The CEO's Rose

Ryan’s POV

Ryan had met so-called hawks in the business world who were not even half as perceptive as Vivian was. Given that they had not known each other for a long time, the way that she was so good at reading him was honestly a little bit terrifying. Now that the two of them were in the bedroom, dressed in pajamas and were once again cuddling, but this time doing so in bed instead of in the bathtub. He wanted to distract her, to slip his hand beneath her giant shirt and start tracing patterns on her skin until she just gave in and had some fun with him.

But even though the sex they would have would be great in the moment, he knew that she would not appreciate him distracting her so he decided to just be honest.

"I have been looking for Bryce and Gwendolyn," Vivian raised her brows at his statement.

"Of course you have been looking for them. I have been keeping an eye out as well. Have you found something?" She asked her eyes going wide. Threading their hands together, Ryan shook his head. "No, none of my people have managed to track them down, but I believe that I might have an idea that will bring them to us, or at least Gwendolyn. And once we have her, we could easily find Bryce,"

***

Her excitement clear, Vivian briefly squeezed his hand as her gaze sharpened. "Really? You have an idea that will help us. What is it?" She licked her lips in anticipation, and Ryan found himself hoping that she remained so eager once he told her.

"I want to reach out to Gwendolyn on social media, telling her how much I miss her and how unhappy I am with you. It is a long shot, but I think it could bring her out of hiding," The moment that Ryan’s words sank in Vivian’s expression shuttered, all of the excitement vanishing.

"No, absolutely not. We might be desperate to find them, but I will not have you doing that, Ryan," Bringing up their joined hands and kissing her knuckles, Ryan tried to beg.

"Darling, please, this is the only way. Gwendolyn is so into herself, she will probably believe that her beauty was too great for me to resist. All that I have to do is put myself out there, and we will have them," Vivian was not having it, she looked away from him. Her unhappiness with the situation clear.

"Ryan, I will not let you do that. If it means that they get away with everything then so be it. But I cannot risk you like that," Letting go of her hand, Ryan gently patted her cheek and turned her face towards his so that he could drop a chased kiss on her lips.

"Vivian, listen to me. I will be perfectly fine, this method is fail proof," Vivian shook her head at him.

"You do not know that. Our exes have proven that they cannot be trusted in any sense. What if you go to meet up with her, she drugs you and that is the last time that I ever see you," Ryan paused at that, as crazy as it sounded, he would not put it past Gwendolyn to actually try and stuff him in a suitcase.

But the reward that would come if his plan were to work out was far too tempting. "I have to do this Vivian," He told her. His tone leaving no room for argument. Rolling out of bed, Vivian stood, then she looked down at him, her hands on her hips.

"If it is such a great idea, then why don’t we switch things up. I will be the one to reach out to my ex and tell him how much I miss him and want to meet up with him,"

What?!

Ryan’s entire thought process just went haywire, and all that he saw was red for a few seconds. There was absolutely no way he would be allowing Vivian to put herself in harm’s way at all. He blinked and he found her looking at him. There was no gloating in her eyes, just understanding.

"See, that is exactly why I cannot let you put yourself at risk," Reaching out, Ryan pulled her back to the bed and into his arms.

"Fine then. I will not be using myself as bait, but that was the last of my plans. I literally have no idea how we are going to catch them now," Vivian shrugged, her grey eyes narrowing for a few seconds before she shook her head.

"Maybe we should just let them go. Their punishment will come when they least expect it," Ryan scoffed at that. "No, those two need to be punished in the here and now,"

"Ryan, they are in the wind, and have no money or resources to come at us. I do not want to waste years looking for them," Vivian said softly.

She had a point.

"You have a point, if I focus too much on this, it will consume me. And the last thing I want is to waste even a second, thinking about Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth. And I think you also do not wish to waste any time on Bryce," Vivian nodded and Ryan brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"Since everything else is failing, I will stop putting so much effort into looking for them. I will just wait around for them to show up. But if they ever show their faces in this city again, I will make sure that they regret it," The turn that their talk had taken was not one that he liked, but for Vivian’s sake, he would stop searching. With the conversation done, the two of them got under the covers and got ready to sleep. Staring out into the darkness with Vivian in his arms, Ryan could not help but spare one last thought for their exes and that was that they were smart enough to stay gone. If they knew it was good for them, they would live like the dead until the end of their miserable days.