Chapter Sixteen
The text on my phone was not what I expected to wake up to, but it was like the universe was answering my calls from last night with Odette. After I came home this morning, a message from my mom popped up.
Two words. That was all she said.
Mom: We sold.
I called her immediately, and she confirmed they had finalized the sale of the café this morning with a buyer that they vetted closely.
They weren’t just going to sell to anyone, but they had them working in the café for a few weeks to see how they were with the patrons, and it felt right.
Mom said that Dad even felt that the couple would keep the place going for generations to come.
They were young and wanted to give life back to something they had grown up with as children.
I felt guilty when Mom told me that, but she quickly followed up with that they were still proud of all I’d done, even if it wasn’t taking over the café for them.
Now I’d been sitting alone in my house, waiting for Beckett to come over, because I was going to do this.
The news this morning gave me the push to decide that it was going to happen.
I wasn’t going to wait any longer to give Odette all of me.
It wasn’t just that, though. With wanting to tell Odette, I also wanted to tell the world.
I’d been toying with the idea that I was done with hiding.
It felt like lie after lie to those who just didn’t understand why I kept myself hidden wasn’t being true to myself any longer.
“What’s the 911 about?” Beckett walked through the front door.
“The café is sold.” I blurted out.
“Oh, shit.” Beckett moved further into the house, shock on his face. “I didn’t realize they were so close to selling.”
“Me either. I thought it might be a few more weeks, but it’s done as of this morning.”
Beckett nodded, and his eyes were still trained on me.
“What else? Because I know you didn’t tell me to get over here right now for that when I would have just found out from my mom.”
I took a deep breath before I let out my next statement.
“I’m going to do it.”
I looked up from the couch where I was sitting, to Beckett, standing in the middle of the foyer, staring at me.
“Do what?” He squinted his eyes, unsure of where I was going with my statement.
“Tell Odette.”
Beckett took a few cautious steps toward me, placing a to-go coffee cup on the table in front of me. He must have been out this morning.
“Tell her what, Ryker?” Beckett gave me a weary look as if he knew where I was going but didn’t want to be the one to say it.
“Tell her about me. About CovertRetriever.”
“Absolutely fucking not.” He shook his head and finally took a seat. “This is not a conversation we need to be having right now. You clearly fucked her last night and are in a state of delusion.”
“Beckett,” I said sternly.
“What do you want me to say? This isn’t you asking me what you should do. This is you telling me, which means you’ve been thinking about it and have made a decision.”
“This isn’t up for debate. I was only giving you a courtesy heads-up that I would be doing this.” Defensively, I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn’t backing down. Not when I wanted this.
“I’m quite aware, Ryker.” Beckett grabbed his coffee and took a sip before slamming it down this time.
“But who do you think has to get all of this together, clean this up if things go wrong? You aren’t just some gamer; you’re CovertRetriever for fuck’s sake.
We have to figure this out before you start doing shit. ”
“Then what do you want me to do?” If he wasn’t going to let me tell Odette, I needed him to have a game plan.
“Let me figure this out in case it gets leaked somewhere. I’ll get a contract together for her. Just let me figure this out logistically.” Beckett took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “You can tell her, but not yet, dude.”
“I don’t want a contract.” I didn’t want our relationship to be a business transaction.
I was staring him down now.
Fuck that.
“You have no idea of her motives if she found out. You two technically barely know each other, even if you have been around her media life for years. You don’t know her, Ryker.”
I leaned back in the chair and ran a hand over my face.
I wanted to do this with my whole heart.
I didn’t want to be talked out of it, but Beckett was my manager.
He was right about a lot of things regarding my business, but in this instance, I didn’t want him to be my manager. I needed him to be my best friend.
“I do know her. And not just from what I’ve seen on social media. I know that she is guarded in the same sense I am. She doesn’t want to be used for what she’s done in life; she just wants to be herself. If I told her, she might be shocked, but I know in my heart she wouldn’t out me.”
“And how do you know this?” The look on Beckett’s face was skeptical now. The wheels were turning in his head about how I could know all of this.
“I’ve gotten to know her. We’ve spent hours and days together.”
“My assumption that the date went well last night was correct, then.” Beckett leaned back on the couch, both legs kicked up on the coffee table, now. He was looking more like my friend than my manager now.
“Really good.” A smile crept over my face, remembering how Odette felt in my arms. How vulnerable she looked with every move we made together.
She bared her past to me, not all of it, but enough for me to know who she was as a person, and I wanted—no, needed—to know more.
I needed all of her. All the happy and sad together.
