Page 44 of Bad for Business (Pembroke Hills #2)

FORTY-FOUR

CAMILLE

I’ve barely made it through the door of my bedroom before it’s slamming shut and Ryker’s closing us in together.

“Don’t go,” he immediately gets out, his voice hoarse.

I can’t say anything at first. I don’t know what to say to him.

I don’t know how to explain that every single part of me is telling me not to go with my dad.

I want to stay here. The thought of my time with Ryker abruptly ending kills me, but I also can’t let my dad leave without explaining myself.

I have no idea what’s going to happen and I can’t focus on anything else until I talk to him.

Ryker takes a step closer to me, I take a step back. I see the pain in his eyes when I do it, and I hate that it’s there because of me. We do the same thing until my back hits the bedroom wall and he’s caging me in.

“Don’t go,” he repeats, his eyes searching my face.

“I have to,” I respond, my voice shaking. “I can’t let my dad go without talking to him first.”

Ryker shakes his head. “He’s a dick. He shouldn’t be allowed to talk to you at all. The things he was saying, Camille…” He swallows, the tension in his body clear. “I’ve never been so upset with anyone. He can’t talk to you like that. Please tell me he doesn’t always talk to you like that.”

“He’s just angry right now. He can get mean, but I’ll get it handled. I’ll talk him down, but you have to let me go do it.”

Ryker’s hands shake as he grabs my face.

I hate the desperation in his eyes. I’m not leaving him.

I don’t know what’s happening between us and I don’t know what’s going to happen with my dad.

I don’t have the answers. All I know is I can’t lose Ryker, but I also have to try and explain this to my dad to make him understand.

I need him to understand that even though I know I messed up by getting involved with Ryker while he was my client, I still worked hard to get the job done.

What happened between Ryker and me doesn’t change that.

“I don’t want you to leave. I’m sorry for getting us caught. If I hadn’t?—”

I reach to press my fingers against his lips. “It isn’t your fault. I knew better. I knew there was a chance he’d find out. Now, I just have to handle it.”

“Handle it,” he whispers when I remove my fingers.

I move my hand to cup his cheek, trying to ease the fear that is evident in his eyes.

“I’m going to handle it. I need to figure it out with my dad, and it’s easier if he thinks I’m going with him.

But I promise, Ryker, I’m not running. We have things we have to figure out ourselves, and I want to do that. But first, I have to go with him.”

He closes his eyes for a moment and I hate the way his entire body deflates.

I’m trying to make him feel better and it isn’t working.

I don’t know what else to say. No matter how much Ryker wants me to, I can’t just let my dad leave.

I have to explain myself. I just need Ryker to understand that just because I’m doing that, it doesn’t mean I’m hiding from what’s happening between us.

“I don’t know if I can watch you go,” he confesses, his eyes finding mine once again. There’s so much vulnerability in his gaze that I can barely remember a time when he didn’t look at me like this.

My thumb brushes over his cheek. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” I laugh, wishing we weren’t in this situation in the first place. “I have to go, but I’ll come back.”

He lets out a sigh before he pulls our faces together.

He presses his forehead to mine as we both sit with our thoughts and each other’s presence for a moment.

When I first saw my dad, I didn’t know how to explain Ryker and me.

I didn’t know if it’d be best to lie and say nothing happened or come up with some kind of story.

And then Ryker stuck up for me.

It was the first time I can remember anyone ever doing that for me, and in that moment, it hit me that I can’t pretend anymore. I can’t pretend I don’t have intense feelings for Ryker. I can’t act as if the man doesn’t hold my heart in his hands.

No matter how complicated things are about to be with my dad, I won’t let it get between Ryker and me. He fought for me out there in the kitchen and I want to do the same for him.

But my dad’s the only family I have. I’ve spent my entire life idolizing him, even if he hasn’t always deserved it. Even if he’s never deserved it.

“I meant what I said out there,” Ryker finally says, breaking me from my thoughts. He leans back enough just to meet my gaze. “I wouldn’t have gotten the board approval if it wasn’t for you. I’ll run Davenport Media because of you, Camille.”

I smile, realizing I was so swept up in the angry look in my father’s eyes, and the mean things he was saying, that I didn’t even tell Ryker congratulations. “You did it. You earned it. I’m so happy for you.”

He gives me a sad smile. “I’d be a lot happier about it if I wasn’t so worried about you walking through that door and never coming back.”

I’m quiet for a moment as I try to come up with the right thing to say.

I’m not good at this. My job has always been to talk in half-truths and to find ways to spin a lie.

I’ve never been good at being honest or vulnerable.

I don’t know the right words to say right now.

I don’t know how to convince him that I’m not going anywhere.

