“I never lied to you!” I exclaimed. It was true. Gina was never mentioned because when Aria and I had started the contract she was a non-entity in my life. And even though we were technically still married, it was merely in the name. Since the topic had never really come up, I could have never really lied.
That made her burst into hysterical laughter. “Whatever. Your wife just walked out of here after passionately kissing your cheek and you sit there and tell me you never lied to me?” She shook her head as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“She is not my wife, she is my ex-wife. The divorce proceedings have been underway for a while now and we are married in name only.” I slammed my fist on the desk, feeling the fury begin to swell inside of me.
“Oh wow, that is a perfectly reasonable explanation for what she was doing in your office, acting exactly like a non-ex-wife would act.”
“She was trying to provoke a reaction. Out of you, funnily enough. And it seems to have worked.” I shook my head. “Listen, Aria, I never lied to you. Gina and I are working through certain things that pertain way more to my mother than either one of us. That is the only reason she is anywhere near me. I have no feelings for her and I am not sure I ever did, really. For all intents and purposes, she stopped being my wife a long time ago. That doesn’t stop her from showing her malicious ways; that is just in the woman’s nature. She somehow figured out that I was seeing somebody in the office and she walked in here this morning with the intention of scaring whoever it was away. You. And by reacting like this you are letting her fucking win.”
“Oh really? Because I care so much about the games you play with your wife and whether or not you’re winning? Are you really trying to convince me that none of this is what it looks like? If so, just save us both the time and yourself the energy, boss man.”
“It’s not a game and she’s not my wife. I would never, ever want to hurt you.” I looked deep into her eyes, hoping she would sense that somewhere in my words was an ounce of honesty. With a much gentler voice, I added, “I really care about you. More than you realize obviously.”
I regretted saying those words as soon as they left my mouth. Not because they weren’t true necessarily, but because she didn’t need to know that. Until this very moment, it was something I hadn’t even accepted myself, but now I knew it was true. Because the fact was, watching her look upset with puffy eyes and a little blush over her perfect little nose was making me feel way more uncomfortable than it should have.
Upon hearing those words, her face seemed to gain some color. Perhaps she hadn’t even entertained the idea that I actually cared about her…. I hadn’t entertained it myself, until now, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
The room was silent for a long time, as Aria seemed to be weighing my words in her mind.
“If you really mean that,” she eventually whispered. “I have a request: I would like to re-arrange the terms of the contract.”
“What do you mean?” What could she possibly want to change? Sex was not a part of the contract as it is…
“You don’t get to control who I talk to. Given that you somehow happen to have a wife up your sleeve, I should at least have sovereignty over who I communicate with.”
“Sure,” I said very carefully. “As long as it’s not your ex.”
“That’s amusing, coming from a married man who has been seducing me. If you remember correctly, as a part of the contract, you’re not allowed to have sex with any other woman. Yet your wife–”
“We’re not having sex!” I exclaimed. Hadn’t she been listening to a word I was saying? “I told you, Gina and I haven’t really been married in a while. Whatever shenanigans she was pulling here before were an act. Part of some evil master-plan she has to win me back. And by me, I mean my money.”
“So you’re telling me you’re married to that woman and you don’t even touch her? You don’t have any regards for my intelligence, do you?” She was starting to sound hurt again.
“On the contrary, Aria, you are one of the most intelligent women I have ever met. And I can say this with confidence because I have seen your work. Both as your boss and as someone who worked through your economics course work with you, I know what your mind is capable of. I would never underestimate that.”
“Then stop lying to me! You want to have a wife and keep the contract? Fine! Let me have my freedom back. That’s not too much to ask is it?”
“I don’t trust that guy around you,” I said broodily. “He has hurt you before and he will hurt you again.”
“And what do you think you are doing?” she snapped loudly. She had clearly been holding it back so far and now the anger was flashing red hot on her face.
“I am not hurting you... At least I had no intention of fucking doing so.” I tried to catch her eye but she was looking away from me.
“Well, it’s a little too late for that,” she said in a barely audible whisper, making the knot in my chest feel heavy.
“I am sorry. And I’m sorry to say that I am not going to be okay with you talking to that moron. It’s for your own good.”
“I know how to take care of myself. Been doing it for twenty years without you, thanks. And if you’re going to be sleeping with other women – and after seeing your wife, I don’t believe for a second that you’re not, no matter what you say – then I should have the right to at least decide who I keep company with.”
