Chapter nine:

"Listen, I've already told you. I'm not driving anywhere until you tell me what's happened." Blaine responded, arms firmly folded across his chest, the rippling of his plaid shirt catching Ria's eye as his pectoralis muscle bulged with each movement.

The two of them were seated in Blaine's navy blue Honda Civic for the last ten minutes, bickering.

"Well, it looks like it's going to be a very long night, then," Ria muttered as she averted her gaze from the older boy outside the car window. The delicate speckles of raindrops coating the window pane obstructed her view.

"Only two days ago, you told me to stay away from you. And today, you're calling and asking me to collect you from work. You really expect me to believe that nothing has happened, huh?" Blaine quizzed the girl, the subtle dent on his left cheek reappearing, parallel to his oh-so-familiar smirk.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you? " Ria exclaimed, placing her hand against her temple: "You're enjoying the power you have over me. You're just like him." She mumbled almost silently under her breath.

"Just like who?" A small furrow formed between Blaine's brows as he continued his enquiring. "What's happened, Ria?" The smirk fell from his face as he spoke, replaced with nothing but concern.

Ria remained silent, her body facing firmly away from him as she continued to keep her eyes glued to outside the window. The memory of what happened a mere thirty minutes ago still played out in her mind. How had she been so foolish as to not recognise the signs of his immoral intentions? In retrospect, it seemed clear as day.

She was glad that Blaine had driven straight through to the car park. Ria didn't think she could bear seeing Rocco again today — or ever again, for that matter.

"Look, if something's happened, you can tell me. What would Reid say if he thought someone had happened to you on my watch? He'd kill me."

"You've already given him plenty of reasons to kill you." She responded, still peeking out the window, a faint flush reappearing on her cheeks at the memory of their night together. She shook her head and released an audible sigh. "Today, I thought I would get a promotion. You know, the pupillage. Get into the Bar." She shuffled in her seat, glancing at Blaine as she spoke.

Blaine's body was swivelled to face Ria. He leaned forward slightly, his left elbow rested upon the steering wheel and his eyes wide with genuine intrigue.

"Except, that didn't quite happen. We were ranked based on our performances over the last six months. The person who came first gets the promotion. I came third place." She halted, allowing her eyes to flutter close as she recalled when Miss McQueen called her name. The realisation of how far she was from achieving her goals dawned on her.

"Bullshit. Who got the promotion?"

"The partner's niece." She responded quietly.

"Figures." Blaine laughed, almost bitterly, "At least you know she didn't deserve it. She got it handed to her on a plate by a family member."

Ria bit her bottom lip, internally debating whether she should tell him the remainder of the story. She gazed over at him and noted the sincere tone in his words, the way his body language was mimicking her own.

She decided she felt safe enough to tell him the truth. "And, one of my senior colleagues offered me a shoulder to cry on. Except, it wasn't just a shoulder he was offering." She whispered as she completed her sentence, allowing her eyes to dart between Blaine and the steering wheel as she awaited his response.

She noticed the change in his body language, the way his legs shifted one too many times, the remainder of his body stiffening slightly. "A male colleague?"

She nodded softly. "Rocco said he'd help me get the promotion if I...slept with him." She ignored the bitter taste in her mouth.

There was a heaviness palpable in the air as she awaited any response from Blaine. His stare was intense, and she noted his grey orbs constricting several millimetres, almost as though he wasn't seeing her but looking through her completely. Her gaze fell to his neck as she saw the soft bobbing of his larynx as he gulped harder than usual, his finger repeatedly tapping on the steering wheel. "And...did you? I mean, I would never judge you if you had but —"

"No! No, of course, I didn't." She replied, her voice slightly high-pitched as she recalled how she'd considered the proposition. She heard Blaine sigh beside her — had it been a sigh of relief? She ignored the fleeting thought.

"It just made me feel like I'll never be taken seriously despite everything I have achieved to get here. Like, all Rocco saw was something to use - not an actual person, a woman with aspirations. And the worst part of it is that he just gets away with it. No repercussions, no consequences."

Blaine nodded thoughtfully. "Do you want me to kill him?" He asked, his eyes widening with each passing word.

"What?!" Ria's eyes shot upwards at the boy, noticing his serious expression.

"I said, do you want me to kill him? I have a gun in the boot. I can make it quick. All you need to do is help me to bury the body." He whispered, exaggeratedly glancing around the car to see if anybody was nearby.

"No, what the hell?" She reached for the door handle on her left. "Are you out of your damn mind?!" She began to tug on the handle before hearing the soft snickers coming from beside her. "Oh my god. That was not funny. You actually scared me for a second. I thought you'd gone all Ted Bundy on me." She grabbed a magazine that had been carelessly placed in the storage compartment. She playfully used it to hit Blaine's shoulder, a soft giggle emerging from her lips as she did so.

"You're too easy to wind up, Ria." He chuckled heartily before continuing. "But he's an absolute asshole for using his power to put you in that position. Trust me, you deserved that promotion more than anyone else in that room, family or not. And...he only has the power to get away with it if you allow him to."

"What do you mean? It's not like I can ever show my face back there. He's much more senior than me, he could say anything he wanted, and Ms McQueen would automatically believe him. It's just how it is. I'm bottom of the barrel in this dog-eat-dog world."

