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Chapter 82: Without any Fight
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Boys of RDA Chapter 83: Meeting at the Hill
Aspen's fingers move on her phone screen as we ride in the backseat of Licorice, the black Escalade driven by Jake."Mar and Amanda are going to meet us on the hill," Aspen relays the information I assume she read from her text. "That's the best thing about them having to drive in. They always get there before us."Her brown eyes brighten a little with the declaration as she shoves the cell phone in her back pocket. Jake takes a turn a little quicker than normal and I'm forced to grab on to the door handle to stop myself from sliding across the leather seat."Drive slower, Jake. We don't want to get there too early." Aspen taps him on the shoulder in a playful gesture. She loops the long scarf around her neck and pulls on the end tightly. "Do you think it will snow this year?"I look out my side window curious to what prompted her question. Everything looks normal as people walk the streets in the same thin fleece jackets they've been wearing the last few weeks. "Has it ever sn
Boys of RDA Chapter 84: Raven Digital Arts
Yesterday morning when I agreed to take the job with Raven Digital Arts, I had no idea Trey would expect me to start today. Monday. As in within twenty-four hours. I thought I'd have more time to prep for this. A week to talk myself out of it. Find a better job. Like maybe one of those people who stand by the side of the road and wave the giant signs at passing cars. I could do that.I was so excited to find out more about Marissa's date that I didn't think through my actions. Now I'm here. Here, as in the office of RDA. Sitting behind the big wooden desk in the lobby."Sit here and I'll go grab you the new employee forms." Finn sounds happier than I am about the fact I'm now his employee. He opens the door to the back where the offices are and I'm left alone in the white tiled room.Not even Bonnie could get me out of starting today. She took the news well when I called her last night. There wasn't a weekend or night shift available, but she put me on the standby list in case so
Boys of RDA Chapter 85: Meet Your New CoWorkers
"WE DON'T USE IDS, but you'll learn everyone eventually. There aren't many of us." Finn shuffles more of his papers and places one on the table in front of me. "Sign here."I sign my name for the sixtieth time today and he takes the paper back. Finn came back this morning and took me on a tour of the first floor offices. There aren't cubical walls. Instead, the desks are staged in a sort of circle. Actually I'm not sure there's any kind of reason to the layout. I envision on move-in day everyone picked a random spot in the room they liked and set up shop. We met each of the guys and even a few girls and so far they all seem nice and happy to have a new receptionist. I hope I can live up to the hype Finn's given everyone here.While I completed the first batch of paperwork, Finn taught me the phone system and rules for running the desk... there aren't any. He promised if I used common sense on the job I'd be fine, but I worry. If it's that easy, why couldn't keep someone in this pos
Boys of RDA Chapter 86: Don't Chuck a Doughnut at Trey
Finn and I set up the large dishes of various pasta noodles and sauce containers for those employees who will eat in the building for today's buffet style lunch. Finn places the final custom ordered dish on an empty desk and leaves them with extra napkins."You'll learn everyone's needs once you start placing the lunch orders." His words sound innocent, but he stresses the word needs a bit longer, and it leaves me worried there's more to his casual comment.I crumple up the now empty bag and walk it to the large trash can on the side wall. Above the table a clock like you find in every high school classroom ticks away the seconds past 12:15. We didn't deliver a meal to Trey's office although Finn pointed it out as we walked by. The wooden door was sealed shut and the blinds tightly closed over the big window beside it. Grant never walked out my way this morning and Mari hasn't either. I check his still closed door again and tell my brain I don't care who's in there with him."Are
Boys of RDA Chapter 87: Morning Plans
"I'll set up the doughnuts when they get here in about twenty and then place the lunch order between ten and ten-thirty." I sum up my morning plan to Finn as we walk into the RDA building together.He opens the door for me and I slide past him to drop my purse off at the front desk. My black Gucci heels click on the tile floor as I walk to the small coat closet where Trey and I had our encounter Monday.Trey wasn't here yesterday, off to some meeting elsewhere in town, but I haven't missed him leaning up against my desk watching my every move as we walked in this morning. I'm pretending he doesn't affect me. He's a little more dressed up today in a pair of tan khakis and a light blue long sleeve button down shirt. He hasn't rolled up the sleeves yet, but it won't take long. His face is still soft even with his ever trimmed stubble and he doesn't appear to be upset about my attempt to ignore him. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. By the time I leave the small room, his smirk borde
Boys of RDA Chapter 88: Food Prep
Three bags stuffed with subs dangle from my hands. Today's lunch. The inner office door opens from the other side and I step back.I peek up from where the bags are cutting the circulation off from my fingers to see Trey stopped to hold the door open. "Here, let me help."He takes two bags from me and my fingers ache as the blood flow returns. "Thanks."Together we walk to the long table on the side wall of the open office space."I'd planned to ask if you wanted to do lunch today since we still haven't made up for Monday, but it looks like you're busy."An undignified noise escapes me and then I follow it up with actual words, "Finn left me in charge of food by myself today. I need to pass it all out."He smiles but is quick to cover it up when my frown deepens. "I'll help. We wouldn't want a repeat of the doughnut incident this morning."Another pft-like noise answers his reminder of the jelly hell from this morning's snack mix up. I should've known there was more to hi
