Chapter 10 CEO Fight Club
I woke up feeling weird. My arm felt occupied, it was somewhat heavy and warm. Definitely not like my regular arm. I cracked one eye open, and there it was.
A white furred animal, sitting close to my face, staring right back at me. No, it wasn't staring... it was glaring at me, judging me.
I froze instantly.
Seeing I was awake, it moved back, flicking its tail and twitching its paws against the grey bedsheets beneath me.
I loved animals, I really do. But this cat? It was frowning, probably cussing me inwardly too.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me, Ryker." I muttered.
The cat tilted its head, looking unimpressed. I pushed myself up slowly. "What are you—where did you come from? Did you break in?"
Just then, the door burst open. To my shock and relief, Ryker walked in.
He didn't even look at me before scooping the cat up into his arms. "There you are, Missy."
Missy?
That cat—that glaring, passive-aggressive goblin was called Missy?
The cat curled up in his arm, suddenly looking like a Disney princess. It wasn't glaring anymore.
Quite two-faced, I must say.
Ryker finally glanced my way. "Good morning."
I opened my mouth to speak, but my brain was still rebooting.
I tried to ignore the beautiful sight of him but, unfortunately, my eyes were not co-operating so well.
My eyes laced on his hair that was still damp, he clearly just showered. And his Grey shirt clung to his chest, highlighting every damn muscles. Overall, he looked like a water deity from a Greek Myth.
Get it together, girl.
Must be the early morning hormones, or the shock of waking up to a judgmental cat. I mean, Ryker wasn't really all that.
Okay, I lied.
He was ALL that.
"Eyes up here. Or you plan to strip me naked in that head of yours?"
I blinked, heat rushing to my face. That annoying grin slowly grew on his face and so did my embarrassment grow.
"I-I wasn't—I didn't.." I stammered. Just great. "What are you even doing here?"
Ryker's laughter faded into a grin. "Came to get my cat and save you from a cardiac incident."
"I wasn't scared. I was just stunned."
"Of course." He patted Missy's head and she moewed. "I believe you, little lamb."
That sounded like 'Lie harder, maybe it will sound better.'
Before I could argue, he beat me to it. "Oh, breakfast is ready. You should come downstairs." He glanced at his watch. "We leave in an hour."
My eyebrows pulled together. "Where are we going?"
He looked at me and said flatly. "To get our engagement rings."
Ah, yes.
Ring number two, but this time, from a contract fiancé.
How messy has my life become? Really messy that Merlin wouldn't be able to save it with magic.
"You don't need to think too much about it." He said in a surprisingly soft tone. "The rings don't mean anything. No pressure."
Right. It was super casual.
"Okay," I sighed. "I'll be down in a minute."
He nodded and left with Missy. I climbed out of the bed and slipped my feet into a pair of floppy slippers—which I guess was mine now.
The bathroom was massive, even if my bowels weren't. After releasing the chaos inside me, I dragged myself to the sink.
I looked in the mirror but swore that couldn't be me.
My reflection looked like an ancient doughnut with anxiety. Hair sticking out in all directions and dark circles doing the most. Overall, I looked like a chicken on a bad feather day.
"Ugh.." I groaned.
I had a quick bath and skimmed through my new closet for something good to wear.
I initially settled for a red above-the-knee gown but decided against it after spotting the bruises still fading across my chest.
After few debates, I slipped into blue Jeans and a brown Sleeveless blouse. A little touch on my hair, some concealer to hide my mystery-badge of honor, I finally looked like a functioning human being.
Phone in hand, I headed down the hallway, just in time to see Ryker tucking Missy into a crib.
"Missy has a Crib?" I asked, descending the stairs.
Without turning, he handed her a tiny milk bottle. "Yeah, more comfortable like that."
"She's living better than most people."
He grinned. "Of course. Missy's human parent is rich. What do you expect?"
I scoffed loudly. "I expect you to be less full of yourself."
"Unfortunately, that feature is out of stock. Want something else?"
I rolled my eyes and sank into a chair at the dining table. "You made all this?"
"The housekeeper's out for a few days," he said, clearly proud. "So yes, I made something palatable."
The table was piled with all sort of food— Fried chickens, waffles, Pancakes, Burger and fries, Grilled cheese, Tomato soup, Spaghetti and meatballs.
"This is..." I reached for an empty plate. "...suspiciously impressive." I completed, already dishing some spaghetti on my plate.
So, Ryker wasn't just a handsome-cocky CEO, he could cook too.
What a biased world.
I was halfway through my third bite, when a low growl of an engine rumbled outside.
The engine got annoyingly louder.
Missy leapt out of its crib and bolted, leaving me to face whatever chaos was brewing outside alone.
Still chewing fries, I tiptoed towards the window like I was in a low-budget detective movie.
Outside was a orange colored-almost-dead-but-still-managing-car. Next to it stood four men dressed in black. Each of them had their hair dyed in Green, Red, purple and wine. They had several piercings here and there too. Pretty nasty.
If anything that caught my eyes, it was the several tattoos that snaked their arms, disappearing into their sleeves.
Wait a minute—
Those tattoos look familiar.
Right.
Ryker had same tattoos.
And I'm left wondering what Ryker had with these men. Was Ryker part of their group? Were they a cult? A gang? Some underground CEO Fight Club?
Talking about Ryker, he was there too. His hands were tucked into his pants pocket, wearing that same lazy smile that could piss anyone off.
One of the men, big and burly, was yelling, demonstrating and glaring with his veins popping out on his throat. But Ryker? He just stood there, looking mildly entertained.
He didn't even flinch when the man pointed a small knife at him. Just when I thought things would get rough and I'll have to dial the emergency digits, the man took a step back.
Then, Ryker's stance changed, his smile vanished and his gaze turned sharp and cold. He transformed from laidback into something I've never seen before.
Dangerous? Very.
I rubbed the goosebumps crawling down my arms.
He said something. I couldn't hear it, but I managed to read his lips;
"You done barking? The gate's right there, try not to trip on your ego on your way out."
"Or what?" The man bellowed.
Ryker smirked, knowingly. That was when my eyes caught the gun he was holding.