Now there’s the reason why Ryder and I could never be! I couldn’t stand him thinking I was only interested in his money. The thing with Ryder is… I think I like everything about him! Except for his financial status. So he and I… we can never be more than what we are now. Friends pretending to be lovers when the occasion calls for it. Friends who slept with each other at some point in their lives.
“How did you get to be that cynical?”
He shrugged. “My Dad is not exactly a saint.” He said. “He… well, he’s been through marriages and divorces. Some are with younger women, who left him too soon… taking some fortune with them.”
“Oh… you mean your parents are not together anymore?”
He shook his head. “They divorced when I was younger. Then they got together again and had Paris. Then they divorced again when Paris was about five. Now, they’re just business partners. My Mom tolerates my Dad’s marriages as long as he just spends his share of the family money and he leaves my Mom’s, mine’s and Paris’s alone.”
“And so he’s been through a series of failed marriages with… gold-diggers?”
He chuckled humorlessly. “All six of them.”
“S-six?!” I asked, astounded.
He nodded. “All loveless. All failures. All for the money.”
“Whew! That’s… tough. You know… to not even have a successful marriage out of all those six.”
“Yeah. He’s a rakehell anyway. I don’t think he’s heartbroken when the marriage is over. Some of those divorces, he initiated.”
“Wow! I should meet your father.” I said.
He raised an eyebrow at me.
“He sounds like a great potential customer. You know… lots of repeat business.” I said, laughing.
Ryder laughed. “Yeah. You should. By the time he’s seventy, he’ll probably give you at least five successful transactions.”
“How old is he now?”
“Sixty.”
“And he’s been married seven times?”
Ryder nodded. “Actually, eight times if you count my mother twice.”
“But he and your mother are still in good terms?”
Ryder nodded. “They’re business partners who used to be married to each other and have two kids.”
Ryder took me to a famous Japanese restaurant close the beach.
We talked more about each other’s families. I told him about Adam and how he grew up with me and Geena. I told him how Geena had been like a sister to me, and how Uncle Jack had been like my second father.
When the bill came, I took out my wallet. Ryder handed in his platinum card.
“How much was mine?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He replied.
I raised a brow at him. “That’s not fair! This is not…”
“I know.” He replied cutting me off mid-sentence. “But I dragged you out of the house so I can have the pleasure of your company. I owe you. It’s only fair that I pay for your dinner.”
“I was gonna go out to dinner too, Ryder.”
“Yeah and you could be with your friends. Instead, you accompanied me.”
“You’re not convincing me.”
He chuckled. “Alright, then you owe me. I’m gonna have to ask you some favor some day.”
“You have a habit of hanging a bomb over my head, you know.” I groaned.
He laughed. “I promise this payback will not have you boarding a plane.”
“Yeah, right!” I rolled my eyes.
When we drove around my block, it was just eleven in the evening.
“Where do you stay here? A hotel?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I have a house here.”
“Oh. That’s good. You’ve got business here. Only makes sense for you to own a property here too.”
“Yeah, but then sometimes I don’t come here for more than a week. The house is left alone with no one maintaining it or overseeing it.”
“You’re rich, hire a maid.”
“I have one. She cleans when I’m here. But it’s not the same, you know. I want things to be spic and span all the time, and when I’m not here, I want to make sure that… my furniture is tended to, my plants are watered regularly… you know those things.”
“Get a roommate.”
“I don’t know many people in this city.” He said.
“I can tell. Otherwise, you’d have better company for dinner tonight. I guess I was your only choice, huh.”
“Well, what do you know? Sometimes it’s good to pull your hair out or hit your head with a sledgehammer.” He teased.
I reached out and pinched him in the arm.
“Ouch!” He complained, laughing.
“Where do you live here?”
He stared at me for a while and then he gave me that crooked smile. “Actually, a few blocks from you.”
I raised a brow at him.
“Come, I’ll take you to my place.” He said. “I’ve been coming and going in this city for a year now and that house never had a visitor.”
“Seriously? Never?”
He shook his head.
He parked in front of that huge house a couple of blocks away from where I live.
I stared at the gate for a while and then I laughed. “It is your house.”
“What?”
“Remember that day at the wedding… We agreed to tell people that you lived in this house and I was afraid that one of the guests would actually be the owner of the house and we would be caught. You… must have been laughing at me a lot that night.”