“For the last time, I am not fucking Gina. Or anybody else for that matter.”
“For the last time, I don’t believe you. And I have work to do,” she said, then without any warning stormed out of my office, leaving me perplexed.
Chapter 3
Aria
These days, being inside an active classroom was the only respite my mind got. Tired of Zayden, the contract, and all the drama surrounding it, I had made a newfound resolution to concentrate on one thing: school. If I was constantly thinking about numbers and graphs and economics theories, there would be very little time to worry about much else. I had begun staying in the library late every night and avoiding catching Zayden’s eye while at work.
As my mind began drifting off in my Public Finance class, I tried to bring myself back. Focus on school. That was my new motto. My Econ and Finance teacher, Mr. Weber, and I were on excellent terms; so far I had aced all his classes with top marks, so he often counted on me to have the right answer. It was an extremely comforting intellectual environment away from the royal mess that the rest of my life had become.
Class had just started and after Mr. Weber finished taking the roll call, he made an announcement.
“Class, today I have a little bit of a surprise for you.” He flashed his white teeth, as though very pleased with himself. It made his old, wrinkly features light up a little bit. He didn’t laugh very often. “A surprise guest!”
Oh, that was interesting. Last year we had had a guest in his Intermediate Macroeconomics class and it had been incredible. He had brought in the Vice President of Finance of Dylan Motors – a multi-billion dollar corporation – and he had told us his amazing rags to riches story and taken the class by storm. Who could it be this time? There was a murmur of excitement through the whole class and I couldn’t help but be overcome by enthusiasm myself.
“Our guest has taken time off his incredibly busy schedule in order to speak in front of you today. Most of you probably know him by name – if not, you should if you want to get anywhere in the world of finance. The school and many professors far more capable and venerated than myself have been trying to get him to come and speak for years, but he has only now found the time. So we should consider ourselves extremely grateful.”
You could slice the anticipation in the room with a knife. Everyone was suddenly sitting upright with perfect posture, and the guy in front of me, who usually napped through class, was ready with a notebook and a pen. It was rare for the whole class to be so alert and present.
“Who is it?” a couple of students asked, unable to conceal their excitement.
“He is a young man – much younger than myself, to my shame – who has taken a family empire and built it into an incredible corporation. Students, please let me welcome, Mr. Zayden Sinclar, owner and Chief Executive Officer of South National Bank!”
Wait, what? I must have heard that wrong… It couldn’t possibly be? No, no, no. This was just not happening. He wasn’t going to walk into my classroom right now, it had to be some kind of a sick joke. Maybe there was someone else with that name? Hah, I was being stupid. One Zayden Sinclair who was the CEO of South National was more than the world could or needed to take. I pinched myself hoping to wake up from a bizarre dream and jumped with pain.
Unable to take my eyes off the front of the classroom, I waited in a panic. Maybe he would cancel? Could I stealthily escape the classroom before anyone noticed? I could pretend to faint, nobody was going to see any reason for me to fake passing out, since nobody knew about Zayden and I. And I was in Mr. Weber’s full confidence; he would never suspect me of ditching a class for no reason. Yes, I could totally pull that off!
But just as I was gathering the courage to fall down flat on to the floor, Zayden walked in, looking like he just zoomed out of a magazine, and staring right ahead at me. The class broke into a loud applause as though they had just seen the President of the United States. He caught my eye with a sly twitch of his mouth, his face ridden with amusement, and I looked away. I would have a full-fledged panic attack at any moment.
“Welcome, Mr. Sinclair,” Mr. Weber said cheerfully. “Thank you so much for coming here to speak with our students today. The class collectively could not be more excited!”
“Is that so?” Zayden asked Mr. Weber with a slight laugh. “Collectively? Each and every one of them? Are you sure?” He was facing Mr. Weber, but looking at me from the corner of his eyes.
If there were ever a time to want to disappear into the ground beneath me, it was right in that moment.
“Of course!” Mr. Weber exclaimed in pure delight. Gosh, did he have to sound so ridiculously excited? “In fact, I have never seen my whole class so alert this early in the morning before. Everyone is awake, for starters.”
Zayden chuckled, sending goosebumps down my spine. If only he didn’t look so damn good, my life would be so much easier.