“So, her pussy is enough for you to reveal all your secrets.”
“Beckett,” I snapped. “Do not fucking talk about her like that.”
“Ryker!” He snapped louder back at me. “We’ve worked so hard for this, and I know your feelings for Odette, but this isn’t a game. This is your life. My life. Your empire and I won’t have you throw it all away unless you know for fucking sure that this woman won’t out you and ruin it all.”
“She won’t ruin it,” I said, my voice coming down a few octaves. “I trust her.”
Beckett picked up his coffee again, took a sip, set it back down, and then resumed his position. His head cocked to the side.
“What the fuck happened last night, Ryker? Because it sure as hell sounds like a lot more than sex went down.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
What hadn’t happened last night?
“We talked. A lot.”
“About?” Beckett fished.
“How she started writing in college, but she wasn’t supported by her family in what she wanted to do in life.
We talked about how she worked in a career she hated, but did it to get by with writing.
Once she got picked up for publishing, she went into gaming writing.
Her struggles with her parents, with Parker; she laid it all out for me last night.
” I smiled, thinking of her rambling to me as we sat in the kitchen.
The reminder of her sitting there in my shirt had me wishing I was back there instantly.
“She told me how scared she was when she blew up because of the pressure of not just fans but family and what she should be doing with her life, if this was right. She didn’t want to let anyone down.
And she told me a bit about Parker, but didn’t go into it much.
But one thing she did let me know is how he was never there for her in her passions, and fuck, that tore at my heart. ”
“Ryker,” Beckett said my name more softly this time. He knew how I was with Odette, not to mention my hero complex. It was just who I was. I wanted to save everyone, but she was one I didn’t really need to save. The opposite, I was pretty sure she was the one saving me.
“I know, but when she talked about all of this, I just knew. I needed her to know who I was. I needed her to know I wanted to be a part of her passions, her life, to cheer her on. For her to be on my arm for both her and my own accomplishments. For us to run these empires together.”
“Fuck, dude.”
“I know. I didn’t say anything to her last night or this morning because I wanted to talk to you first, but this isn’t me asking, Beckett. This is me telling you that I am doing this. With or without your blessing.”
“When do you want to do it? As much as I want you to wait, it’s clear you won’t listen to my timeline.”
“I was thinking the sooner the better, tonight preferably.”
Beckett’s eyes went wide at my thought. I continued, though.
“I only have my stream this afternoon and none tomorrow, so I can help field any questions or if anything happens, it won’t impact me.” In case I was wrong about everything, and she did leave.
“After all of that,” Beckett moved his feet off the table and leaned on his thighs as he addressed me. “You’re anticipating she hates you?”
When Beckett asked the question, a knot formed in my stomach.
As much as I was ready to lay everything out for Odette, there was a part of me that was scared, worried, she would leave me, hate me for lying to her.
That she would walk out my door and never come back, but it was the price I was willing to pay for her to see me.
To really know me, like she’d opened up to me last night.
“I’m just preparing myself for whatever happens.”
“You’re hoping she falls in love with you.”
“Of course.” I waved at him like it wasn’t obvious. Of course, I wanted this woman to love me.
“What if she doesn’t?”
What if she doesn’t?
“I don’t know yet.”
We sat there in silence, the question Beckett had asked me lingering between us, along with my answer. I had no idea what I would do if Odette walked away, but I wasn’t going to focus on that.
I pulled out my phone, shooting off a message to her, inviting her over tonight for dinner. I wanted to cook for her, to have her in my space, since I’d been in hers. When I set my phone down, Beckett gave me a knowing nod.
“You should go get ready for your stream later. I’ll grab some lunch and see you then.” Beckett got up and grabbed his coffee before coming to stand beside me. His hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up at my best friend. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Ryker.”
“I do.” The words slipped from my mouth, and Beckett left the house, leaving me alone, at least for a few hours. I needed to shower and prep for my stream today. I would be continuing my current speed run of League of Witches, but no matter how much I tried to get my head in it, I couldn’t.
Odette had filled my thoughts, and as I started the stream hours later, I felt off. I felt like I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I apologized to those watching that I felt a little rusty after taking a few days off. In return, it gave me endless encouragement.
I looked over at the chat during one of the cut scenes and saw them going crazy. They only did this when Odette joined the live, and when I looked at my list, there she was.
OdetteReign.
I puffed my chest, and when the cut scene ended, I felt more on my game. I could do this. I knew she was watching while writing, and she’d already answered my text about coming to dinner later.
Even if she didn’t know it was me in this moment, she would tonight.
I would tell the woman I loved everything.
The woman I loved.