A Friend's Love Ch. 02

A Friend's Love Ch. 2

*** Thank you Mistressveronicalove for the editing***

"Where shall I be taking you today, sir?" The cab driver hollered to the back of the car.

"Eight-one-two Dragons Eye Drive, Henderson, please," Ryan replied promptly.

"Yes sir," the driver said as he started to leave the AirPort, "So what brings you to Vegas sir? Business? Pleasure? Family?"

"I grew up here and I'm moving back from college," Ryan replied.

"Oh, well then," the cab driver exclaimed, "Welcome home!"

Ryan smiled and subtly stated, "There's no place like it."

Ryan sat there looking out of the window the rest of the way, seeing the random Christmas decorations up around town. He sat there thinking about the question the driver had asked him. It had been so long since he came back to the valley. The years came and went while he was away and so much had happened while he was gone that he had suppressed most of his memories from his hometown.

He remembered everything, but with his new life in Ireland, he put those memories to the back of his brain after a while. There were still some things, though, that he couldn't put behind him. The thought of his parents still saddened him, not to the point of dwelling on it as he did all those years ago, but more of the sadness of missing them and seeing them. The thought of his friends and how they were doing was a comfort as he missed them and couldn't wait to reconnect with them. His Grandma was never just a memory to him since he emailed her almost every day and called her weekly to talk to her while he was gone.

But the memory of Jess, his old best friend, was a memory that had a different effect on him. He genuinely missed her while he was gone and though he never contacted or reached out to her once, the thought of her always popped up in his head. He knew he needed to see her eventually, but he didn't know if she would even be the same person he remembered or if she chose to really remember him. He understood that he changed a lot in the three and a half years he was away, so Jess might have as well, and that made him nervous.

Once he arrived at the house, Ryan paid the driver and unloaded both duffel bags from the trunk of the car. He made his way up to the front door, looking at the well-landscaped front yard, remembering how it hadn't changed one bit since he left. After ringing the doorbell and waiting, he heard a faint voice on the other side of the door shout, "Who is it?"

"Someone who hasn't seen you in almost four years," he shouted back through the door.

Ryan heard the knob and deadbolt on the front door unlock hastily, making him smile. The door flew open there stood Denise, in complete shock seeing her grandson.

"Oh my god," she yelled running at Ryan for a hug, "Ryry! Finally, you're home!"

Ryan wrapped his arms around her for a warm embrace as they had missed each other immensely. He could feel his grandma start to cry as he hugged her tight. Though they emailed daily and talked on the phone, it hit them much harder being able to see each other again in person. Feeling and hear her cries of joy brought a couple tears out of Ryan as well. He knew it was good to be back, it was good to finally be home.

"I thought you weren't coming home till next week after you went to your commencement," she said in between her sobs into his chest.

"I wanted to surprise you," he smiled, "I'll still get my new degree in the mail, I'd rather be home than stay there just for the ceremony!"

She took a step back to wipe her eyes, a gigantic smile across her face looking up at Ryan. "Well, let's have a look at you," she stated looking him up and down, "You have definitely grown up!" She put her hands on his much larger shoulders and patting his arms over his jacket. "I take it you were hitting the gym quite a bit at college?"

Ryan laughed at his grandma's comments, "Yeah, I wanted to get bigger after swim and wrestling so I started to lift more weights and I guess I got bit by the bug because I haven't stopped since!"

"Yeah, I'll say," Denise laughed, "You look huge! Oh please, come inside Ryry, it's cold as hell out here!"

They walked back into her house and as Denise closed and locked the door, Ryan hung his jacket up on the coat rack in the foyer. As he turned around, he was greeted with a glaring look from his grandma. He was curious why her demeanor changes so fast as he looked at her quizzically.

"What," he finally asked, trying to at least break the awkward silence.

"What in the hell..." Denise paused as she walked up closer to Ryan, "...did you do to your arms?"

She grabbed Ryan's wrists to hold up his arms and inspect the apparent sleeves of tattoos that he had decorated on his skin. Ryan completely forgot about the tattoos he had on his arms up until that very point. They had just become a part of him by then and the thought of people's reactions to his new ink completely left his mind by then.

