Maybe, Maybe.
Ryan's pleased with himself, for various reasons, but mostly with the fact that his courting skills have not lost their touch after all this time. Annie, though she declined his invitation to the INP awards tonight, seems happy with his choice of gift, and that would be enough to satisfy him for now.
He makes a quick stop by the office later that evening before heading to the gala. There are some proposals that need his signature for his new Scottish friends he'd left back in Edinburgh, and Caitlin insists that they cannot wait.
"So does this mean I won this bet?" Fitz asks innocently when McQuaid hands off the required folders to deliver to Caitlin's desk.
"I thought I said no more bets." Ryan scowls and leans against his desk, arms crossed.
"You know Jim can't resist." Fitz passes the blame with a shrug and a knowing grin, clapping Ryan on the shoulder as he walks out. "But I was the one who figured she'd play hard to get."
Ryan is a man of many hats.
Charismatic and charming CEO of McQuaid Security is the hat he wears tonight. As a guest at the INP awards dinner there's a certain expectation for him to perform his duties as such. He goes through introduction after introduction of senators and their wives, and senators and their husbands. He begrudgingly turns a blind eye to so-called gentlemen with dates obviously twice their younger. Diplomats and politicians he pretends to know shake his hand, and to his childish delight he enjoys watching Arthur Campbell captain conversations and capture contracts as if he were born to do it. The night will undoubtedly be lucrative if the pace continues.
Typically Ryan would enjoy himself at these evening tie-and-gown gatherings. They presented a unique challenge in their own right. How many unfamiliar faces and places could he add to McQuaid Security's every expanding list of clients by the end of the night? How many left or right wing czars could he win over with his charm and quick wit? Whose buttons could he push to get a rise out of them that worked in his favor?
It is, in many facets, a game. A game he likes to win.
But tonight something is different. Perhaps it's because he's more distracted than usual, for reasons he isn't sure he wants to admit. He's thankful that Arthur is there to buffer what would have usually been an endless onslaught of conversation. In the brief slivers of silence between hellos and goodbyes and business he can allow his thoughts to wander, if just for a moment.
He never called Annie back after she hung up on him earlier that morning. He'd wanted to, but his better judgment reminded his impatience that he should wait. She continues to be a puzzle he can't solve, though not for lack of trying. Her stubborn indifference only makes him that much more determined to win her over.
So when Ryan spots her later that evening leading another man through the gala, donning blue jeans and a jacket amongst the masses of ball gowns and tuxes, he's amused and disappointed all at once. It's not a coincidence though, because her head is bowed as she talks seriously to the man on her arm, and that's when Ryan spots the cane folded in his hand. August Anderson becomes easier to recognize as they draw closer, and Ryan's curiosity piques. He knows that he's Annie's CIA handler from reading her file and conversations with Arthur. Perhaps her rain check for work wasn't an excuse after all.
He has to bite his tongue when he realizes they'll pass right by him, but instead of remaining hidden off to the side alone at a table with his glass of champagne like he'd planned, she looks up just as their paths cross.
He tips his glass to her, grinning.
The fleeting smile she gives him makes her the most beautiful woman in the room.
As the party draws to a close and the bar makes last calls, Ryan grabs one last glass of bourbon and takes a seat to watch the crowd leave. Arthur joins him a few minutes later, and they perch at the bar top together while a piano plays in the background, accompanied by the clink of crystal and dinnerware as the bus boys make their final rounds. It's the most peaceful thing he's been privy to in over a week.
"Well, what do you think, boss?" Humor edges Arthur's words.
"I think you've done excellent work." Ryan grins, taking a sip from his glass.
The two men fall into a comfortable silence as they continue to appraise the thinning river of people headed out the door. Ryan spots Joan, stunning even at the end of the night, trailing along at the end of the crowd, laughing with a woman he doesn't recognize. He'd noticed Annie talking with her after she'd arrived earlier. His curiosity gets the best of him.
"Do you know why Walker was here tonight?" He asks nonchalantly, cradling his bourbon.
"Annie?" Arthur gives McQuaid a curious look. "She was here?"
"She was speaking with your wife." Ryan adds, nodding in Joan's direction.
Arthur is quiet again, and he seems to consider the possibilities. After a while he takes a swig of his own drink, and seems to steel himself to say something. When Ryan meets his gaze this time, he can't help but feel like a boy about to be chastised by his father. Arthur had that look, from time to time. Ryan remembers it well from his days at the Naval academy, and he relives it now.
"Can I give you some advice, as a friend?" Arthur's asks carefully.
"Of course." Ryan replies without hesitation.
"I know you, Ryan, and I know you see something in her. Everyone sees something in her, at some point. Annie does that to you, eventually." Arthur's words are quiet, serious, but he smiles. "I know Annie, too. Whatever it is you're thinking about doing, and I know you are, just be careful." The concern Ryan can see on Arthur's face is genuine, like a father protecting his daughter. "She's been through a lot."
"I understand." Ryan pauses and dips his head. "And I appreciate your concern, truly."
Arthur nods again, as if nothing has transpired between them, and the two men resume their people watching.
"So, Pearson..." McQuaid teases, eyebrows raised.
"Pearson," Arthur chuckles, "is a piece of work."
"I knew that you were good." McQuaid commends. "But that was flat out masterful."
And so the evening continues with talk of patriotism and serving ones country, the bigger picture that the company, all of them, are creating as a whole. It's Ryan's livelihood and lifeblood; it's what he lives for. Yet, as important as that is, as important as these moments are for what they're trying to achieve, for the first time in a very long time Ryan finds himself wondering if the life he's imagined for himself could be different.
Arthur said that everyone sees something in Annie Walker.
Ryan wants to be the one that makes her see it in herself.
AN: I feel like I "know" Annie better, but I so enjoy writing from Ryan's pov. Thanks for the super reviews y'all, I'm so glad to see so many returning readers - you rock. Expect to see more from Fitz & Co. I love them too much to let them go haha. Also 513 (She Believes) was intense, hope y'all got to watch it! This chapter's musical inspiration: Maybe, Maybe, by Cam Nacson. "I tried to play the hero for a girl who don't need saving."