Mark’s POV

Playing pool together was not something that Mark and Ryan often did. But whenever they did play, it was always an enjoyable experience.

But their current game, as enjoyable as it was, had been going on for quite some time.

Watching Ryan line up his shot, Mark let his mind wander, going to something that had been occupying his thoughts a lot lately.. Ryan’s lady friend, the one and only Vivian Rose.

When it came to the women that Ryan often kept in his company. Mark had never really approved,( most of them had been shallow creatures undeserving of Mark’s friend), but he had known his friend well enough to bite his tongue and mind his own business.

But after spending just a few minutes in Vivian Rose’s presence, Mark had to say that he was well and truly charmed. Vivian was nice and she was good for his friend. So Mark had decided that it could not hurt to nudge Ryan in her direction a bit.

"Did Vivian tell you that the two of us met?" Mark asked, making sure to keep his tone light.

Ignoring him for a bit, Ryan took his shot, sinking most of his balls in, before straightening. After rolling his shoulders, he finally answered the question.

"As a matter of fact, she did. Why are you asking me about that now?" Walking closer to the pool table, Mark shrugged.

"I am just wondering what she said about me?" Ryan smiled at him, his dimples on full display.

"She said that you need to donate your three-piece suit to charity,"

"Hey!" Taking offense, Mark took his shot while angry and as a result, every single one of his balls missed. Ryan laughed heartily at that.

"Would you relax? I was only kidding. Vivian had nothing but praise for you,"

Huffing, Mark looked over at his friend and decided to let the little prank go, focusing instead on the big picture.

"How lovely it is that she should say that. I have nothing but praise for her as well. She is a good woman," Mark said pointedly, hoping his friend would add a few words about how great Vivian was... he was sorely disappointed.

Ryan just nodded, "That she is," Then he bent down to play and Mark was left staring at him in disbelief. That was an open invitation for Ryan to start waxing poetic about Vivian. How could the other man miss such an obvious chance?

Realizing that he had his work cut out for him, Mark began to plan.

***

As luck would have it, a few days later there was an event that Ryan needed to attend. An event that needed Ryan to have someone with him. Unfortunately though, his friend was still being dense.

"Mark, why are you being so difficult over this?" Resisting the urge to let out a frustrated scream. Mark looked at Ryan.

"It would look way better for you to show up to this event with a gorgeous lady hanging off your arm. Why are you wasting time wanting me to accompany you?"

" There are far too many rumours that the two of us are dating, and you are not helping matters," Not bothered in the least. Ryan shrugged, throwing a grape into his mouth and chewing it slowly before speaking.

"I do not care what other people think. Besides, what lady could I ask to attend the event with me?" Was Ryan seriously that slow on the uptake?!

"How about taking Vivian?" Just saying her name outright was not subtle at all, but Mark was getting desperate.

Not understanding how serious the situation was for Mark, Ryan laughed.

"No ways. Vivian and I do not do stuff like that. We try to keep things indoors and on flat surfaces," Blushing in embarrassment while at the same time feeling angry, Mark groaned.

"Just take her to the event instead of me. She will look way better next to you than I ever could," Ryan shook his head.

"While that may be true, I need an experienced banker to listen in and fill me in on the things that I am not hearing because they are coded. So you would be a much better fit than Vivian,"

Closing his eyes, Mark prayed for strength. Ryan seemed determined not to understand what he was getting at.

***

The event which Mark had ended up attending had been great and he had to admit that Ryan had been correct. Mark had been able to help his friend out quite a bit by being able to decipher industry talk.

Now though, he was planning for yet another outing which he would try to use to convince Ryan to take his arrangement with Vivian more seriously. Dialling his friend, he informed him of his wish to go golfing but Ryan instantly turned him down.

"I will not be able to come. I am going to be spending time with Vivian,"

Should he be doing an internal dance? Mark decided to ask for more information.

"Where will you be taking her?" There was a moment of silence. Then when Ryan answered, he was speaking slowly as though talking to somebody particularly dumb.

"I will not be taking her anywhere. We will be heading straight for the bedroom which is what we normally do," Not even bothering to reply. Mark hung up on his friend and tossed his phone aside. In all of the years that he had known Ryan he had always believed that his friend was an intelligent man. But clearly Ryan Terrell was not smart at all, he relied on one brain cell at the poor thing could barely hold a thought. Rubbing at his temples, Mark came to a decision. He could try to push and shove all that he wanted. But if Ryan was not ready then nothing would happen.

It was best for him to back off and let Ryan come to the realization of how much Vivian meant to him on his own.