Boys of RDA Chapter 89: Eleven Minutes and Twenty-eight Seconds
The large lobby clock counts down the seconds and I chart each one as the second hand ticks its way around the circle. Eleven minutes and twenty-eight seconds until the work day ends. Eleven minutes and twenty-six seconds until I skip out those doors happy to have survived this Melvin filled day.I wonder how many people quit because of Melvin? Why does Finn keep him? Ten minutes and fifty-six seconds. Aspen's man comes off as sweet and laid back. Maybe he has a soft spot for Manic Melvin? Ten minutes and fifty-one seconds. Maybe Menacing Melvin has an important job? Like if they created bombs, he'd be the guy with the second launch key. Would anyone trust Melvin with the second key? I wouldn't.At ten minutes and forty-seven seconds, there's movement to my left and my eyes automatically track it. There's nothing on the desk except a few pens and the pop-up calendar. Weird. I hope a spider or some other creepy crawling hasn't tried to make my desk his new home.Ten minutes and th
Boys of RDA Chapter 90: Quake
Time slows and eventually my cries even out. I'm able to gain control of my ragged breathing. Trey doesn't say anything, but he continues to rub my back in small circles. After a few more minutes, I've quieted enough to talk again and the embarrassment over what happened in this closet makes my body tight for new reasons. Trey must think I'm a mess. Who am I kidding? I am a mess.I move my head away from his shoulder and wipe a hand down it even though my palm does nothing to soak up the wetness my tears left behind. "I'm so sorry." I attempt to inch away from him, but his grip tightens keeping me in place. My eyes are tired, but they can't take much in from the black closet. A thin line of light brightens the floor from the bottom and I remember I'm at work."God. I can't go back out there like this," I moan and put my head back into Trey's wet sleeve."Don't worry. Everyone's probably left by now and no one comes out this way anyway. The back entrance is closer to the parking l
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Boys of RDA Chapter 246: Series Epilogue
Six months later"I thought you were painting this room silver?" Hudson asks dropping his half of the couch inside of our brand-new tiny living room. That's not fair. It's bigger than the apartment when I lived with Marissa. Living here will be like me having my own special mansion. Except this time the rent is higher.I put my end of the couch down and then promptly sit at the end of it. I've done my part of moving. This is why we hired movers. I don't know what it is about men wanting to lift heavy objects. Plus, it's not like there's much furniture to move. The old apartment came furnished. This stuff is new.I look at the wall, which shimmers in the bright light from our large open window in the new living room. "I did. It's Silver Fox.""This color is gray.""No, it's Silver Fox.""It looks gray to me."I shake my head in dismay. "Gray is darker."He nods slowly. "Uh-huh. Whatever you say."Hudson and I have been living together since he made the permanent move t
Boys of RDA Chapter 245: Finn Hooked You Up
A few weeks later"Wow, Finn hooked you up." My eyes blink a few times trying to adjust to the overpowering glare of so many television screens in one room.Hudson laughs as he steps behind me. "Ridge taught me you can never have too many cameras.""Well, you definitely put his words into practice." No less than thirty flat screen TVs line a wall in the room Finn and Hudson started calling the war room. I'm pretty sure Finn has a camera everywhere Aspen may go in San Francisco. There is even one in the comic shop. The transition has gone well for the most part. Finn and Aspen had a heated debate over her bodyguard situation.Once Hudson accepted the position, he didn't waste time. It's been less than three weeks and he has a war room set up and is spying on half the residents of the city. My man gets shit done."Are you happy?" I ask turning around so we are face to face.Hudson rolls his eyes and says something silently to the ceiling of the room. He's recently taken up pr
Boys of RDA Chapter 244: Full Marissa Style
The glass automatic door at the airport entrance slides open and I saunter in with a purpose. No woman has ever been as determined as I am to put a man in his place. Full Marissa style.And then maybe win him back. It depends on his response. I've been through tons of shit the last few weeks. I need someone who can handle me and won't chicken out.Aspen and Finn checked me out of the hospital and then took me back to my apartment making me promise I wouldn't leave when I asked to be alone. My mother even listened when I told her it was a great time to visit my brother in Washington. He'll love it.Besides my shattered heart, I'm medically fine. There's no reason for people to be stuck hovering around me. Hurt or not, I've still peopled too much these last few days, so it wasn't hard to press that I needed quiet time. I promised to head right into bed and sleep for a few more days.But I've broken many promises lately. And kept secrets. I am not the same girl I was last year. An
Boys of RDA Chapter 243: Horrible Timing