He smiled. “I admit that part amused me. But I was not laughing at you. For all it’s worth, I was… happy that night. For a change, someone likes me even though I was just a poor bartender.”
I blushed and looked away from him. I didn’t say anything.
Ryder whispered, “Funny how all that changed the minute she realized who I really am.”
I stared up at him, thinking that he was teasing me, but the look on his face was sober. He was serious. Somehow, something in his eyes told me that he was hurt or insulted or somehow annoyed that I liked him better when I thought he was poor, and I liked him less now.
I smiled at him. “At least we both know we could never be… more than friends. You can’t marry beneath your rank in the society, Ryder. You’ve gotten too cynical for that. You need to find an heiress. Then you’ll know she wants you for you. Not for your financial status.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, as if he wanted to say something but chose not to. Instead, he turned to open the front door.
When I stepped into his house, I felt a sense of coziness. His living room is huge. He’s got a massive set of couches. There’s a fireplace and a huge serenity fountain. His LCD is at least sixty inches, and beside it is a wall of DVD and Blu-ray collection. The whole living room has hues of beige, brown, yellow and green. It opens into a huge deck facing the ocean. He’s got a bar in his deck with a separate fridge for liquors and drinks. His house spelled luxury and comfort at the same time. And I thought Adam’s house was already too luxurious!
“What do you think?” He asked.
“Wow!” I said. “And you almost don’t live here?”
He shrugged. Then he led me to the deck. We sat on the chairs and he handed me a beer from the fridge.
“It’s just a shame that I don’t get to visit and check up on this house at least once a week. Just to make sure that the maid has done her job. Restocking the fridge with food is a problem too.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Because my schedule has been erratic, I can’t stock up much on milk, veggies or fruits. They’ll just go bad and it’s not nice if they spoil in the fridge.”
“Can’t your maids throw out spoiled foods?”
He shook his head. “They can’t always judge which ones need to go.”
“Well then just stock up on liquids and go for long-life milks.” I suggested.
He nodded. “Believe me, I’m trying.”
We stayed there on his deck, chatting. He took out a blanket that I can wrap around me to keep me warm. We were laughing and talking about almost anything under the sun.
When I glanced at my watch, it was already four in the morning.
“Oh my God!” I breathed. “It’s already four!”
Ryder smiled. “Time flies.”
I stood up from my seat. “Well, I have to go.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“No worries. It’s only a few houses away, Ryder. No point taking your car out from the parking lot.”
“I’ll be damned if I let you go home alone, love.” He said, and somehow, I know that I will not be able to change his mind no matter how much I argue with him.
“It’s just a short walk, Ryder.” I tried one last time.
“Then I’ll walk you.” He said.
I admitted defeat. We took our coats and then we went out of his house.
“When are you going back to New York?” I asked him.
“At nine in the morning.”
“That soon? How long have you been here?”
“One day.”
“Wow!” I breathed. “Your life must be quite toxic.”
He shook his head. “Not really. I’ve just started Rig Style Malibu. I check on it once in a while. Once it’s established, I can conduct my business over the phone. On the other hand, my family is opening a new restaurant in Manhattan. That’s my project too. It’s like taking care of two babies in two different cities, but once they can stand on their own, I’ll have air to breathe. A lot of it.”
We reached my house. I took out my keys and then I looked up at him. He smiled slowly.
“Thank you for your company.” He said. “It’s been a pleasure.”
I smiled back at him. “Likewise.”
“Well, I’ll be off now.” He said. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
“See you when I see you.”
He smiled again and then he took a step back.
“You know my number.” He said. “Call me… when you need me. Any more events in your life that I can be of service with… or if you just feel like a chat. It would really be nice to have you calling me for a change.” He said with a chuckle.
I giggled. “Okay. I’ll remember that.”
He nodded. “Good night, Astrid. Sweet dreams.”
Then it was over. I felt a sense of loneliness as soon as he was gone. Like I’ve been so used to the cold, then he came and I felt warm and I was hoping it will not end but it was over too soon.
I still thought about Ryder when I went to bed. His smile. His handsome face. When we’re together it is hard to believe that he was the Ryder Van Woodsen… rising tycoon… heir of the rich Van Woodsen clan.
C hapter Fifteen
HEIRLOOM:
Something of special value handed on from one generation to another.
The next Friday, I had a surprise visit from my mother. She was with Uncle Reynolds and his wife.
“We won’t be long. We just want you and Adam to come with us to Manhattan.” My mother said.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me immediately?” I protested.
