006: Pants on Fire

Even though it was a Monday, Kayla Knix could hardly keep the bright smile off of her face. For the first time in ten years, it felt as though her life was going in the right direction and even better, she was happy. She owed that to Rick, he was the reason that she was looking to the bright side of things.

He'd woken her up early that morning with a kiss and to tell her that he would return in the afternoon. He had some sort of meeting and when he came back, he'd take her out for lunch. For the day, Kayla had dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, a rose-colored sleeveless blouse, a black cardigan sweater, and black ballet flats. Her blonde hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and in her ears were a pair of small silver hoops. Rick had texted her that he was on his way and that smile on her on her face only widened.

She was just about to message him back when the sound of the elevator door caught her attention. Her expectation of it being Rick disappeared when a dark-haired woman that Kayla recognized to be LJ Starke, the woman in Rick's life, stepped out. The woman was a sight to behold, dressed in a form-fitting wine-colored dress, matching Louboutin stiletto heels, as well as a matching clutch. Her dark hair was straightened and styled flawlessly, resting over her shoulder. LJ walked in as if she owned the place and when she laid eyes on Kayla seated at the reception desk, she smirked.

"Can I help you?" Kayla asked, giving her best front desk smile while internally, she wanted to hide underneath it.

"Yes, I'm here to see Rick." That smirk continued to play on the brunette's face as she sized up the blonde.

"I'm sorry, but he isn't in right now. I can let him know you stopped by--"

"And you must be Kayla." LJ leaned against the top of the desk, looking down at her. "My Raven has told me just how well you've been taking care of him. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am. He gets so lonely." Her hand reached out and picked up a strand of Kayla's ponytail, gently playing with it. "And you are just the prettiest little thing. I feel like we are just going to become the best of friends." LJ noticed that Kayla's eyes were on her left ring finger where a gorgeous diamond engagement ring rested. At this the dark-haired woman grinned. "Isn't it gorgeous?!" She dropped the hair and held her hand out for her ring to be admired. "I told Raven that this wasn't necessary, but he was adamant the world should know I'm his future wife."

The news she'd just been hit with felt like a sledgehammer to the chest. LJ kept babbling on and Kayla could only nod, pretend to be listening. Rick was engaged and he hadn't told her? He'd told her he was in a relationship, but left out the tidbit that he was getting married. Her blue eyes prickled at the feeling of tears and as she blinked them away, she looked up at Rick's future wife. "If you want, I can call him and find out how long--"

Both of their attention was drawn to the elevator that once again opened its doors. The man who was the topic of their conversation came walking out, looking just as handsome as ever. Before Kayla could say anything, LJ was already on her way over to him. "Raven! Oh, my raven!" The brunette threw herself into Rick's arms. "Oh, how I've missed you!"

"Lovely!" He caught her in his arms, meeting Kayla's gaze over her shoulder. He could see the distress on her face, didn't have to guess what had happened before he'd arrived. "Well isn't this a surprise. I thought you couldn't get away?" He stepped back, forcing her not to cling to him so tightly as he pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

"Raven, it's been weeks since I've seen you and that is just way too long." Her lips pressed against his. How much she missed him was clearly evident. Either that or she was putting on quite the show.

Kayla had stood up, arms folded against her chest. She was struggling to keep herself calm, but managed. "Your fiancée was showing me her ring." She exhaled, forcing a smile onto her face. "You've got exquisite taste, Boss."

"That I do." His words were meant to hold a double meaning, but it seemed like both women were oblivious. His arm was around LJ's waist, feeling that comforting weight of her pressed against his side. Looking down at her, he couldn't contain his smile. "I was going to tell Kayla the good news. Now I guess I can tell you both. I've managed to wrap up the Los Angeles situation. This morning's meeting was to iron out the last of the financials… I'm now the proud owner of a second location, once they finish re-branding, of course. Should be completed by early April."

"My darling, that's wonderful!" LJ threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "I guess I picked the right time to surprise you, because we need to celebrate, right now." She grinned at him and then glanced at Kayla before looking back at Rick. "We could have quite the party upstairs."

Kayla had been in awkward situations before but this one perhaps took the cake. She averted her eyes for a moment, not wanting to see her all over him. She then focused solely on Rick. "Congratulations, Boss. You've been working really hard for this." With him, her smile was genuine and she was proud.

"Thanks. You helped. As much as you didn't even realize you were doing it. All the paperwork you filed, everything you organized helped me push this through smoothly. I couldn't have done it without you." The words were sincere, the smile as genuine as hers and for a moment it was as though he only had eyes for her. A few seconds passed and he cleared his throat, looking down at LJ. "A party upstairs, you say?" He chuckled, "now that could be fun."

The smirk on LJ's face had become a wicked grin. "Yes, I have a few things in mind, so why don't I go get things ready?" She pressed her lips against his, finishing the kiss with a gentle bite to his lower lip.

Rick chuckled; his smirk was positively devilish as his gaze lifted to fix on Kayla. He'd looked at her like that before, over the weekend when they'd spent most of their time in bed – he looked hungry and wicked. "What do you say, darling? Are you game for a little fun?"

It took Kayla a moment to realize he was talking to her. Looking up at him, her eyes went wide and eyebrows raised. "Umm, what's up now?"

LJ laughed and regretfully let go of her fiancé. "I'll be upstairs, Raven. Don't be long. Either of you."

With that LJ stepped onto the elevator. Rick turned his head, watching her go until the doors slid closed and then he looked back to Kayla. "I didn't know she was coming," were the first words that left his lips, a sort of backwards apology as he took a few steps closer to her.

"It's fine, Rick." She wanted to be mad, but didn't feel like she had any right. In this situation, she was the other woman. "How about if I finish things up and order you two some dinner?" It felt odd asking that, but she felt completely out of her element.

"You're welcome to join us," he countered. "In fact, I'd love it if you did." He reached out and touched her hand where it rested on the desk. "This… the engagement… it doesn't change anything. With our arrangement."

Kayla's brow furrowed as she took in what he said. "Arrangement?"

"Everything." Rick chuckled, shaking his head at her confusion. "Working here. Spending nights in my bed." He took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze that was meant to convey something far deeper. "Come upstairs with me, Kayla. Help me celebrate."

"Sure, just give me ten minutes to close things down." She tried to smile at him convincingly, even though she felt like punching something.

"Of course." He nodded, turning back towards the elevator, already thinking about what he was going to do with both women in his bed. He winked at her as the door opened and he stepped inside, calling out, "see you soon," just before they slid closed and he disappeared from sight.

At the moment the doors closed, the smile faded into a stifled growl of frustrated anger. There was no chance in hell she was going upstairs to take part in whatever celebration was going to happen. Instead, she was going to head back to the apartment she'd spent very little time in, the one she was planning to give up until moments ago, thanks to the invitation Rick had given her the night before.

She had to clear her head because if she didn't, she was going to explode. As quickly as she could, she gathered her things and left the building. She had no idea what she was going to do, but hoped she could find clarity.