"Oh yeah," Ryan stated, "I got my sleeves done after about a year at Trinity!"

"Ryan...I know you said you got a tattoo while you were there, but you never told me you ended up getting so many. God, I hate tattoos. Why did you go and muddle up your skin with ink, these make you look like a thug."

Ryan laughed at her comment about him, a complete nerd, being a thug.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Denise chuckled but still sending a serious vibe.

"Look at each arm closely Grandma," he paused as she put on her glasses to look at them, "You may notice they have a little more meaning than looking like a thug."

She began to inspect his right arm, looking up and down from shoulder to wrist. She looked back at Ryan and smirked at him as she moved to inspect his left arm. She looked all-around at the intricacy of the art and the images up and down his arms. After she absorbed her fill of his work, she took off her glasses and smiled up at him.

"I get it now," she paused as she gave him a hug, "You know your parents hated tattoos as well, but they would have thought that was a really good tribute."

Ryan smiled at what she had said to him. He knew his parents hated tattoos more than she did, but it was nice to hear her think they would have liked the work he had done.

"Thanks, Grandma," he said looking down at his arms, "Getting these really helped me finally grieve that last little bit I needed to let them go."

"Oh really?" Denise replied.

Ryan walked over with his grandma and took a seat on the couch. "Yeah, it really did. I know I grieved in the hospital, and at the funeral, and especially for those couple months after the funeral. But when the anniversary of their car wreck came, I was still new in Ireland, didn't know that many people, and it started to build up again. Then I realized that I needed something, something to remember them by, and something to make me feel like they are still with me somehow. So I contacted a couple tattoo shops and artists and told them what I wanted and one artist was really into what I wanted. Apparently, she lost her parents a few years ago as well, so she wanted to do all of my work. It took a while to finish, but I'm happy as hell I went through with it."

"Well if you're happy with it..." Denise replied, "Then I like it!"

..........

"How may I help you?" the receptionist asked Ryan as he walked into the lobby.

"Hello, Emily," he formally replied walking up to the reception desk, "I'm here to meet with James Larsen, It's me, Ryan Taylor."

"Oh my god, Ryan?" The receptionist asked, "Oh my, I haven't seen you since...since the funeral! It's so good to see you!"

She got up to walk around the counter to give the young man a hug. Ryan tried not to, but he couldn't help but notice just how good Emily looked since he had last seen her. She had on tight dress slacks with a white blouse on that almost looked like her flawless curves were going to burst through. She had long, straight, red hair that ended just below her shoulder blades and eyes as blue as sapphires. Ryan didn't feel too bad looking at her like that since she was only ten years older than him and she clearly liked to look good in those clothes.

"My goodness Ryan," Emily said as she hugged him, "You've grown up!" She stepped back and looked him up and down, from head to toe, "And you look great in that suit! Let me give him a holler and...you know what...go surprise him actually. He's on the phone with one of his golf buddies so you go on up and barge on in!" She smiled at him, knowing full well that he was going to be joining the company.

"Thank you, Emily," Ryan smiled back as he headed toward the elevator, "and you look amazing as well!"

Ryan felt nervous as the elevator took him up to the third, and top floor of the building. He knew what the two of them were going to discuss as they had discussed over the phone when Ryan was finishing up his last semester. But something about seeing James face to face again, after he and Jess shared the night they did, it cast a tiny shed of nervousness inside of him.

That nervousness completely left him as he entered James' office and was greeted with a startled grin and a "Holy shit, Ryan, you're finally here! Dan, I'll have to call you back...my new partner just arrived!"

James got up and rushed over to give Ryan a handshake followed by a giant bear hug. Ryan may have grown immensely in his years at college, but James still stood a few inches taller than him and was a much larger man than he, though it was mostly attributed to eating delicious foods and too much time at the office rather than muscle.

"It's damn good to have you back here son," James said as he walked toward the couches in his office, "Come and take a seat man, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Well if this meeting is going to go as I hope it is," Ryan paused chuckling, "Then, can I get a Scotch?"

"Of course my boy!" James exclaimed as he made his way to the decanters resting on top of his credenza. "What scotch do you want? You remember the list of what I like to keep right?"

