LOGINKim winced, not at all pleased that John of all people had to show up at this party. After all, it could be that he was there with his friend, and this Ryan was the last she wanted to meet now, she had enough other things on her mind, but she didn't get to worry about it any more, because Vernon Gates took her arm and pulled her with him.
"Then we'll let the women have a little chat and we'll both do a brief round of introductions," he smirked.
Small groups had formed everywhere, wealthy-looking businessmen and their wives chatting animatedly. Little by little Vernon led her through the room and introduced her.
Kim was extremely tense, although she was always greeted politely, but no more than a few insignificant words were not exchanged and she saw as her plans slowly vanished into thin air.
"Ah, Mr. Langley, Mr. Summer, may I introduce you to Kimberly Mills, the executive director of Mills web consulting firm?" Vernon Gates said as he walked up to two men who were talking.
"Good evening," Kim said nervously, and held out his hand to the one man who was facing her. At that moment the other turned around and Kim almost dropped her glass. A pair of gray eyes stared at her in amazement for a moment, then the amazement turned into an amused twinkle.
"Good evening, Miss Mills." Ryan handed politely Summer shook her hand and made no sign of the fact that they already knew each other.
"Good evening," Kim muttered flatly, she would have liked to sink into the ground.
"Oh, I can just see that my wife is asking for my presence." , Vernon Gates said at the same moment with a grin, "Kim, I'll leave you in the care of the two gentlemen." Before Kim could react, he'd left her and disappeared into the crowd.
She stared after him helplessly while the thoughts raged wildly in her head. Here, of all places, of all things, on this evening that was so important to her, she had to run into this guy.
She clearly had the picture in front of her front door, saw how he kissed her, saw how she had almost thrown herself on his neck and saw how she had turned him away like a little schoolboy. She felt herself blush all over the place and, in embarrassment, bowed her head.
Fortunately, the man Vernon introduced her as Mr. Langley immediately engaged her in a conversation, and nervously trying to concentrate on the conversation. Ryan listened in silence, but she could feel his gaze fixed on her the whole time, and she was getting more and more uncomfortable. At that moment the owner of Miller Enterprises started a small one Speech, he greeted the guests, uttered the usual empty phrases and then officially declared the party open.
"May I ask you for this dance?" Asked Mr. Langley politely as the band began to play. Kim nodded in relief . She didn't feel like dancing, but she was fine with anything that got her out of Ryan Summer's reach. Langley continued their conversation as she danced, straining to concentrate on him and the beat of the music. But a few times she caught sight of Ryan who smiled mockingly at her, and she struggled not to trip over her own feet.
Finally the song was over, and under the pretext of having to check on her sister, Kim fled the dance floor. In fact, she spotted her mother and Betsy at the other end of the room, they stood together with John and chatted in a good mood.
“That too,” Kim groaned inwardly, “Not enough that his riot friend ruined my evening, now this John has to give us a look too Nerves go. "
" Mom, Betsy, if you don't mind, I'd like to go home, "she said firmly, trying to look reasonably calm.
"Oh, Kimi, why now? The party has only just begun, "Betsy pouted and twisted her mouth in disappointment.
" I'm sorry, but I'm not doing so well. maybe I ate something rotten. I'll take a taxi, you two can stay. ”Before her mother or Betsy could raise an objection, she hurried out.
A little later she was home pacing up and down her room furiously. She deeply regretted that she had let Betsy persuade her that night to go to the disco. However, she regretted much more that she had been brought home and kissed by Ryan afterwards. That whole stupid business had upset all of her plans for tonight. After that encounter, she had been unable to conduct business discussions with anyone, let alone steer the subject towards financial investment, so she undressed and lay down in her bed, disappointed.
All hope had been in vain, she had spent the money on the clothes in vain, and the future was still black and threatening.
