Casual Layovers

Chapter Seventeen

"Ryan, your presentation was very good. It is apparent to me that a lot of time and thought was needed in putting all of that together, and the Seattle branch is very lucky to have you overseeing the operations."

"Jim, that's very kind of you to say, but I cannot and will not take all the credit. I think that I am the lucky one, here, because I have a great team of people that work very hard on a regular basis to give us these numbers." Ryan says with a confident smile. "I would not be in this position without this team and their unwavering support." From the corner of her eye, she can see Silas slowly putting his things away, clearly stalling for some time alone with her.

"Nonetheless, I very much look forward to our next meeting. I'm sure that the numbers next quarter will be equally if not more impressive than they were today." Jim reaches out his hand and Ryan takes it graciously, giving it a firm and steady shake.

"Thank you, Sir." Ryan says. Jim nods, says his goodbyes to both her and the President, and she watches as he walks out of the conference room, leaving her alone with Silas. Ryan wordlessly stacks together all of her notes and reports, trying to organize everything as quickly as she can, but does not get the chance to finish before she can feel Silas's presence right beside her. She groans internally.

"Ryan, can we please talk?" Silas asks softly and sincerely. He feels horrible for cornering Ryan last night and after she stormed off, he spent the rest of the evening dreading his decision to lie about dinner in the first place.

"There's nothing for us to talk about, and most certainly not here at the office." Ryan says, not once looking up from her paperwork.

"Ryan, please. Just hear me out. I really want to apologize to you for what I did last night." Silas pleads again.

Ryan finally sighs and looks up at him. She notices right away that he looks pretty miserable and that somehow gives her a little bit of pleasure. "Look, Sy, let's just forget about last night. The fact is, we aren't the same people we were a year ago. You can't just walk away from something and expect that you can come back to it when it's convenient for you. People change. I've changed."

Silas smiles at Ryan's use of the nickname. "I know that. I am not asking that you and I just pick it up and be what were were a year ago. And that's the whole point. I want it to be different this time around, and I want to be better for you."

"But, it's not that simple! A year ago, I wanted a relationship with you, and I wanted to settle down. I don't want those things anymore. In truth, I love where I'm at right now, and I never thought that I'd be standing here telling you that." Ryan says as she smiles genuinely at Silas. "I'm sorry, Sy. A relationship is just not what I want."

Silas nods and smiles sadly. "Ryan, I hope you know that while I respect that, I'm not going to give up on this. I want you, and I'm going to prove that to you, no matter how long it takes me. My biggest regret was letting you go, and I will not make the same mistake again."

Ryan just shakes her head as she reaches over and gives his arm a gentle squeeze. "Have a safe flight home, okay?" She says as she picks up all of her things and walks out of the conference room towards her office on the same floor. She wishes that she can stop thinking about how Silas always says the right things, so she tries to push the thoughts of him away completely. When she gets back to the area where her office is located, she is met with the grinning face of her assistant.

"Hey boss! How did the meeting go?" Elise asks excitedly.

She cannot help but smile back. "Very well, actually. All of those charts and reports you put together really saved my ass. Thank you, and I think that I owe you a drink." Ryan says gratefully.