"No. That's not true. If Rocco had tried this with you, he'd have done it to others before. And he'll do it again. And I bet you, others won't be as brave as you to say no. You can't give up on all your dreams because of some horny guy?"

"Who said anything about giving up? I'll get another job in another firm. I'll try again, but I can't go back there. I don't know if I even want to." Ria uttered slowly, imagining herself showing up to the firm and seeing his face again, the mere thought causing her to shiver.

"I don't know. It sounds a lot like you're giving up. That's not the Ria, I know. The Ria Aslan I know would have kicked him in the nuts and threatened his entire existence." Blaine chuckled, a soft glint in his grey orbs.

Ria attempted to hide the twitching of her lips as she smothered a laugh with her hand. "You know, you deserved that. You can't just come into someone's room like that in the middle of the night. Especially a teenage girl."

"Hey, in my defence, it was my first night staying over, and I was looking for the bathroom!" Blaine retaliated as he beamed at her. "My point is, don't let him win. Show him that he can't scare you off and that you're not just going to back away."

"What can I even do about it, though?" Ria asked.

"Let me handle it. Tomorrow. Rocco, right?" He pulled his phone out of his pocket and prepared to search for the older man's name.

"No! No, Blaine. I don't want you fighting my battles for me. I'm more than capable. Let me handle it my way," Ria responded, snatching his phone out of his hand.

Blaine nodded hesitantly, rubbing the side of his nose as he reached to get his phone back before meeting her eyes again. As he maintained the eye-contact, he noticed the many intermingling flecks of brown hues Ria had within her orbs. The deep brown when she was frustrated at him to the soft caramel he'd only ever seen when she was flustered as she laid beneath him. He could only describe the colour of her eyes as the colour of earth freshly kissed by autumn rain.

"Right, can we leave now? I've told you everything you wanted to know." Ria muttered, suddenly sensing the intensity of his gaze on her and finally breaking the eye contact. She shuffled in her seat, feeling naked under his watch.

"Sure." He mumbled, turning to face the steering wheel.

"Why aren't we moving?"

"You haven't put your seatbelt on yet, Ria."

They drove in comfortable silence, with Ria stealing occasional glances at Blaine. She noticed how he tended to favour using his left-hand steering over his right, despite being right-handed. Her body felt hyperaware of every movement he made, every time his hand reached for the clutch or when he would look over his shoulder as he reversed the car.

Ria let out a quiet cough. "So, who was that woman?"

"What woman?" Blaine raised his eyebrows as he peaked over at Ria, curious.

"When I called you? There was a woman in the background. I heard it."

His peach-coloured lips curved upwards, an irresistible beam forming on his face as the delicate crinkles formed around his eyes. "Why? Don't tell me you're jealous already?"

"Absolutely not." Ria objected. "Just surprised it only took you four days to sleep with someone else."

He chuckled gaily. "You're not counting the days since the best day of your life then, eh?"

Ria felt the corners of her lips twitch, and she bit back the desire to smile. Instead, she pulled her phone out of her bag and used it as a prop to distract herself.

"Don't worry. I haven't slept with anyone since that night." He hesitated. "It was actually my mum."

Ria's eyebrows raised in surprise. She couldn't remember a single time Blaine had ever mentioned his parents. "That's surprising. You don't speak about her much...I didn't even know you were close to your parents anymore."

Blaine's right hand joined his left hand on the steering wheel as he pressed down on it, the corners of his hands becoming paler with the pressure. "I...see her every day and my step-dad. I have to make sure they haven't killed each other." He laughed, but the sound failed to emit any humour.

"So, you really are an unpaid babysitter. Your parents, Mia and Marcus and now, me." She responded, smiling smugly.

The car halted at that moment, "We're here. Are you going to be okay tonight?" He asked, genuinely.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about..," Ria's breath caught in her throat mid-sentence as she noticed Blaine leaning towards her.

She could feel her heart begin thudding against her chest, her chest rising and falling a little quicker than usual, and her palms began to moisten.

Blaine's left hand found residence against Ria's seat, just inches away from her thigh, whilst his right hand continued to reach across her.

Ria allowed her face to meet his, and she noticed his lips had parted slightly as his eyelids reduced to half their size.

Ria's eyes shut as she realised her body's desire was taking over her cognitive ability to stop herself.

She suddenly heard a click beside her, and the door swung open, allowing a gush of wind to hit them both. Her eyes flew open, and she noticed Blaine leaning back after he'd opened the car door. "I'm nothing if not a gentleman." He whispered, his breath hitting Ria's cheek, his head nodding towards the door.

Ria blinked several times, feeling at a loss for words. "Right, I'm going to go." She raced towards her house, fumbling in her bag for her keys. She let out a breath as she turned, noticing that Blaine's car was still there. He was leaning out the window, presumably waiting for her to safely get in.

"Thank you for today. I really appreciate you listening." She didn't await a response before rushing into the house, letting out a breath of relief.

Blaine drove away, grinning as he realised how flustered Ria had gotten in his presence, how her eyes had shut as she had waited eagerly for him to kiss her. His smile completely dispersed as he recalled the faint unwanted memory of what she had told him about Rocco.

He grabbed his phone and searched the man's name on the law firm's company site. "It's time for someone to teach you a lesson, big man."