Ryan laughed, remembering all of the scotches his dad would never let him have but James would let him sip on when he was younger. "Oh of course I remember your selection! Let me get the Macallan Rare Cask, neat, please."

"Oh, you do remember my selection!" James replied shocked as he poured him and Ryan a glass. He brought it over and handed it to Ryan. Holding out his glass he proposed a toast, "To you're parents Ryan, I miss them more and more each day."

Ryan smiled and clanked his glass to James' and they took a swig. Ryan developed a taste for Scotches whenever he and his colleagues would travel over to Scotland for Burn's Night and Beltane's Day. He particularly loved the Macallan line of Scotches and knew James enjoyed them as well.

"Hey, James," Ryan said in a sultry voice, "Speaking of what happened to my parents, I'm sorry to hear about Jasmine. My grandma told me what happened when I was in college, I just wanted to offer my belated condolences. She was like another mom to me growing up."

James took another sip of his scotch, "Thank you, Ryan. She loved you like a son, that's for sure! It wasn't easy, with the chemo and radiation towards the end, but she's no longer in pain, that's what's important."

"I'm sorry man," Ryan spoke sincerely, "I know that had to have been hard on you."

"It was even harder on Jessica," he replied.

"I can imagine," Ryan understood, "I know that pain all too well."

"Well, enough of that talk for now," James spoke as he took another sip of scotch sitting across from Ryan, "I'm damn glad to have you back, son. I know your father said you weren't allowed to join the company until you had your degree, but I didn't expect you would go all the way through your Master's Degree, and so soon too!"

Ryan laughed at his remarks on his degrees, "You know me, James, I'm a nerd at heart so I just blasted through my semesters. I had to petition for them to let me take more classes than the maximum they recommended. I wanted to get it done and get back home!"

"Well I'm sure Jessica will be happy to see you," James said to Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan said quietly, "I don't even think she knows that I'm back in town yet. She and I haven't really talked since I left for college."

"Yeah she told me something about you guys not talking while you were away," James replied, "She said something about you needing to experience Ireland and whatnot. I don't know, I don't really ask her about too many things these days."

"Why?" Ryan asked, "Doesn't she still live in town?"

"Yeah she does," James said hesitantly, "With her jackass of a boyfriend."

Hearing those words was like a red hot dagger cutting into Ryan. He knew that she was going to live her life and he would respect that completely, but hearing those words from James tore at him in ways he didn't think he would feel.

"Oh...she...she has a boyfriend?" Ryan stuttered, trying to get out the words correctly.

"Yeah," James sneered, "and a piece of shit one at that. He treats her like shit yet she stays with him. Let's just say her and I have gotten into a few heated discussions about it and her and I don't really talk too much except for big gatherings. Her list of shitty boyfriends started after Jasmine passed. I think her passing fucked with Jess and her outlook on relationships changed for some reason."

Hearing that her boyfriend didn't treat her right was just another dagger jabbing its way into him. He knew Jessica better than anyone else, and he knew the kind of real man she deserved. It hurt just knowing that she had a boyfriend, but a shitty boyfriend made the thought of it all just that much worse.

"Shit man," Ryan said sympathetically, "that dude doesn't deserve Jess then, she was always such a sweet girl."

"She still is," James agreed, "and that's the problem. She's too sweet to stand up to him and leave him so he just walks all over her. Personally, I think he's cheating on her, but she just defends him blindly."

"Fuck dude," Ryan murmured, "She doesn't deserve that kind of life. I'm sorry James."

"Thanks, Ryan, but we will have plenty of time in the weeks to come for you to hear me bitch about her and her guy," James laughed, "So let's talk shop and get you all set up."

Ryan quickly pulled his mind away from Jess and focused back on the potential employment with the company. He hated hearing about Jess and her situation, but he knew he needed to have his mind right to discuss the position and get the ball rolling for him to start.

"Excellent!" Ryan asserted, "Let's get this shit all squared away!"

