"So, just friends?" Aaron faced his son once his wife swept Jane away to catch up. He didn't like the raven-haired female. Although she maintained an aloof expression, her eyes challenged people - stared them down. She seemed just as hostile towards Aaron as he felt towards her.

Ricky returned his dad's pointed stare with one of his own. Although he appreciated his father's concern, Ricky wasn't as naive as he once was. "I like her dad." He hoped his father would leave it at that. He didn't need his family to stress Jane out and ostracize her before he could court her.

"You said the same thing about Samantha."

"She's nothing like my Ex." Ricky cut his dad off. "She has integrity. Besides, he doesn't let me get that close to her. She doesn't toy with my emotions." He smiled, remembering the honest answer Jane had given him. Samantha never gave him that courtesy. All that woman thought about was herself. 

Aaron had a hard time believing his son. "How exactly did you two meet?" Surely, Ms. Blair seduced his son. He worried that maybe she had taken advantage of him during one of his drunken states. "What makes her different?"

Ricky thought for a second, then snickered. "Our first meeting was her interview." It wasn't the kind of meeting he could forget.

Ricky had been going through the motions, trying to forget Samantha's betrayal. He had stockpiled cases, refusing to turn any client away. The firm was also short on staff, leaving some of the workers burned out. So Ricky Evens needed to hurry up and hire some people.

He knew that, but he was hesitant. He eyed the empty desk that sat outside his office. That was Samantha's place of work. He had taken her on, hoping to get her back on her feet. It was once a ray of sunshine in the mundane line of work. Now it had become a stain on the whole office. A topic of gossip - one that reminded Ricky of a love that never was.

'It'll be best to fill that spot.' He reluctantly decided. "I want all traces of her gone for good."

It didn't make the hiring process any easier. Ted was in charge of interviews at first. Ricky foolishly trusted his friend. Ted was smart and thorough in his work, but Ricky should have remembered the man's weakness for cute ladies.

Of course, they had brains, but as soon as they met Ricky, those brains dissipated into mush. They all ended up being disappointments, who thought it was a good idea to play the 'sexy secretary' role in hopes of catching Ricky's eye.

Disappointment after disappointment. The last straw was when the last secretary rubbed her foot along his leg during a meeting with some clients. Ricky dismissed her in front of the clients.

After that, Ricky took full control of the interviews and dismissed any girls who even showed a spark of interest in his body.

Last came Jane Blair, and there was nothing remarkable about her resume. How it made it to Ricky's desk was a miracle. Indeed, usually kept less than savory applicants far from respectable businesses.

Unfortunately for the lawyer, Jane Blair was by far the applicant who insisted on an interview. 'Maybe she's secretly a lawyer...or a conwoman.' That would explain why he allowed such a woman to push him into this meeting.

Jane Blair had no special skills. She's done babysitting, but that was part-time. Her grades were average, and on top of that, she had a record. Her file didn't say much about it, except that she had done some time in jail. Not that it mattered to Ricky: felons weren't the last kind of candidates he wanted working for him.

"So, Ms. Blair." Ricky smiled, thinking of a way to dismiss her without seriously interviewing her. Based on the previous girls, he was positive it wouldn't be hard. "What interested you in this position?"

"I need a job." Brown eyes bore into his, causing some shivers to crawl up his arms. They gleamed so predatory. Sitting up straight, Jane stated the reasons. "This job is stable pay and works with the hours I'm looking for. It's the structure I want."

'God, she looks like one of those dangerous panthers ready to bite my jugular.' Ricky cleared his throat before continuing. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but this is a cutthroat line of work. What makes you think you're cut out for this job? What can you bring to the table?"

Ricky silently sighed in relief when those intimidating eyes eased off of him a bit. Jane carefully thought before she answered. "I'm a fast learner and highly adaptable, as well as ambitious. When I want something, I go after it."

Ricky couldn't tell if that was flirting or a threat to his life. He wanted this interview to be over. He also told himself to drive a different route home that night.

"Well," He pretended to scan the rest of the papers. In the act of shuffling the files, he knocked over his pencil. 'Great.' Ricky groaned as the piece of wood landed between him and Jane. He prepared himself for the usual 'office siren picks up pencil' tactic. Hopefully this one's hair doesn't 'accidentally' come out of its bun.

He braced himself for it, fully prepared to kick her out. However, Jane didn't share this sentiment. She didn't bend down to get the pencil. She didn't make any sort of reaction at all, aside from raising a brow. It was as if she could see Ricky's thoughts and chose the opposite reaction.

"You dropped your pencil." As cold as those words came out, Ricky couldn't help but feel as if they were a fresh breeze.