I hate to be a bad friend — who am I kidding, I'm always the bad friend — but Aspen could not have picked a worse time to make her visit. And I love her. She was here all day yesterday. Getting water, refilling water, fluffing my pillow and accidentally pulling on my IV before doing it again while apologizing for pulling on the IV. Hudson and I haven't had two minutes to ourselves. I tried to fake sleep yesterday afternoon, but then they stood around the bed looking and me and whispering."Do you need your pillow fluffed?" she asks for the thousandth time. It's become her filler question. What she asks me if she doesn't know what else to ask.I shake my head, giving Finn my best "calm her down" look, but he doesn't notice. He's so madly in love with Aspen he thinks everything she does is adorable. "I'm fine, Aspen. Relax."My best friend is definitely more put together than Hudson in the last two days, but not by much. Her hair is flat on one side, a little curly on the other, an
Boys of RDA Chapter 242: A Scene I Never Want to See Again
A STEADY STREAM of beeps wakes me up to a stream of light.A hospital. It's the place I've woken up the last two days. I can't complain. It's one hundred times better than a concrete floor in an abandoned factory in Oakland. Even still I fight the panic as my brain comes into consciousness. The hospital therapist says eventually there will come a day when I don't wake up ready to flee, but I'm not sure I believe her.My awake body is heavy and sluggish. Yesterday I spent most the day sleeping as my conscious mind worked around what happened after I was taken from the sidewalk in front of Cosmo's.Hudson was shot. I watched it with my own eyes. What I didn't know at the time was the bullet grazed the side of his body and most of his injury was due to the shock of being shot. Even though my mind didn't want to believe it at the time, he led the charge to rescue me. And yes, he absolutely shot Jimmy in the head — a scene I never ever want to see again, but one that plays on repeat e
Boys of RDA Chapter 241: Kidnapped
Breathe. I hit reality with a start. Tears form as I blink my eyes to open them. My shoulder hurts, a tingling stiff sensation like I slept on it wrong. At one point I must have broken out in a cold sweat and my skin is clammy, moist yet chilled. My knuckle scrapes the hard ground underneath my body as I sit up and the events of what happened flood back. It wasn't a bad dream. I've been taken right from the front of Cosmo's. Kidnapped.They shot Hudson.I have no idea how long I slept or where I am. No longer in the van, the room is dark around me and it takes longer than I want for my eyes to adjust. Of course, there's no positive to be found when they do. Sawdust and dirt smells permeate the air. On the ground there's not only cold hard concrete but sharp pieces of wood. I wipe a few from my pants legs only to have them stick to the skin of my fingers.As I try to stand, there's a clink of metal. I tug my foot to find it doesn't move. My leg is bolted to the ground with thick m
Boys of RDA Chapter 240: Forgive and Forget
"Are you sure you won't walk in there and start crying?" Hudson asks as we stop in front of Cosmo's Comics and Café.I take a deep breath and check myself before I answer because frankly he's probably right to be worried. It's been two days since we met with Drew at the restaurant in Oakland and I spent most of that night crying. I haven't talked to anyone since then. More than likely they think I've been taking this time to apologize to Hudson. He promises he's forgiven and forgotten and even understands why it took so long.Hudson spent the last few days consoling me as I came to terms with finally admitting what happened that night and saying goodbye to Drew if only in my own mind. He's been perfect. He didn't push or yell at me to do it faster or tell me I was being ridiculous. He listened and held me when I needed him. I couldn't ask for a better man.Hudson is everything I've ever wanted in a guy. Sensitive enough to figure out when I'm hurting, but strong enough to tell me
Boys of RDA Chapter 239: Final Answers
"That's your answer?" Hudson's eyebrows lift.I hit my knee against his. "Hudson."He sighs in agitation."Well, Drew, the way I look at it Amanda doesn't have much to tell. It sounds to me as if in her story you were a friend who was there to help her out. Who didn't want to get involved in a police investigation. But before I can trust her opinion that you're a nice guy, I need proof."Drew laughs even though it's inappropriate for the time. "I don't think I'm a nice guy, but thanks, Amanda.""Um, you're welcome?""I started working construction jobs part time when Clare and I were in foster care." He stops talking right as the story gets good."But you don't do construction work now, do you?" Hudson asks the exact question I've been thinking.It's like pulling teeth to get facts out of Drew, but what he doesn't understand is Hudson will have no qualms telling Ben if he's not satisfied with his answers."Yes and no. From time to time my boss asks me for extra favors
Boys of RDA Chapter 238: Truthful Memories
"Sorry, Dean, I've got to get home. Lots of Christmas prep to do."There's no time to chase another raid with so much work to do for Aspen's Christmas celebration. They overdo it for most holidays, but the big ones are the worst.He nods, accepting the answer. I rarely take him up on offers for more raiding or the hundred times he's asked me out for coffee. "Okay, see you next time." He waves, following a large group of people making their way to cars and bikes before heading toward the wharf.I step onto the sidewalk outside the baseball stadium to look for a cab. The road is eerily quiet since there isn't baseball in December and the people from the raid snatched up the cabs. Even though Grant, Clare's boyfriend would kill me, I scroll through my phone and find the Uber app. If I have to call for a ride anyway, I should at least make it a cheap one. He'd be pissed over how close I am to his neighborhood without someone here with me, but it's too late to worry about that now.