“That is very flattering. It is very nice to see you all,” he said, now directly looking at me. “I have some questions for you all, before I start yapping endlessly. Any volunteers?”
The whole class raised their hands as high up in the air as it went. Except me, which was a mistake because it caught Mr. Weber’s attention.
“Aria, why don’t I see your hand up in the air?” he asked, looking almost hurt, as though I had personally offended him.
Shit. Great, Aria. What a wonderful way not to draw attention to yourself. Should have just blended with the crowd!
“Uh, not sure I am quite up for inquisition just now,” I said, looking at neither Mr. Weber nor Zayden, and instead focusing hard on the concrete below me. I didn’t even notice how hard I was clutching onto my dress until my palms started to hurt.
“What do you mean you’re not up for inquisition?” Mr. Weber asked completely perplexed. He was used to a very different version of me altogether. I wished there was a way to communicate to him that I would rather swallow a vile of rat poison than be in that room without offending him. “Are you feeling alright?”
There was my cue. No, say no, Aria. It would then be easily over with and I could probably escape and not have to deal with this whole ordeal. But I froze, unable to say a single word. I made a feeble attempt at shaking my head but I doubt it looked like anything other than an involuntary shudder.
“You seem pretty alright, Miss… Aria, was it?” I heard Zayden’s voice.
“Yes, Aria Roberts. She is one of our best and brightest,” Mr. Weber said proudly. “In fact, I am not sure you know – you have thousands of employees after all – but she is already advancing her career in banking by working as a teller at South National.”
“Ah,” Zayden said, flashing me a look of pure amusement. “That’s where I know that face from! It all makes sense now. I am glad to hear young talent like yourself works for me, Ms. Roberts.”
There was a definitely intonation in his voice – especially a stress in the words talent and works, like he wasn’t quite talking about my skills in banking.
“Since you were the least eager to answer my questions, I suspect you will be the most honest in your responses.” He looked at Mr. Weber. “Should I proceed?”
“Of course! Ask her anything!” he exclaimed.
“These questions are basically a screening of how much your students have learned before I go on to speak about my own experiences. I want to tailor them to what is relevant to your students. As such, complete honesty about the material covered is essential.”
“What do you want to know?” I asked, still looking at Mr. Weber.
He shook his head. “No, no, not here. It would be best if I could speak with you briefly in private, for maybe fifteen minutes, so you feel more comfortable answering with honesty. My questions will pertain to this class too, and perhaps there are things you wouldn’t want your professor and fellow classmates to know.”
“I am perfectly comfortable right here, thanks,” I snapped, unable to handle it anymore. Hopefully nobody caught the bitterness in my voice, and even if they did, there was no way they could guess what it was about. “You can ask me anything,” I added more evenly. “And you will get a honest answer. There is nothing I have to say about Mr. Weber or this class that he wouldn’t like to hear.”
“Be that as it may,” he pushed. “Participation bias is a serious psychological effect, and to get the best out of all of our times here, we must have an audience in private. Is that okay, Mr. Weber?”
Now he was trying to be professional.
“Of course it is!” Weber exclaimed. “Aria, why don’t you show Mr. Sinclair the conference room and answer any questions he may have. Meanwhile, I will prep the rest of the class on questions we may have for him in turn and make a list. You can add yours to it after you return.”
“Uh.” I was trapped. There was no way to get out of this without raising suspicion or getting into Mr. Weber’s bad books, which was something I simply could not afford. Zayden’s little game was not worth my grades and academic performance. It was in my best interest to suck it up and show him the “conference room.”
“Fine,” I said finally. “Let’s go then, Mr. Sinclair.” I added emphasis on those last words.
“After you, Ms. Roberts.” He looked thrilled. Why wouldn’t he? After successfully ignoring him at his own bank, he had found a way to get to me by showing up at the one place where he knew I had to keep my cool. It must have been easy for him, calling up the Econ department head and asking to make a guest lecture. He knew what classes I was taking from when I was discussing schoolwork with him so he must have just easily dropped the name of the most relevant class I was in and the department head must had exploded in delight. I was starting to feel lightheaded just from thinking about it.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Zayden started chuckling. “How was that?” he whispered.
I said absolutely nothing until we reached the nearest empty conference room. When we walked in, I closed the blinds and locked the door so nobody could hear us.
