Lilac’s POV
Once Ryke and I arrived at GoldenSpoon and he’d parked the car, he pulled out a pair of sunglasses from a compartment and slid it on. He saw me watching him with a puzzled expression on my face and smirked.
“I’m not exactly the kind of person who can walk around in public without a care in the world.” Ryke said.
“Ah, I forgot.”
As soon as we opened the doors, I remembered something immediately. My ex-coworkers. I’d completely forgotten that I might see them. It wasn’t really a problem if I were just at risk of seeing Millie and Jayce. They’d just tease me from afar without ever really approaching.
But the thought of seeing the others I used to work with, or even worse, my ex-boss . I never officially resigned when I quit. I just told Millie to pass on the message I was never coming back, but of course, hilariously, here I was.
I looked at Ryke and his sunglasses sadly, wishing I had one of my own. I guided him to a seat in the far corner and sat with my back facing the rest of the cafe.
“What would you like to eat?” Ryke asked once we were settled and I shrugged.
“Whatever you’re having is okay. Thank you,” I smiled, truly grateful.
Ryke signaled for a waiter and I ducked as inconspicuously as I could. He raised a brow at my actions but I simply acted as if I couldn’t see him and kept my head down. The sound of heels clacking drew near and dread filled me. No, it couldn’t be her. Surely, my luck wasn’t this bad.
But the sound of that bored, high-pitched voice asking us for our order reached my ears and I grimaced. It was Rita, the co-worker I was avoiding the most.
“Good evening, what can I get for you?” She greeted as she set down appetizer drinks from her tray.
“We’ll have two potato soups with garlic bread on the side. Is that okay, Miss. Evans?”
Shit. I cleared my throat in an effort to disguise my voice. “Yes, sir.”
I heard Rita’s confused hum at my weird behavior, but she eventually walked away. For the first time, that lady knew how to mind her business.
“Miss. Evans,” I jumped at the sound of my name in Ryke’s deep voice pulling me from my nervous thoughts. Looking at him once again, I met his concerned green gaze and smiled awkwardly. “Is everything alright?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, Mr. Kolynsky. Everything is perfect.”
Ryke’s lips twisted into a smirk as he leaned back, eyes glinting with amusement. “Miss Evans, hiding from someone, are we?” He gave a slow shake of his head. “How very unlike you to let anyone get under your skin.”
Shit. This man was too observant. But he was wrong. Rita was someone who got under my skin a lot for the months I worked with her. That was precisely why I was avoiding her.
I sighed. “I don’t want my former co-workers to see me, especially that waitress. She’s a headache.”
Ryke raised an eyebrow, a glint of curiosity flashing in his eyes as he took a sip of his drink. This action prompted me to reach for mine unconsciously. “It can’t be that serious that you would feel the need to hide… Or maybe, Miss Evans, you’re hiding more than you’re letting on?”
Shame filled me as my cheeks colored and I hung my head in embarrassment. He’d figured something was up. I didn’t want to tell him why exactly I was hiding from Rita but I didn’t have to. It seemed he saw my anxious demeanor and took the hint, not pressing further.
Now that that was over, I remembered my quest to seduce Ryke. I texted Millie beneath the table as we waited for Ryke to return with my food asking if she was currently handling a shift at the cafe and she responded positively.
Great. Some quick tips from her were absolutely necessary. I let her know she should meet me in the restroom.
“Mr. Kolynsky, I’m going to use the restroom. I’d like to avoid Rita when she returns with our food.”
Ryke raised an eyebrow, “We’re not at work, you don’t need to take permission from me. Anyone listening would think you’re my servant or something.”
I nodded, not bothering to reply to his remark and hurried to where Millie said she’d be waiting for me.
Sure enough, there she was in the female side.
“Lilac!” Millie sprung to hug me as soon as she saw me. I couldn’t stop the grin that formed on my face. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since that day of your interview. You abandoned me.” She smacked my arm lightly and I laughed, feeling that joy I only ever got when I was with my friend.
“I’m good, Millie and I’m sorry. How are you, too?”
Millie sighed and let me go, leaning on the sink. “Better now you’re here. So what’s this I’m hearing about seducing Mr. Charming?” She wiggled her eyebrows and I flushed in embarrassment at her teasing. Gosh, I couldn’t believe I was really about to do this.