“It was a spur of the moment thing for us. Your Uncle has a meeting in Manhattan. We decided to come with him.” Aunt Betty said. But there’s a look on her face that I cannot decipher.
“Where’s Dad?”
There was silence. Then Uncle Reynolds said, “He’s busy. He’s meeting up with some of his associates for the weekend.”
I was not convinced by my uncle’s reply. I immediately felt that something was up. The look on Aunt Betty’s face is far too intriguing. I didn’t ask, though… not yet.
“Alright. I’ll pack a few clothes.” I said.
Adam won’t be able to make it. He has a court hearing in the afternoon. He promised to follow if he could but I seriously doubt that.
At the airport, I was watching Aunt Betty carefully. I think she was whispering too many things to my mother that they both did not want me to hear.
“Which hotel are we going to stay in?” I turned to Uncle Reynolds.
“Where does Ryder live? We figured we’ll stay at a hotel close to his apartment. You might want to stay with him while we’re there.”
Shit! Ryder! I didn’t see this one coming!
“Oh, I’m not really sure if he’s available on such a short notice. He’s busy putting up another branch of his family’s… restaurant.”
“What? He’s too busy to see you? Is that what you mean?” My mother asked. And somehow, I know that question is loaded.
I shook my head. “No, no. He was just here last week. One day. You know… because he… misses me.”
“If you ever marry a man, Astrid, just make sure he’ll always have time for you… and that you know where he is all the time.” My mother said. She sounded like she was talking to a five year old child. Her eyes drifted off to my finger. “Geena was telling us that you got engaged. When were you planning to tell us? And where’s the ring?”
Shit! Shit! Shit!
I took a deep breath. “Mom, relax. Ryder and I are not really planning to get married too soon! He… did ask me to marry him. I did… say yes, but with conditions. You know… it’s more like a promise to marry each other… if the right time comes. Which is not today!”
“What are you waiting for?” Aunt Betty asked.
I shrugged. “Well… if the time is right, we’ll both know it.”
“I think he’s a good man. He can provide you with the best things in life.” Uncle Reynolds said. “And he looks genuinely in love with you.”
I laughed nervously. “Well, I am… genuinely in love with him too.”
“So?” My mother asked me.
“So what?” I asked her back. I honestly didn’t know what she was demanding of me.
“So where are we staying? And will Ryder have time to meet up with us?”
I smiled at my mother. “Mom, you took me by surprise. I didn’t know you were coming. He doesn’t know I’m off to New York with you. It could be a long shot. When we get to Manhattan, I’ll try to ask him to see us… but if he can’t, we really cannot blame him.”
“Well, call him now so you’ll know.” Aunt Betty insisted.
Damn! I tried to think of other ways to get out of this. But as I stared at three pairs of eyes looking at me expectantly, I knew that my only way was to give Ryder a call. So I dialed his number.
Please be in Greece or Paris! I silently prayed.
One ring.
“That’s a number I didn’t expect to show up on my phone.” He greeted me cheerily.
“Hey…” I trailed off as the three pairs of eyes are still staring back at me, studying me. I took a deep breath. “Hey, honey.” I said with an emphasis on the ‘honey’. “Guess where I am?”
It took a moment for Ryder to answer. “Hmmm… New York? Or on your way to me?”
Now, I was the one surprised. “How… how did you know that?”
“Intelligent guess, judging by your voice and your unusually sweet greeting.” He chuckled.
“Yeah… I’ll be on board a plane to New York in thirty minutes. With my mother and Uncle Reynolds and Aunt Betty.”
“Let me guess.” He said. “I’m Ryder, the fiancé again?”
“Uh-huh.” I replied curtly. “But… aren’t you out of town or out of the country?” I asked him. Ryder can just say he is and the worse thing I can ask him to do is to give me a call every two hours to check up on me so we can still make a bit of a show. He doesn’t need to make an appearance.
“Nope.” He replied quickly.
I took a deep breath. I refused to be discouraged by Ryder’s attempt to be… funny! “I know this is so last minute of us! Perhaps, honey, you can just tell me which places we need to visit.”
“Not a problem. I’ll take you on a tour, myself.” He said.
I was getting irritated. I tried to smile sweetly in front of my family. “We shoul
d have told you earlier so you were able to tweak your schedule.”
“Astrid…” He said on the other line. “If I make an appearance, I’m expected to deliver an outstanding performance as your devoted fiancé, right?”