The next two weeks went by so quickly that Kim barely got too much thought about anything. While she had her hands full at the company, her mother was on her ears every afternoon with wedding preparations; Ryan and Kim had agreed that there would be no big celebration, a silent wedding in the circle of the family was sufficient, neither of them wanted to be in the hustle and bustle.Of course, Chiara Mills had completely different ideas, and so there were bigger discussions about each day this theme. Although Kim had actually only planned to wear a simple costume, for the sake of her mother she finally allowed herself to be persuaded to buy at least a suitable wedding dress. Ryan saw her very little during this time, she tried to avoid him if possible ;The staff meeting was due, and Kim was standing in the hallway outside her office, waiting for Ryan. Now that they were both the company's directors, it was natural th
Although Kim had expected that her mother would give her a lecture on the way home, the trip was quiet. Chiara stared out the window and didn't say a word, and as glad as Kim was, she wondered if her mother was still too shocked or just angry."Mom ..." she said timidly after a while, but Chiara She interrupted immediately."It's okay, Kim, we'll talk tomorrow." Kim noticed the irritable undertone in her voice and said nothing.At home, she stormed into her room immediately after tossing her mother a hasty "good night." Exhausted she let herself fall on her bed and the carousel of thoughts in her head immediately began to revolve. The images of the evening passed her by, images that made it increasingly clear to her that it had been madness, Getting involved in this crazy thing. The only one who seemed really happy about her news had been Ryan's father.Both her and Ryan's mother had looked anything but thrilled, and Kim suspected the shock for both of th
Ryan put his arm around her shoulders again and pulled her a little toward the couch. Mills, Elaine, father - we'd like to tell you something, ”he began firmly.All three of them looked at him intently, and Kim was glad Ryan was holding her, it felt like the ground was giving way under her feet. "Kim and I are going to get married in a fortnight," he dropped the bomb.An incredulous silence fell through the room, and as though through a thick fog, Kim took in her parents' faces, realizing the different reactions to these unexpected Announcement. As if in time-lapse, she saw her mother's mouth open in surprise, saw Ryan's father smile happily, and saw Elaine Summers eyes narrow briefly to two narrow slits. Ryan reached into his jacket pocket, took out a small, velvet-covered box, and opened it. A ring with a sparkling diamond appeared. He took Kim's hand, took out the ring and slipped it on her finger."It's official now," he said contentedly, leaned over t
In the evening, Kim was having dinner with Betsy and her mother. As always, Betsy chatted happily, and of course it was about her favorite subject, John. "Mom, he's so great," she raved again in high tones. “We could take him out to dinner so you can get to know him.”“That's the chance,” thought Kim.“Oh, by the way, Mom, we're both invited to dinner at the Summers on Friday night,” she said casually. and occupied herself demonstratively with her salad."What?" they both said as one."Kim, I had no idea that you and Ryan were so serious," Betsy exclaimed excitedly. "You didn't say a note, and at first I got the impression that you couldn't stand it.""Yes, it just turned out that way," Kim muttered. "No need to freak out about it.""Betsy is right," her mother interrupted. "If you only met a few days ago, and there is already an official invitation to dinner with his parents, that was pretty quick." She e
The next morning Kim went into her office thirsty for action, she was happy to be able to bury herself in her work and after a week's absence there was enough to do. She first found out about the status of the merger and was pleased to see that the integration was almost complete There was only minor logistical and technical work left to do."At least this part of the contract is working," she thought, and happily she went up the stairs to her office."Good morning miss Mills, ”Ginger said warmly, but Kim didn't respond. She frowned as a couple of men were moving furniture into the office next to hers, in which two of her employees had previously been sitting."What's going on here?" She exclaimed in surprise. the office is being set up for the second manager, ”Ginger explained.“Mr. Brown and Mr. Jackson got a room on the first floor. ”“ Aha, and who made that happen? ”Kim asked angrily.“I don't remember
Even though Ryan held back for the remaining two days and made no attempt to approach her again, Kim had the feeling that time wouldn't pass at all. Of course, Betsy had pestered her with questions after the scene downstairs in the living room and Kim had no choice but to admit that she had fallen in love with Ryan.As a result, Betsy immediately got the idea that she could sleep with John now, and Ryan should move into Kim's room. But Kim did not give in, no matter how much Betsy begged and begged. She had no intention of staying in the same room with Ryan any longer than was absolutely necessary, let alone lying in bed next to him. Finally Sunday had arrived and Kim was relieved to pack her things, she was glad Finally get out of here and come home.Together they carried their luggage downstairs. John was still busy upstairs, Ryan had already stowed his things in the car and was standing in the living room, ready to leave."I'll go then," he said, and said goo