'What's with this woman?' In the end, Ricky picked up the pencil himself. "We'll keep in touch." He had wanted to shake her hand, but his gesture was ignored. She thanked him for the interview, then left, leaving the lawyer staring between his door and the pencil. 'What a weirdo.'

A weirdo who hadn't left his mind that entire week. He guessed it was because after her, the rest of the interviews carried on as predicted. Jane Blair was the only one to stand out in a bad, but interesting way.

Ricky shook it off, believing it was the fatigue getting to him. While searching for a new secretary, he had also worked on his current big case and won. Emotionally, mentally, and physically, the man wanted to die due to how tiring work had gotten. His colleagues opted to take him bar hopping instead.

Of course, Ted led the entourage. They had drunk worse than sailors. Their indulgence started in the most respectable part of town, and then somewhere along the night, they ended up in the more questionable part of the city. Ricky was too smashed at that point. He also hadn't realized his friends had lost him two bars ago.

"I don't feel well." He slurred, sitting on the sidewalk. Where was his bed? 'Maybe my bed left me too?' On instinct, he touched his wedding finger. The absence of his engagement ring reminded him of that awful breakup. "I wasn't good enough..." 'Not for her...not for my bed. What am I good for?' "I'll just sleep here - I'm trash anyway."

"I'm telling you, call Nona. She'll give you a place to stay until you're financially stable. All you've got to do is sing from time to time." Voices disturbed his drunkard wallowing. Glancing up, he caught sight of two women walking in his path.

"It wouldn't hurt..." The other voice sounded familiar, but Ricky couldn't place where he had heard it. He felt the need to see the woman - see who that voice belonged to, but it was becoming hard to keep his eyes open. He groaned, finding it difficult to form words.

Two pairs of feet stopped in their place. The first girl said something, but Ricky didn't catch what she said before he passed out. That night had been a fever dream - one that Ricky couldn't remember all that well the next day.

He rubbed his face. "I gotta stop drinking." He mumbled, then paused. Something wasn't right. "How did I get home?" He couldn't remember, and this bed did not smell like his usual detergent. They smelled like warm amber, with an underlying spice to it.

Taking his hands off his eyes, Ricky pushed himself up and paled. He never returned home last night. 'I never returned home last night.' Stop repeating me.

Anyways, the lawyer stared down at himself in horror. These blankets weren't his, and lifting the covers a bit, Ricky found himself practically naked. He had boxers on, but it still instilled terror in the man. Seeing his clothes thrown on the floor only amplified the feeling.

'What. Did. I. DO?!' Ricky hyperventilated. He was in a stranger's bed, practically naked, and he couldn't recall what led up to this. At that second, some memories did pop up, but it didn't help the situation.

Ricky had acted extremely unslightly; he sprawled out on the sidewalk. The ladies who found him ended up taking Ricky to their place. He threw up on the shorter girl's shoulder. As disgusted as that girl was, they still brought him home and tried getting Ricky some water to drink.

However, Ricky didn't cooperate last night. There were blackouts, but the lawyer did recall doing the unthinkable when the girls tried putting him to bed. He grabbed the one whose voice sounded familiar. 

She tried pushing him away, but Ricky pulled her back and smashed his face into her chest and cried. He clung to the unfortunate female as if she were his lifeline. Ricky just wanted to be loved. Was that so hard? He offered himself to them, begging either of them to love him back.

That was all his mind could offer. "Oh God!" He clutched the covers to his chest. "What did I do?!" Had he lost it? Trembling, Ricky got out of bed and snatched up his clothes from the floor.

His mind ran at the speed of light as he hurriedly dressed. There were questions that he didn't want answers to. In his frenzied state, Ricky tripped putting his pants on. He fell with a loud 'thud', hitting his head on the nightstand by the bed. He hoped whoever lived here hadn't heard that.

Standing up, he finished his task, thinking of how to approach the situation. Should he pretend he didn't remember last night? It wasn't a complete lie, but would the women believe him? Would they drop this unfortunate series of events? What if they demanded reparations? The most pressing matter was whether he slept with them.

HE had come on to the two females. HE had grabbed the shorter one and...

He couldn't finish that thought process. His head hurt, and strangely, so did his neck. Touching the side of his face, it felt swollen. "What are you doing?" He lectured himself. "Now's not the time to worry about that." He had to find a way out of this place.

A knock on wood nearly sent his soul to heaven. "Morning." Ricky would have preferred his soul flying off to heaven than facing the woman leaning against the doorframe.