So I do the only thing I can think of. I grab his hand and place it over my racing heart.

“Feel that?” I ask.

He nods.

“No one’s ever made it race like that, Ryker.”

“Cami.” His voice comes out barely above a whisper.

I give him what I hope is a comforting smile. I need him to know that two things can be true: I can go explain things better to my dad in hopes that he’ll calm down and understand what’s happened, and I can come back to Ryker after.

“I’ve never let anyone in here. Not like I’ve let you.” I press his palm harder against my skin, hoping I’m getting the point across. “We’re going to figure out what happens next.”

“Together?” he asks, his voice breaking. I hate that there’s been so much back-and-forth between us that it’s this hard for him to believe what I’m saying.

I nod. “Together.”

Before he can say anything else, there’s a pounding on my door.

“Camille,” my dad yells. “The car will be here in five minutes to get us.”

My stomach drops at the anger still in his tone.

I know I’ve messed up. I understand why he’s angry.

I knew better than to get involved with a client, but I couldn’t help it.

The heart wants what it wants, and I hope that if I just tell my dad that, he’ll understand.

He doesn’t know I know this, but Mom started out as his client.

Her family did. And maybe him knowing how I feel about Ryker will hit the soft spot that exists in his heart only for Mom.

“Okay,” I respond, not knowing if my dad even still stands there or if he’s already retreated down the hallway.

Just in case he was there to hear it, I made sure to keep my voice strong.

There’s something about him that always makes me back down even when I know I shouldn’t.

I’ve done it my entire life, but this time, I want to stand up to him.

Maybe doing that will finally earn me the respect I so desperately want from him.

“I’ve got to go,” I whisper, standing on my tiptoes to place a kiss against Ryker’s lips. “I’ll call you the moment I get this figured out,” I promise, hoping he believes me.

He nods, and even though it’s obvious he doesn’t want me to go, he accepts my answer.

Something about the way he finally trusts me—trusts in us—hits me right in the heart.

Hope blossoms in my chest that maybe this time we really will get it right.

We’re communicating and putting our feelings out in the open in a way we didn’t get the time to do after that first night together.

He steps away but doesn’t leave the room.

He watches me closely as I pull on a new outfit and throw my things back into my suitcase.

I don’t grab everything. I don’t know what will happen next.

I won’t be Ryker’s publicist anymore, which means I won’t need to be back here in the house with him.

I don’t even know how long he plans to still be here in the Hamptons, but I want to leave pieces of myself here in the house.

I hope it tells him that I really don’t plan on going anywhere.

I do my best to pack quickly and I don’t know how much time passes, but I do know that when I finally get it all packed up and I’m standing at the bedroom door, I hate how sad Ryker looks.

He stands in front of me in nothing but a pair of underwear.

My sadness matches his for a moment as I mourn the day we were supposed to have together.

I was looking forward to a day spent in our underwear, continuing to get to know one another before the reality of our lives hit us.

We didn’t get that today, but I have hope that we still will.

“Do me a favor, princess?” Ryker speaks up, stepping closer to me to pull me into a hug.

I easily walk into his embrace, loving the feeling of his arms wrapped around me.

I take a deep breath in, wanting to commit the smell of him to memory.

I don’t know when I’ll see him again. Hopefully, it won’t be long.

But I still do everything possible to remember his familiar scent, just in case.

Any time away from him will feel like too long after all the time we’ve spent together so far this summer.

“What’s the favor?” I ask, my words coming out a bit muffled because they’re said against his chest.

“Don’t let your dad talk down to you. You’re an amazing woman. An incredible publicist. What’s happened between us doesn’t change how hard you worked to get the job done. I just need you to remember that.”

If I wasn’t already falling for him, that would’ve done it. He knew exactly what I needed to hear. His words give me the last bit of strength I need to go into this next conversation with my dad.

“Thank you for saying that,” I tell him, squeezing around his middle a little tighter because I don’t want to let go. “I won’t let him talk down to me. Not this time.”

Ryker’s lips press to the top of my hair. Everything about him just calms me instantly. No matter what happens with Dad, I know everything that’s happened will still be worth it, because it all led to Ryker.

“I’m going to go before he comes back even more pissed,” I mutter, loosening my grip around him even though I don’t want to.

Ryker pulls away too, one of his hands reaching out to cup my cheek. “Goodbye for now.”

I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. He kisses me back immediately, his tongue softly running along the seam of my mouth. The kiss doesn’t last too long, but it still makes my entire body warm.

When I pull away, I give him a wide smile. “Goodbye for now, Ryker. I’ll let you know how it goes.” I press my lips to his one more time before gathering my bags and opening the door. I race out of the room before I lose the courage to leave Ryker standing there alone.