"Perfect," James said as he handed Ryan a folded piece of paper from one of his blazer pockets, "So you'll join the company as the Chief Business Officer with your expertise in computer science and programming and you'll be working right along with me for everything in the beginning till you feel comfortable taking the reigns. Now I know you're a responsible young man, Ryan, but the kind of money you're going to be making can make men spend money on some dumb ass shit so...don't be that guy."

"Oh, I haven't even really spent the money that was left to me from my parents," Ryan spoke, assuring James, "I only used it for some of my college expenses. I didn't want to blow through it so I got a job while I did my schooling."

"That's good," James chuckled, "because I left the salary spot on that paper blank because I wanted to tell you in person what you'll be making."

"Okay?" Ryan replied quizzically, not really knowing what his father even made with the company when he was alive. He picked up his glass to take a drink in anticipation of what he was about to hear.

"Your salary is going to be set at eight hundred fifty thousand, annually," James spoke as a matter of fact.

Ryan choked on his drink when he heard the number that James said to him causing James to laugh at his reaction. He knew he was going to be making great money, but he never expected he would be making that kind of money at all.

"Are you serious?" Ryan asked, "I know my dad made a lot of money here, but I didn't think it was going to be that much!"

"Well he didn't make that much here," James stated, "Him and I both made that much combined by the time he passed away. But your father, God rest his beautiful soul, worked up a few 15-year contracts with some of our clients for us to be the main R&D company for all of their tech. He didn't get to see it come to fruition, unfortunately, but the company has been booming ever since then and we are looking to land another contract with another client in a few months."

"Jesus, I had no idea the company took off like that while I was away," Ryan replied, still shocked at the dollar figure he was about to be making.

"I know you know this," James smirked, "but what's the average starting salary for someone with your Master's Degree?"

"It's about ninety-three thousand annually," Ryan replied off the top of his head, "Why?"

"So you'll be making a little over nine times that, but I'm only serious about that number if you sign that paper here and now..." James announced, "because there are a lot of qualified men in this city that I can hire for the job literally tomorrow, but I only want you to have the job"

Ryan looked down at the paper, looking at the benefits packages, life insurance premiums, business trip particulars, and the blank space where it said 'annual compensation'. He made it look like he was studying it over to be sure he wanted the position, but inside he already knew he was going to sign and accept the job. The only thing that was going through his mind was that he couldn't believe that this was all happening to him, that his parents truly set him up to succeed for the rest of his life.

Finally, Ryan looked up at James with a slight smirk across his lips. "Let's sign it."

James jumped out of his seat, elated that Ryan accepted the offer. "Perfect son! " He walked over, pulled out a pen, and wrote the salary he said in the blank space and signed his name at the bottom. After signing, he slid the paper with the pen back over to Ryan. "Go ahead and sign it."

Ryan took the pen and wrote his name and signed it in the appropriate sections and set down the pen. James reached over to grab his glass of Scotch again and held it up for another toast. Ryan held up his glass.

"To you Ryan," James said with a fatherly smile, "I couldn't be any more proud of you. And I know your folks would have been proud as well."

"Thank you, James," Ryan replied with a humble nod and took a sip of his scotch.

"Since you've signed," James said as he walked over to his desk to grab an envelope, "I guess that means you are part of the company officially now, and just in time too for the holidays!"

James handed Ryan the envelope, "Here's your Christmas Bonus, partner."

Ryan took the envelope with a look of confusion and curiosity, "Thank you, James, that's way too kind of you!"

"Well don't just sit there," James laughed again, "Open it!"

Ryan opened the envelope and pulled out the corporate check listed to him for his holiday bonus. He sat there looking at the check, he didn't know what to say. He was in utter shock at the number that was on the check. "James...what is this?"

"That, my boy," James walked back over to his seat on his couch, "is the total salary and bonuses that your father would have made since the day they were taken from all of us. I didn't collect any bit of it, I wanted you to have it."

"Good...good god, J...James," Ryan stuttered, still stunned looking at the check, "This is two and a half million dollars!"

"Your father secured that salary and the bonuses with his contracts," James paused to take a second to let it sink in, "I felt it only appropriate for you to have it, it wasn't my money or the company's money, it was the money your dad should have gotten from the hard work he put in at the end, and now it's your money son."