas replied in an even tone, trying to smooth over the fact that the stupidest motherfucker on the planet was standing right in front of him, ready to hit him.

"Like hell you are!" Jayce shouted, grabbing Andreas' wrist and flipping him. The target took a few uncertain steps back.

"Mr. Ryder! Go back to your office and I'll be there to bring you to your car!" he ordered, and the target - Mr. Ryder - hurried back to his office, watching them with wide eyes.

Andreas got to his feet in no time, grabbing his gun, but of course, Jayce's stupid ass got in the way, and kicked the gun out of his hand.

"Asshole." Andreas growled, punching him. Jayce blocked it, going instead for a knee to the gut and Andreas groaned, but took the opportunity to kick his knee. Jayce yelped and Andreas smirked. The duo continued fighting, blood spilling from their noses and mouths as they shouted at each other.

Somehow Jayce ended up on top of Andreas. How he accomplished that, he wasn't totally sure. But, he was pleased with himself. Andreas glowered at him, dark eyes ablaze.

"You fucking dick." Andreas muttered, and swung at Jayce. Jayce caught him by the wrist, and proceeded to do the last thing Andreas wanted. He pinned his wrists above his head, glaring at him. Andreas was so close to Jayce he could smell his cologne, and the mint on his breath. A tense silence followed, and Jayce almost wanted to say something, but their eyes stayed locked, and neither one said a word.

"I suggest you leave, Andreas." Jayce's voice was a deadly whisper, and Andreas met him with just as much venom.

"I suggest you let me do my job, Jayce." Andreas replied, shooting Jayce a smile that made his stomach twist in anger.

"See if I do that, I fuck up my job. So we have a real problem here." Jayce explained, and Andreas stayed quiet, smirking. Jayce clenched his jaw. In one swift motion he had Andreas' wrists pinned using one hand and the other had his gun in it. He used the butt of the gun to hit Andreas, hard. Just like that, he was unconscious.

"Smart mouthed prick..." Jayce muttered, getting up and going back to the office. He walked in, and saw Lucas sitting in the corner, a knife in hand.

"Let's go Mr. Ryder." he remembered to maintain his professionalism, thank god. Lucas got up, looking at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"Who the hell was that? What the hell was that?" Lucas demanded as they walked out of the office. Andreas was still lying on the floor, eyes closed. His arms were stretched out, and his shirt rode up just the slightest bit, revealing dark skin and Jayce couldn't help but think about that night.

Jayce took a breath. Professionalism was key. He tried to remember that as they walked by Andreas, and went to the elevator.

"That's a hitman. I know him pretty well." Jayce offered a causal explanation.

"Um, no. That is not all." Lucas insisted as they got on the elevator.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Jayce replied as the elevator started to go down.

"I do!" Lucas stood in front him, crossing his arms. Jayce checked his watch.

"We have a flight we have to catch, Mr. Ryder. I suggest we make this easy by not talking about our personal lives." Jayce said coolly, and Lucas groaned. The elevator dinged, and Jayce got off. Lucas followed and they went out to Jayce's car.

"Come on! He's part of your personal life?!" Lucas exclaimed and Jayce opened the door for him.

"No he isn't. Let's keep it moving Mr. Ryder." Jayce instructed, motioning to the car. Lucas got in the passenger seat, and Jayce went around the front of the car. What part of his life was Andreas in? Sure as hell wasn't personal, but whenever he saw him it was strictly on business. So maybe it was just business. He got in the car, still thinking about it, when Lucas pounced on him.

"Who is he?!" Lucas demanded, and Jayce sighed softly. This was going to be a long car ride.