The Personal Affair

T H R E E

It's been over two weeks since I began working for Ryder and honestly it's hasn't been as horrible as I expected. For the first few days, I kept in the back of my mind, Amanda's instructions and keeping to them helped a lot.

But I will be honest, Ryder Stone was no easy man to deal with regardless. Several times I was tempted to give him a piece of my mind but I refrained from doing so, choosing instead to recite in my head the benefits of this job. It had become a mantra of some sort now.

Incredible pay. Great health benefits. Bomb ass office. And now, Brittney.

We had gotten closer in these past weeks so much so that she had been introduced to Meg and Hailey who both liked her, Meg especially, so she was now an added benefit of this job.

Finally, it's Friday so I quickly get out of my bed, before my alarm goes off, and rush into the shower. Ryder has an early breakfast meeting and had asked that I join him and conduct the meeting. No, not asked. Ryder Stone never asks for anything. He had commanded, leaving me no choice.

After my shower, I wear a sheer black low neck lace top paired with red trousers and a black blazer. Once done, I looked in the mirror, satisfied with my outfit.  It gave off perfect amounts of corporate and sexy at the same time.

"Damn, Baby." I hear Knox say from the bed. I turn to see him rubbing his still sleepy eyes with the back of his hand which brings a small smile to my face.

"Morning, babe." I greet him, giving him a quick kiss on the lips when I'm closer. He strokes his fingers along my face, lovingly, before I'm forced to pull away by gravity.

"Good morning. You look beautiful." He compliments me eyeing my outfit.

"Thank you." I reply simply before going back to the mirror to apply a matte red lipstick. Once upon a time, Knox's comment would have created a whole butterfly garden in my tummy but now, it didn't affect me that much which was strange. He is after all my husband.

I realized then that I had paused in my actions so I decide to leave Knox out of my mind for when I had the time. I grab my black Chanel purse making sure I had everything I needed before leaving the room.

"Have a nice day." I hear Knox yell.

"You too." I yell back before leaving the house and getting into my grey Camero.

I arrive at The Loft thirty minutes later due to the mild traffic. The Loft is an upscale restaurant in the metropolitan area where rich people go and practically wipe their dishes with dollar notes so it was no surprise that this is where we will be dining.

I hand my keys to the valet before going into the restaurant. I look around trying to see if Ryder had arrived but he hadn't, instead, I spotted Mr Chance Scott, Ryder's potential business partner, sitted beside the window area so I quickly walk to him.

"Good morning, Mr Scott." I greet him as I drop my stuff on the table before introducing myself. "I'm Nicole Smith, Mr Stone's assistant, I spoke with your assistant on the phone." I stretch out my hand which he receives with a warm smile.

"Hello, Miss Smith." He says, I'm tempted to correct him on the title but I decide against it, opting instead to take a seat.

"Have you ordered yet?" I ask him.

"No, I haven't. I was waiting on Stone's arrival." He says, his voice turning rather cold at the mention to Ryder's name. I didn't pay it much attention though. It could just be in my head.

A waitress approaches us for our drink order and while Mr Scott refuses to order anything, I order a cup of coffee because I'm not a robot.

I'm going through the documents with me for Ryder, wondering if I should begin this meeting or wait for him and waste more of Mr Scott's time when the man in question appears.