“He’s here. Like, in GoldenSpoon, I left him at our table.”
“What?!” Millie shrieked and I winced. I really was forgetting Ryke wasn’t just any normal person evident by Millie’s reaction to him being here and his need to hide himself.
“Yeah…” I continued. “He offered to get me dinner so I don’t have to cook after getting home really tired.”
“Holy shit, what? Baby, are you sure you need to seduce him? This is most definitely a date and by the sounds of it, he likes you.”
I sighed in frustration. “No, he doesn’t.”
“Come on, Lilac. Even you can’t be this blind.”
“I’m serious. The only reason he’s doing this is because he doesn’t want me to be useless at work. According to him, he doesn’t really care about my wellbeing.”
“What?!”
“Okay, Millie, you really need to stop screaming.” I said, resting on the wall beside her. I was tired, I guess.
“I’m sorry,” Millie said, “But that is so callous and rude. What is his problem?”
I raised an eyebrow at her question and she nodded. “Right. He’s exactly like the rumors said — an asshole. Whatever, babe. Don’t ever let his words get to you.” Millie groaned, burying her hands in her face. “Ugh, now I’m even rethinking this entire thing. I’m not sure you should try to get him to fall in love with you anymore. Who wants to be with an assbag like him?”
“I… I want to fight for him. At least this one time, before I let him go. What we had that night in the club was too good if I hadn’t ruined it. I want to believe there’s still some attraction to me, even if it’s just a little.”
“You deserve better than that, Lilac, but it’s fine. It’s your choice and love does make us all a little blind anyways.” I laughed at Millie’s words.
She pushed herself off the sink and came closer to me. “Well, then. Let’s get started!” She slapped her hands together, face lighting up in glee all of a sudden so much that it terrified me. What was I getting myself into?
“First of all, what exactly do you hope to achieve by dressing to work like this? Really, Lilac? A t-shirt and sweatpants? I’m surprised they even let you in the building.”
“I don’t have anything else!” I protested. “Besides, Ryke doesn’t mind so it’s fine.”
As I spoke, Millie started to unbutton her shirt swiftly, eyeing my t-shirt with contempt. “W-what are you doing?!” I asked, voice raising in alarm.
“Take off your t-shirt.”
She apparently wanted us to switch clothes. It was too late to back out so I just did as Millie wanted. She couldn’t be stopped when she had her eyes set on something. We ended up switching tops and Millie buttoned her shirt on me till it reached just below my cleavage so my boobs were showing.
Then, she unfastened her necklace and placed it around my bare neck, adjusting the dangly pendant so it fell right into my chest, obviously intended to draw eyes to that space. At this point, I could definitely see her plan.
Millie was so genius at these things, I was grateful to have her help me.
“There.” She said with a smirk, looking at me analytically. “Nothing we can do about the sweatpants. These weapons you call tits will have to suffice.” I blushed at what she called my boobs. They were big but not that big.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Millie grabbed my shoulders and led me out of the restroom. “Wait,” I started in a panic, “How am I supposed to explain this change of clothes.”
“Just tell him you got it wet by accident and a kind waitress was willing to lend you a change of clothes. You need to up your seduction game, sis, I can’t do everything for you.”
Nodding, I eyed Ryke where he sat across the crowded cafe. He’d taken off his jacket and was scrolling through his phone, arm thrown across the backrest of his side of the chair. He looked so hot in the low lights I wanted to melt. I was certain I was going to implode from his aura before I actually got to do anything
Remembering one last thing, I turned to beg Millie to switch with Rita as our waitress as one more favor, but the spot beside me was empty. She’d left me standing alone in front of the restroom door. Ugh, that traitor.
Deciding it was fine, I made my way back to the table. From the looks of it, our food had already been served and Rita wouldn’t be back till we were done eating. It was fine. I noticed Ryke hadn’t started eating yet. That was good. It meant he’d spend longer here with me.
Clearing my throat, I pulled out my chair and sat in it, mumbling “Hey, I’m back.”
Ryke looked up from his phone at me, and promptly he froze. I watched those green eyes land on my neck, then drop down, trailing heat across my collarbones, and finally to my breasts where they darkened till nothing remained except his pupils.
I watched his lips part, and he licked them. His eyes flitted back up to mine, then down again as if he couldn’t help himself. “Hey… Lilac.”
