Episode 665: Not Like The Movies

Adria so rarely visited him there that a couple people on his floor joked that the beautiful woman in the photo on his desk was probably the one who came in the frame.

She always hesitated to intrude on his workday, probably because she’d had two ambitious parents who more often than not had put their jobs ahead of spending time with their kid, intruding on workdays was considered borderline criminal.

"I’m not interrupting anything, am I?" Adria asked after she closed the door and walked deeper into the room, a white takeout bag clutched in front of her.

"No way." Ryley stepped around his desk and laid a kiss on her. "It’s always the best part of my day whenever I’m with you. So, how’s your day going?"

"It’s always the best part of my day when I’m with you, too."

Ryley didn’t doubt Adria’s sincerity, though he noted that she hadn’t really answered his question.

"I brought sandwiches from the deli." She held up the white bag. "Are you hungry?"

"Sounds good." He brought his chair around to that side of his desk so they sat together. They unwrapped their sandwiches and ate. Adria was unnaturally quiet. It was rarely a good sign when she was unnaturally quiet.

"You know," he said, "a lot of people think nerves are a good thing; it means you’re challenging yourself. It’ll feel rewarding in the end."

Adria covered up the remainder of her sandwich with the plastic wrap, only to uncover it and cover it again. "It won’t be rewarding," she said. "I’m not doing the play." She looked to him with mournful eyes. "I quit today."

Ryley reached over, taking her trembling hand. "Addie, you haven’t even started yet. Once you start, you’ll find your groove and you’ll laugh over how worried you were, you’ll see."

"I am never going to laugh over this, and I am definitely not doing this play when I was hired for the wrong reasons."

"You know, there are plenty of athletes who’ve had bad games," Ryley said. "But they’re drafted anyway, because their talent shone through just like yours did at the audition you think you fumbled."

Adria gave that a short, sharp nod. "Any of them drafted because their talent in the bedroom shone through?"

Ryley’s blood ran cold. "What?"

Episode 666: Hunting For You