Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

Party Time (pt. 4)

Chaos erupted. Somewhere in the back, someone screamed about how they had been lied to. 

Ransom turned his head toward the girl at the PowerPoint and gave a single nod. 

Alicia grinned, bent closer to the computer, and clicked a button. 

Kaya didn't understand most of the words on the new slide, but she caught the two most important parts. Amos Golde and Richard Aberdeen. Kaya slid her gaze to Ransom. 

Ransom's lips ticked up in a triumphant grin, then fell into his most practiced frown. Indignantly, he rose to his feet and reached for Kaya's hand. "Let's go." 

"We're leaving?" 

Ransom leaned down to her ear in order to be heard above the crowd. "A little give and take can work wonders." He tucked his hand around Kaya's and gave a tug. "Let's go." 

Trust him, Kaya reminded herself. Ransom clearly had a plan. 

Following Ransom's directions, Kaya rose to her feet and trailed his angry march toward the door. 

"Wait. Wait!" 

Kaya looked back in time to see Mr. Golde scrambling off the stage. 

"Wait!" 

As Mr. Golde was about to catch up to them, he overlooked the elderly waitress in horn-rimmed glasses sailing his way. Betty. Mr. Golde nearly ran her over in his haste, earning him a tall iced tea straight to the chest. 

Ransom gave Kaya's hand another tug. "Stop looking back." 

"Why?"  

"It will ruin the charade." 

Kaya skipped a step to keep up with Ransom as they entered the hall. "Why have Betty spill iced tea on him?"

"So he'll feel that everything is going terribly wrong." Ransom sneered. "And because he annoyed me." 

Kaya didn't ask anything more. Ransom only sneered like that when he spoke about her biological father. Best not to push him too far or he might snap. 

"Mr. Lee... Ransom?" Mr. Golde came stumbling after them into the underground garage. "Wait, please!" 

Ransom pulled to a stop, his shoulders stiff and his jaw tight. 

Kaya gave his hand a squeeze like he always did for her. Maybe it would reassure him the same way, too. 

"Mr. Lee, please hear me out." 

"I don't want to." Ransom spun halfway, careful not to pull Kaya's arm too far. 

Mr. Golde gulped for breath. "Please, I can explain." 

"You know that I don't work with Richard Aberdeen, period. If you're a part of his corruption, I'm afraid we won't be seeing each other again under any circumstances." 

"I'll explain. It isn't how you think." 

Kaya nibbled at her lip. Mr. Golde sounded truly desperate. "Maybe we should hear him out." 

"No," Ransom raised his voice. 

Kaya wrinkled her brow at him. Ransom didn't yell at her. Ever. It must be part of the act. If it hadn't been, they had a serious discussion to have later. 

Ransom glowered at Mr. Golde. "No need to explain. I saw the explanation inside. He grants your bids, you fund him. End of story." 

"Please, you have to help me. My business... everything I've worked so hard for..." 

"I don't have to help anyone." 

Kaya gave a tug at Ransom's hand. 

Ransom squeezed hers in return. 

"Help me, Mr. Lee. I'll do anything. Anything at all." 

Ransom's tongue snaked out to wet his lips. A deep breath settled in his chest. "Anything?" 

"Just tell me what you want. I can't lose my business, I've worked too hard to keep it." 

Kaya gave Ransom a nod of agreement. They couldn't ruin someone's livelihood just because they weren't the most upstanding person. 

"Fine," Ransom finally agreed. "But you have to tell me everything. Don't leave out a single detail." 

"Of course. I'll explain everything." 

Ransom heaved another deep breath and turned away from Mr. Golde. "I'll see you in my office tomorrow morning."