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Tuesday
September 20, 2011
11:12am
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"Riddian's gay."

"What!"

"See! I knew you were listening!"

A groan emanated from Riddian's throat and he glared in my direction before turning away from Mr. Jones and myself who were discussing top.  Secret. Business.

You may be wondering how that is possible and why ever would Riddian allow this, but considering that I saved his ass three weeks before, I demanded that he promise me at least one favour in return, and well, I had finally found something worth that promise.

I quickly gave him narrowed eyes before turning back to discreetly whisper what I needed from Mr. Jones, to Mr. Jones. He nodded and I grinned happily knowing that at least this one thing may go well this week. My grin however slipped as soon as I felt a presence near me.

I looked to my left to see that it was Riddian, giving me that eye where he was trying to seem uninterested though it was obvious that he was.

"What was that about?" he questioned as soon as Mr. Jones was out of sight. "Why won't you tell me?"

I rolled my eyes.

"You have a habit of messing up all my important plans and I won't have it this time, that's why," I admonished causing him to roll his eyes and slip his hands into his pockets.

"Ms. Harrington, I have been noticing that you are becoming a bit too familiar with me, but I'll let it pass just this once," he muttered in response.

I smiled brightly, but on the inside my heart was hammering. Something weird was happening to us ever since I helped him save his position weeks ago. I mean that thing he just said about me being too familiar with him and him letting it pass just this once, he had already said that same phrase more than five times in the last two weeks and had never gone any further in reprimanding me. While that was good, it was weird because normally he would do more to suppress my unprofessional behaviours.

Things started being worth his sense of humour also. He was acting more relaxed than usual nowadays, definitely starting to show a different side to him. I wasn't sure if this was because I knew more about him than most or because I had proven my worth as an assistant though, and it was all so strange but a bit comforting to know that we were finally starting to get along a little. If I didn't know better I would think we were starting to trust each other.

"Ms. Harrington! Are you coming or not?"

I looked up to see Riddian already in front of his elevator, ready to step inside.

"Coming!"

I sighed.

Maybe I was just overthinking things though. I knew I needed some major girl talk time with either Harper (who was now officially dating Julian by the way) or Whitney, but they were both starting to seem like bad ideas since I feared they would bring up their theory about me liking Riddian or something just as preposterous as that.

I stepped into the elevator and stood as far away from him as I could get.

Oh great. Now they were even making me think differently about Riddian's and I's relationship, I thought immediately, and of course with Riddian being his usual observant self, he also noticed my behaviour change and decided to make this known.

"Something the matter?" his voice questioned from beside me.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"You've been behaving weird lately."

My eyes snapped to him.

"What? You noticed it too?" I asked surprised.

"Of course. I have to notice whether or not my assistant-"

"No! This is not just about me, you've been acting weird as well!"

"What? I have not!"

"Yes you have!"

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Have not!"

"See! Even now!" I shrieked pointing a finger at him. He began saying something else but shut his mouth. I inched closer to him. His chin lifted but his eyes lowered to me making him look wary... or as though he was surveying something beneath his shoes which was not all that flattering.

"What happened to you?" I asked suspiciously.

He relaxed and rose an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"Something has changed about you."

Something flashed in his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I gasped in wonderment.

"You really have changed. Tell me, what shrink did Whitney take you to this time?"

I enjoyed the way he clenched his jaw at this comment, but then he masked everything.

"Have you been talking to my sister again?"

I held back a laugh.

"So it is the work of a shrink," I smirked.

"How did you figure this Ms. Harrington?" he asked taking a step towards me. "And are you sure I have only just changed?" he continued and a smirk made its way onto his face.

I thought back and realized that there had been many weird instances with him, but was he only trying to throw me off by smirking at the moment? Yes, he was!

"Stop trying to distract me! You're only acting like this now because you want to throw me off. I know you Riddian," I crossed my arms with a hard look. He gritted his teeth and hardened his gaze.

"Maybe that's the problem."

"What?"

"You know too much!" he accused making me confused.

"Excuse me?"

He seemed to be fighting against what he really wanted to say and unconsciously I stepped forward making us close again... but then he surprised me by stepping back.

"You're the problem Ms. Harrington!"

"Wait, how could I be the problem? And stop moving away!" I snapped getting frustrated with his moving back from me seeing as I wanted to talk to him seriously.

He still stepped back and for a few more steps it appeared as though I was chasing him. His eyes widened with realisation as well and it was as if something snapped back into place in him because he suddenly stood still and with a firm voice said, "Ms. Harrington, stop!"

My body complied as if it were a reflex and we both went silent. I was panting a bit due to my frustrating chase and he was looking at me as if he realized something.

"You're changing me," I heard him whisper and that shocked me to the core.

I stepped back and spun away from him.

Ping!

Riddian couldn't leave the elevator and go to his office any faster than I could rush to the bathroom. I think we both needed some thinking time... and I mean needed.

:*:*:*:*:*:*:

"He is so into you."

"He actually likes you."

I stared at both girls and shook my head. I knew this had been a bad idea.

"I came here to get your advice, not hear you push the idea of him liking me into my head girls."

"Okay, then you like him."

"She definitely likes him."

I gave up with a 'humph!' and furiously took a sip of the smoothie before me. The girls and I had decided to meet up at a small cafe just a street away from the office to discuss our plans for the Thursday night of that week.

I stared at Whitney and then Harper. Both girls regarded me with giddy faces, so before things got too uncomfortable for me, I decided to change the direction of the conversation by asking,

"So will you guys be there are not?"

