Page 61 of Resting Grump Face
“Liked it? I loved it. Almost makes me reconsider my stance on sleeping with my boss on the first day of work.”
“So you’re finally admitting that I am your boss and not just a client?”
Sienna shakes her head and expels a quick breath. “I am glad that’s what you took from that. Anyway, thank you for an entertaining first day. I do wonder how long it will take for word to travel and for Pete to get into trouble.” She looks around the room. “I also wonder how you set all of this up on such short notice.”
We stay behind for a little longer, chat, eat more popcorn, and eventually, very slowly, make our way out and down the stairs.
“To answer your earlier question about how I pulled all of this off: money. You must be unfamiliar with the concept,” I explain.
“Must be nice,” Sienna answers and I can tell how she disappears in her thoughts.
“So, if you won’t tell me about you and the elevators, will you at least tell me why you finally caved and ended up accepting my offer to come and work for me?”
“With you,” she corrects. “It’s because of Robyn. Who you’ve met. She lives in Haven with Paige, Guy, Earnest and me. A couple of months ago, she wasn’t able to pay rent anymore. She had some health issues, medical bills, a bit of bad luck, you know how it is… well, you probably don’t, but you might have seen it in the movies.” Sienna unconsciously interlocks her arm with mine as we walk out of the doors and down the street.
I can feel myself blushing.
“Anyway, the owner of our building has been trying to evict a bunch of residents for some time now, so one unfortunate event led to another, and here we are. The guys and me have been pitching in so she could make the minimum payment each month, but she got the eviction notice nonetheless. And now with myself unemployed, which in hindsight was kind of reckless of me…”
“I see.”
“Yeah, plus she was too proud, tried to take care of it herself for the longest time. We only found out when it was too late already. We tried getting legal counsel. We also tried… some other things… but the only way to help her, it seems, is to pay off her debt.”
“Hmm,” I grumble and scratch my head when I open the car door for Sienna. She really does seem to care about those adorable little weirdos living with her.
“So your offer came at the right time,” she buckles in, “but let’s talk about something more positive. Like: what would your stripper name be?”
“Sienna de la Vega, obviously.” I close the door with a smirk and get in the driver's seat.
We both check our phones before driving off. There are a few calls from Barb as usual, and a text from her as well.
They posted again.
She includes a link to a post from Ryker Rumors, an account dedicated to curating all things Ryker Grayson. They have been around for some time, and, while always being weird, they never posted outright negative content. Until somewhat recently. Recently, their opinions seem to have taken a turn for the worse, which barely ever goes unnoticed by the tabloids and the rest of the rumor machine that pick up the stories, which then gains traction on social media, which is then noticed by my board.
We tried taking them down once before, but apparently, since I am a person of public interest, they can post pretty much whatever they want. I resisted more drastic legal steps until now since it would likely cause more harm than good.
The post is about me and another affair. An affair I know nothing about. I haven’t dated anyone more than once in years. Not since Mira. It also includes a picture of me in swimming trunks.
I zoom in a little.
“Usually people look at other people’s nudes and not their own,” Sienna says and leans over to get a better look.
“Not a nude, and also, what would make you think this is a picture of me?”
Sienna cocks her head and refuses to answer. “Seriously, what are you looking at?”
“It’s this dumb blog about me. They just made a new post and, more often than not, those tend to gain traction. So there’ll probably be more Ryker Grayson Had Penis Enlargement headlines.”
She laughs. “Yeah, I think I saw the site when I googled you at the wedding.”
I cock my head the way she just did and we both stare at each other.
My eyes automatically wander to her lips, hers to mine.
Maybe…I consider it for a second, then quickly snap out of it again. Miranda is still in the back of my mind. There is a reason why I don’t get involved with people anymore.
This is probably enough for the day.