It was too soon to face the music. "B-Blair!?" Out of everybody, it had to be the weirdo. Ricky Evens had the worst luck. 'What do I say?' "Uh, hi." He couldn't lift his head to face her. Not in this state. Subconsciously, he closed his shirt, hoping to put on some show of dignity. "Did...anything happen...last night?"

He froze at Jane's sigh. "'Did anything happen,' you ask." Panic swelled in Ricky's chest. "Yes, something happened, and it's upsetting you don't remember it." Fearfully, the lawyer peeked up at the ravenett. Jane glowered at him. Her lips formed a thin line from how hard her jaw had been clenching. "That was my last good shirt, too."

"Shirt?" 'Oh dear God.' Ricky sweated. 'Did I rip her shirt?!' "I-I'm sorry!" He could see his life flash before his eyes, and his business's downfall. If Jane Blair was as wrathful as she seemed, she could seriously bring up charges against him over this. He worked so hard for his business - it was all he had at this point. "I promise I can repay you."

"You will repay me." Jane sniped, growing more annoyed at remembering the night she had. "My shirt was ruined because of you! You puked all over me - you know how disgusting that is?! Not to mention all that crying you did, talking a bunch of nonsense - I couldn't even understand you because you slurred so badly! Throughout the night, you whimpered like some pathetic puppy - I didn't sleep a wink and I missed a very important interview today!"

"Huh." It was all Ricky could say after the madwoman's rant. He remembered puking on one of the girls and hugging her, but didn't they sleep together? "So we didn't have sex?" He had never felt happier at being yelled at by a crazy lady.

"Sex? Sex?! SEX?!" Jane made a deeply disgusted face. "You think I would take advantage of some drunken bum I found on the street? One that smells like a whole AA meeting joined a ship of pirates with their wet dogs?"

Ricky feared for his life the closer Jane approached him. "I -I think there's a misunderstanding." He raised his arms to protect himself.

Seeing the pathetic lawyer recoiling, Jane had to swallow down the rage. Now was not the time to be furious. The man was still discombobulated. What's the point of scolding him? "Forget it." Jane exhaled, feeling a headache growing. "Finish getting dressed. I'll walk you to the train station."

Ricky didn't have to be told twice. Once he finished, the scary ravenett and he began their journey. Ricky didn't realize how far he has strayed in his drunken haze. The atmosphere was vastly different than the nieghborhoods he frequented.

It was a complete culture clash. Most buildings were run down, and windows were boarded up. Gang signs painted anything in sight, and people eyed Ricky with enough hostility that made him want to vomit.

As a lawyer, he met questionable people, but they had always behaved civilly around him. They had to, if they wanted him to take their case. However, out here, his job meant nothing. He was fair game and by the daggers shooting his way, Ricky was the freshest meat in town.

Unintentionally, the grown man inched closer to his female companion. She terrified him, but in this scenario, she was the safest option. She also seemed to know what he was thinking. "Don't act like such a tourist." She whispered up to him. "Keep your eyes forward. The train station isn't that far."

He did as he was told, minus the occasional glance at Jane. He never encountered such an indifferent person, and a woman at that. He was positive she was a weirdo. One, he couldn't tell if she was escorting him out of the kindness of her heart or if her motives were more nefarious.

After the trouble he caused, this scary woman could very well blackmail him for a job. His head throbbed. Women were brutal in that category. Samantha taught him that. "I bet you want that job after this, am I right? That's why you helped me."

"Of course, that's the reason." Sarcasm dripped with words. "It definitely had nothing to do with the fact you're a fellow human being and if my friend and I had left you on the sidewalk, you would have been either robbed, raped, or killed. Maybe all of the above. Who knows."

Ricky couldn't read the Ravenette at all. She somehow made him forget that he was a lawyer. 'She's truly an odd creature.'

Remembering brought a smile to Ricky. Jane had always been odd. Mysterious but genuine. It was almost humorous how the great Ricky Evens, whose life and looks ranked higher than average, had fallen for the plainest of females.

Even the gift she picked out was plain. Lovingly, Ricky unwrapped the gift. It was a custom grooming kit, complete with scented aftershave and some face balms. It wasn't anything high-class, but it was thoughtful. He showed his dad. "She must have searched hard for this. My sisters would have gotten me some cuffs and a tie."

He wished he could've been there with Jane. Watched her keenly scan through the stores in search of his gift. Watched as her eyes examined each item, thinking hard. What face did she make when she stumbled on this? Was it relief, hidden beneath that mask of indifference?

"This is what makes her different, Dad. This is why I'm going to pursue her." 'Because she's such an amazing weirdo.'