Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Ryan
It was Nick.
Dustin stumbled back a step, the curse dying in his throat. His eyes dropped to the hand gripping his wrist, and something clicked. A disgusting smirk spread across his face.
"Oh, I get it." His gaze bounced between me and Nick. "Nice, Ryan. Bagging a Riverdale rich guy wasn't enough, so now you've got Wall Street muscle backing you up..."
Nick's fist slammed into his face. Blood poured from Dustin's nose instantly. He clutched his face, not daring to push further.
"Get lost!"
"What's the rush, man?" Dustin saw Nick wasn't swinging again and kept running his mouth. "She spreads for anyone. You think you're what, number three? Four?"
My chest tightened. My nails dug into my palms. I grabbed my bag, ready to swing.
A purple blur came charging over. Lulu. The metal charm on her backpack flashed in the air.
"Who the hell do you think you are! Shut your mouth! Scum!"
She caught him off guard. Blood mixed with the red welt from the metal clasp—he looked pathetic. We had numbers. He finally backed down, smearing blood across his face, muttering something about "you'll see," before scrambling away.
The tension drained out of me all at once. I stood there, empty. Lulu rushed over, hands on my shoulders, checking me over.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
"I'm fine." My voice shook.
"Bastard." Lulu pulled out wet wipes and dabbed my face and eyes. That's when I realized I was crying. Maybe the lavender scent calmed me down. I looked over at Nick. He was wiping blood off his knuckles with a handkerchief.
"Mr. Sterling, what are you doing here?" Lulu's hand paused at my question. She turned to look at Nick, her brow furrowing slowly.
"Just Nick is fine. I was nearby on business." Nick refastened his cuff. "That guy—your ex?"
I nodded.
Nick pulled a card from his pocket and held it out. "If he comes around again, call this number. I know people who handle situations like this."
I didn't take it right away. Victoria on his arm, that cold look in his eyes—still fresh in my mind.
"I don't think we should be in contact privately."
Nick laughed softly. "Victoria's just my friend's little sister. We occasionally collaborate on investment projects, that's all."
He extended the card a bit further. "I know Victoria may have been..." he chose his words carefully, "less than friendly toward you. She's wary of outsiders, especially anyone close to Rose. After her sister died, Rose is all she has left."
I looked into Nick's eyes. Nothing but sincerity there. Maybe Victoria's prejudice had influenced him, but at his core, he was still a decent gentleman.
I took the card. "Thanks. I'll buy you dinner sometime. To say thank you."
"No rush." Nick stepped back, his tone gentle. "Take care of yourself, Ryan. The number works twenty-four seven."
He turned and left. Lulu stared after him for a long moment. "That guy's weird."
"Whatever. At least he got rid of Dustin."
"I know." Lulu pulled at my arm. "But don't you think it's too convenient? You get into it with Dustin, and he just happens to show up?"
"Maybe he really was passing by."
Lulu looked at me. "You believe that?"
I shoved Nick's card in my bag. "I'll keep an eye out."
"You better."
Lulu dragged me into a drugstore bathroom around the corner. I turned on the tap and splashed cold water on my face, then took her lipstick and eyeliner to touch up.
"You sure you don't want to go to the police?" Lulu leaned against the doorframe. "He threatened you, grabbed you. That's a crime."
"I can't." I tried to steady my hand drawing the liner. "If they open a case, the police notify everyone involved. Including my employer."
"But your safety matters more!"
"I'm scared too." I closed the lipstick, looking at my still-frazzled reflection. "But if the cops show up at the door because of Dustin, what would Ronan do? I don't know."
Lulu went quiet, dropping her hand from the frame. "Come on. Let's get food."
We sat down in a little place next door.
Calling it a restaurant was generous—four tables and a counter selling fried chicken and fries.
Lulu ordered a combo for two and pushed the wings toward me.
I bit into one. The coating was overcooked, like chewing cardboard, but once I had something in my stomach, the shaking in my hands and feet gradually stopped.
"How'd he know you were around here?" Lulu picked up a fry and swirled it in ketchup.
"Dustin?"
"Yeah."
I set the chicken bone on the edge of the plate. "I changed my number. Moved. We gave up the old rental ages ago—he couldn't have found me through any of that."
"But he knew you got a high-paying job. And that it's in Riverdale."
"Probably the school records. I didn't transfer. My new address is in the system—could someone have hacked it?"
"Or someone looked it up for him." Lulu bit the fry in half. "A deadbeat who can't scrape together his next meal has the skills to hack a community college system?"
I stirred my Coke with the straw. "Last time he hassled me, he didn't have the video. At least he never mentioned it. After we broke up, I made him delete it. He swore he did."
"Never trust a man's promises. Go register with campus security. And the police—at least file a report. Either way, compared to your safety, the video's the least of your worries."
"Guess that's all I can do."