Harper seemed almost offended. "Of course I'll be there, and Julian as well."

I grinned and looked at Whitney.

"I'll be there too. I think I had a meeting with someone very important but I'll make an excuse."

My grin brightened.

"Well great! I already asked Mr. Jones to be our driver so that's also settled."

Whitney groaned and then took a sip of her own drink.

"Katherine, I thought I had already told you I have the drivers covered. There was no need to ask Mr. Jones to do that."

"And I thought I spoke to you as well. You already know why I don't want your drivers, plus there are other reasons for asking for Mr. Jones. Riddian owed me a favour and I just love-"

A squeal erupted from before me. I glared at Harper.

"-and I just love," I continued, "how frustrated he gets whenever I refuse to tell him why I want Mr. Jones in the first place."

"Wait do you mean he doesn't know?" Whitney spluttered.

"Of course he doesn't, besides it's better that way."

"Why?"

I scrunched my eyebrows together. Why?

I thought of how Riddian and I had been becoming too comfortable with each other lately. That was supposed to be a good thing really but... I don't know, maybe it was because of where we were coming from and how fast we got here?

"You call that fast? You two have been playing around for so long now, I was beginning to think I'd have to lock you both in a room alone," Whitney was saying and I scolded myself for thinking out loud.

"It's only been three months almost and to tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting a change of heart until probably ten years from now when I'm not working for him and maybe see him on television one evening and say to my futuristic second child, ‘you see that man who's hiding from the camera, I used to work for him’." My shoulders slumped. "I thought that would be the only situation I'd maybe look back in and think ‘you know he wasn't all that bad a boss’, but now things are changing and my kids are fading away."

Harper laughed giving me a side glance while Whitney rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"But no seriously, why?" she repeated her question. I shrugged. The truth was that I wasn't sure of a definite answer.

"It... it just is." 

:*:*:*:*:*:*:

"What are you hiding from me?"

"What?"

Riddian narrowed his eyes at me, putting down the pen he had been writing with as he stared at me from across his desk. I stared right back.

"You, Whitney, Mr. Jones. All of you are hiding something and I want to know what it is," he replied. The corners of my lips twitched upwards but I forced them back to normality.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I muttered.

"I'm not stupid Ms. Harrington. Now you have to tell me."

"I don't have to do anything, you're not the boss of-" I cut myself short and hissed something underneath my breath. "Well you're not the boss of everything I do."

"I am the boss of you though, and I order you to tell me what's going on," he smugly replied making me chuckle this time.

"Someone's feeling out of the loop," I comment. "And you can't order me to tell you something that has nothing to do with your business," I retort.

"So why would you need Mr. Jones?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, catching on to what he was doing. He was trying to fish for as much information as possible. I'm guessing Mr. Know-it-all doesn't like not knowing-it-all and now he knew that not only was Whitney and Mr. Jones involved but this was not a business event.

"I see what you're doing Riddian and it won't work. You promised me a favour and I get Mr. Jones for an evening which you can't ask me about. You only own my work hours not my off hours."

"Well currently you are in your work hours so as your boss I can demand that you tell me," he argued.

I deadpanned.

"You know that's not how it works, but fine! If you really want to know, try not to demand an answer from me and ask me with a 'please'. Perhaps then I'll tell you," I smiled slyly and watched his smug face turn into a deadpan.

"I'd rather tell everyone to call me by my Christian name," he mumbled and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me.

"Why do you only allow some people to call you Riddian?"

He stopped moving at that and somehow the chill atmosphere reverted to the tense one it had been back when he was sharing his life's story on the balcony. I regretted asking the question instantly. 

I fidgeted in my seat and scramble to take it back.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so-"

"If you haven't picked up on it yet Ms. Harrington, I don't trust people so easily. My name means much more to me than you may think and so only people I trust-"

My heart leapt.

"-or stubborn, disrespectful, annoying, nosy-"

"Okay I get it!"

"-assistants," he rose an eyebrow at me, "can call me that."

Well at least I still made the list...

"So how come Mr. Jones doesn't call you Riddian? Don't you trust him?"

He rolled his eyes and for a second I thought he wouldn't answer but then he did.

"I told him he could, but he refuses to. If only all of my employees were as traditional and respectful as him," he eyes me down.

I ignored the look and sat up in my chair, leaning onto my palms which were kept up by my elbows on the table.

"Is your name—Riddian— also special to you because of...," I trailed off for a second, "her?"

Riddian paused again and looked forward. It wasn't directly at me but pass me, at the door. It was almost as if he had gone off to another place and I didn't dare interrupt him. Soon, he slowly looked back at me.

"You really think I would've wanted to keep anything that would associate me to her?" he asked in disbelief. "The name that woman gave me left with her in that car, and I will never be called that again," he hissed, his face taking on a different, more hostile expression as he narrowed his steel eyes at me.

Grabbing the pen he had set down, he finally turned away from pinning me to my seat with his glare and went back to work.

"I think you've reached your limit in questions for the day. Finish your work."

I didn't dare argue.

Author's note

Happy holidays everyone! 🤗🤗 How are you? I just wanted to say, before anything else, I wish you all a safe, joyful and blessed holiday and a happy new year when it comes, cause I care about y'all 😖. And next,

Thank you to all my readers! I thank you every update because I really appreciate you reading and especially appreciate it when you comment.

Quick question before the next chapter,

Any ideas of what Riddian's name was when he was with his mom?

Comment please❤️❤️ and I hope you will enjoy chapters to come because I sure am enjoying writing them😊.

Until the next,

💕S4_angel