Page 7 of Milked

“Tell me about yourself, Ryder,” I asked, knowing very little about him other than what was on paper. It wasn’t often that I engaged with employees on a personal level, having a manager to do such things, but Ryder would soon have a bigger role in our lives if he so wished. Finn would handle the negotiating part since Ryder would be more resistant to me as his employer.

He glanced at me with a shy smile and shrugged. If you saw Ryder at work, you’d never assume he was shy or quiet. While he worked, he was friendly and talked with the patrons, always ready with a smile. Perhaps his timidness was just because I was the owner and his boss.

“There isn’t much to tell. I grew up on a farm right outside of Briar, Nebraska, not too far from Omaha. I attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, majoring in agribusiness. I’d planned on taking over the farm when my parents retired. They grow corn, wheat, and soybeans. It’s a decent-sized farm, but not the biggest.”

That was some dedication to go to college with plans of running the family farm, only to give it all up and come to Washington, DC, of all places, and tend bar.

“I take it you never used your degree?”

“No, sir.”

He frowned, and his hazel eyes turned sad before he looked back out at the view. The closer we got to Embassy Row, the bigger the homes got.

“And why did you come to Washington? It wasn’t to become a bartender, right?”

“I… needed a change. I worked as a bartender in my last few years in Nebraska, as you know, so I could at least carry that experience over here, although we don’t have the sort of clubs you own. It’s been fun working at Legends. I appreciate you taking a chance on me.” The more he talked, the more you could hear his mid-western accent.

It was Finn who’d pushed me since I hadn’t been sure I wanted to hire Ryder, but he’d done an amazing job so far. He was hard-working and dedicated. Not once had he been late to work in the three months he’d been with me.

“I’m glad I did,” I said, letting his deflection and change of subject go for now. There was a story there, and I wanted to know what it was, but he clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

He ran his hands over his jeans again, and I smiled. “Relax, Ryder. Try to have fun today.”

I chuckled when he tucked his hands under his legs. He was fucking adorable in a sexy way. I could see him melting and reacting to all I wanted to do to him. Finn was right. We were going to have fun with him—as long as he was willing. First, we had to seduce him, and Finn was confident that Ryder was not only interested in men, but we could talk him into it.

My only worry was having him react in a way that got me and my business in trouble, which was another reason Finn was handling this. It was still a risk, but I trusted Finn.

Ryder’s pretty hazel eyes landed on my forearms, my hands resting in my lap, but he said nothing. I had a lot of tattoos there, so he was probably staring at them. Generally, wealthy business owners didn’t have so many tattoos, if any.

A couple of minutes later, we arrived at my home. It was contemporary and stood out compared to the other homes that were more Federalist or Tudor styles. Regardless, this area wasn’t surrounded by cookie-cutter homes. Each house was unique in its own way.

I loved mine, with three levels of glass and white-washed concrete. The grounds were hardscaped with Virginia slate, and the house and pool were mostly tucked away by large trees and landscaping, as if the property just melded into the natural environment despite being rigid in its form.

Finn’s mother and I bought it right after we were married. I hadn’t been as wealthy, but I had enough to contribute. She had been the rich one with family money. When she died, the house became mine.

Ryder pressed his nose to the window and stared out at the looming house, which would be brightly lit when the evening arrived.

When we parked in the driveway, I placed a gentle hand on Ryder’s arm. “Stay put. Let my driver open the door for you. It’s what I pay him for.”

“I… okay.”

My driver opened the door for me first. “Thank you, Johnson,” I said as he walked over to open the door for Ryder, who also thanked him.

The young man stared wide-eyed at my home, mouth slightly open as if desperately trying not to jaw drop.

“Wow, this is gorgeous. I’ve never been into overly modern homes, but this is beautiful. We have nothing like this back in Nebraska, at least where I come from.”

“Thank you. Follow me.”

He walked slightly behind me and to my right as we stepped inside. It was an open floor plan meant to let in the most natural light and be surrounded by all the tall trees.

I had staff in the kitchen making a wide assortment of hors d’oeuvres, and then later would come the birthday cake for Finn.

“Holy moly,” uttered Ryder. “I’ve never been in a place like this before.”

“I earned almost everything that I have, but I had a little help. While I may not have come from a farm, I grew up in the lower-middle class. We weren’t overly struggling, but we did live paycheck to paycheck. And I never went to college. Like you, I started out bartending and worked my way up to nightclubs, saving my money until I became a manager at one of the higher-end clubs. Eventually, I had enough saved to open one of my own. Thanks to Finn’s mother, who had a lot of connections and wealthy friends, they would come to the club, and soon after, it took off by word of mouth.”

“I’m impressed, sir.”

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