We looked up the campus security number and the nearest precinct address, and went to file reports. After, Lulu insisted on walking me to the subway.
"Ryan, that job..." Before we parted, she grabbed me, unusually serious. "The pay covers your loans, gets us a better place—all that's true. But everything you've told me—Ronan's deep waters."
"You're there every day. You'll start losing track of what's work and what's your actual life."
"Once a week. I promised."
"Saturday. Usual spot. Three p.m. Don't be late."
I nodded and pulled her into a tight hug. Walking down to the platform, I turned back. Lulu was still at the entrance, like a lamp that never goes out. I waved hard. She immediately raised her hand, waving back.
I got back to the manor in the evening. The moment I pushed through the door, Andrew came toward me.
"Miss Clark, Mr. Valerius is waiting for you in the study."
My steps stopped. "Now?"
"Yes. He specifically asked that you come as soon as you returned."
Was something wrong with Rose? Or was it about this afternoon? Instinct told me this wasn't good.
I pushed open the door. Ronan sat behind the desk, Declan beside him, expressionless. Both looked up when they heard me. Ronan's fingers drummed the desktop twice, then stopped.
"This afternoon at school. What exactly happened?"
I glanced at Declan. He avoided my eyes. My gaze fell to the file spread open on Ronan's desk—or more precisely, to the photos beneath it. The top one showed a corner with a blurry figure in profile. Even with the poor quality, I recognized myself instantly.
Ronan's people had been following me. And I'd never noticed.
"My ex showed up. Harassed me." My voice was tight. "It's handled."
Ronan's brow furrowed. "You don't need to see people like that." His tone carried impatience. "He shows up at school, you call the cops. If he dares come to the manor, I'll handle it. You go meet him alone, and if he—"
He stopped mid-sentence. His hand curled into a fist and pressed hard against the desk.
"What if he escalates and hurts Rose?"
I stared at Ronan's face. His gray eyes. His mouth pressed into a line. His clenched fist. Every word he'd just said echoed in my head. I felt myself go cold inch by inch, yet somehow burning up at the same time.
He had people tail me. Summoned me to the study like I was a criminal being interrogated. Even the one sentence that sounded remotely like concern was only about Rose.
I was the one threatened with a sex tape, nearly assaulted by my ex. What gave him the right?
"You had me followed."
Ronan's brow twitched. His voice went cold. "I asked you what happened this afternoon."
"What? Can't our almighty Mr. Valerius figure out something so trivial? You had people on me, didn't you?" I laughed bitterly. "Since they already saw everything, you want me to relive being victimized all over again? How thoughtful of you."
"Ryan—" Declan tried to jump in.
"This isn't your business." I cut him off, eyes on Ronan. "Is that it, Mr. Valerius?"
Ronan stood from his chair. The massive desk between us suddenly felt like nothing. He came around it, stood over me, looking down.
"You went to see some lowlife. Didn't tell Declan. Didn't report it to me." He bit off each word, his tone full of accusation. "Declan should have explained the manor's work rules."
"Report it? Ha!" I couldn't help laughing. "That's rich! Ronan, what am I to you? Your employee? Your daughter's therapist? Or a whore you can use whenever you want?"
"When I was threatened, when I was hurt, where were your people? Where were you? You think it's my fault." I stepped closer. "Right. It's my fault. Every bad thing that happens to me is my fault because I wasn't careful enough, because I dated someone like that. That's what you mean, isn't it?"
"I'm only—"
"You don't need to say it." I wiped tears away with the back of my hand. "When you told me from your high horse that 'you don't need to see people like that,' you'd already blamed me."
Ronan's face hardened. "Either way, you shouldn't bring potential danger near Rose. And—" He paused. "There's Nick. You know his relationship with Victoria. You shouldn't have anything to do with him."
"Great. Perfect." I laughed coldly. "Looks like I'm public enemy number one around here. Fine. I'm done. I quit. Find someone else."
I didn't wait for him to respond. I turned and left, practically running back to my room. First, I organized Rose's treatment records and notes, then yanked clothes off hangers and stuffed them into my suitcase.
Declan rushed in. "Ryan, just calm down."
"I am calm." I zipped the suitcase. "In my entire career, I've never had a job where being surveilled and blamed was part of the employment terms."
"Ronan didn't mean it like that, you're misunderstanding—"
"You wrote down my every move in your little notebook." I pulled out the handle. "Now you want to play nice guy? If there's an exit process, make it quick."
Declan looked stung, at a loss. I pushed past him and headed downstairs.
"When Rose finds you gone tomorrow, she'll—"
I stopped. My heart ached. But I couldn't let my dignity get trampled again and again—at the end of the day, this was a job first.
"She knows what abandonment feels like better than any of you." I gripped the handle tight. "But that's not on me."
I went down the stairs, through the entrance hall, straight out of the manor. I didn't look back.