“Really?” he said with a smirk when I turned to look at him. “Here? Now? I’m flattered, sweetheart, but I suppose they are waiting for us back in your classroom.”
My face went red from a combination of anger and embarrassment. I wanted to punch him, or hurt him in some way for pulling this crap. But for some reason, words just choked up in my mouth as I watched his face light up. Why did Zayden Sinclair have this effect on me? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, resigned to not let myself be charmed by his ways once again.
After gathering a considerable amount of courage, I said, “What do you think you’re trying to pull here? Really Zayden? Don’t you think you have crossed a line by showing up in my class?”
The hint of amusement was still in his eyes when he said, “Don’t you think it’s a little egotistical of you to assume I came here for you?”
Oh shit. If it was possible at all, my face turned even redder than before, and I wanted to scream or cry or do something completely ridiculous to make all of this go away.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply–”
“Aria, just stop. Of course I am here for you. I’ve been trying to call you every single day! And I try to catch you at the bank, but you rush to the other direction at the very sight of me as though I am some kind of a monster. You left me no choice, did you?”
“Yes, I did,” I said, the anger replacing the momentary humiliation I had felt a few seconds ago. “I left you the choice to leave me alone. Why is this so hard to comprehend?”
“First of all, that’s not really a choice. It’s not like I can just control wanting to see you.” He looked at me like I was a three-year-old who failed to understand basic concepts of human interactions. “And second, it’s not what our contract is about, is it? The whole idea was that you spend as much time with me as I require, no questions asked.”
“You were also not supposed to have an attractive wife up your sleeve, if we’re going to nitpick about the stupid contract. And since when is stalking me into school a part of the deal? I don’t remember singing up for that.”
“Well, you didn’t complete your end of the deal that you signed up for so I just improvised,” he said as though it were an obvious answer and I was being ridiculous for even questioning what he was doing. As though it were normal and excepted of him to show up here like this and I was a moron for thinking he wouldn’t.
“Fine,” I said, completely frustrated at this point. The only way this was going to be over was if I just went along with it and let him feel like he had won. “Fine. You’re here, great. What do you want from me?”
He walked forward with a grin on his face and his mouth came very close to mine. For a few insane moments, I forgot where we were and what we were doing. All I could see were his perfect lips so close to mine and if I only so much as tilted my head half an inch, we would be kissing. The thought of that sent tingles down my spine and I was close to giving in when he said in a very low voice, “You know very well what I want, Aria. It’s what you want to. You need to stop denying it.”
That brought me back to reality and made me jump. “Stop!” I yelled. “Stop trying to tell me what I want, stop trying to tell me what’s right for me, stop trying to tell me who I can or cannot speak to. I have survived a perfectly wonderful twenty years of my life without a man telling me how best to live it and more than anything else in the world, I would like to continue to do so. You need to back the hell off, Zayden! My life is none of your god-damn business.”
Those words seemed to have been the equivalent of slapping him across the face as he took a few visible steps backwards and looked at me in a completely different way, with something that resembled very close to loathing.
“Really? Is that what you want? For me to back the fuck off?” All humor had disappeared from his face and I felt a shiver of fear at the look he was giving me. Had I finally done it? Offended him enough that he would just step aside?
“I didn’t mean to sound hurtful,” I said more gently. “But I have spent my whole life being independent and this, whatever this is with the controlling, this aspect of our contract is suffocating me, Zayden. It all seems unfair – especially after I saw your wife in your office like that the other day – like you think I am some kind of a commodity you have acquired. Like a pet that you expect will do your bidding without asking any questions. Somehow, when all of this started, you had convinced me that you had respect for me. That is obviously not the case here. And it’s really suffocating me.”
“You already said the part about suffocating you,” he said softly. “And for the last time, nothing is real between Gina and I. You are right, I do have respect for you, which is why I wouldn’t lie to you through my teeth like this. But you have made your point. You want me to back off, I will back off. The contract is still valid, so if you don’t want to pay me a huge lump of money at once, don’t break any of the rules.”
Then he turned around and walked away. I stood there and took deep breaths for a few minutes before following him into the classroom. When I did, it was like a completely different Zayden in there. Gone was the teasing, joking man who had come here to mess with me. He was stern and serious now, discussing his business strictly, and not even making eye-contact with me. I was so confused and irrationally bothered by it that I actually found myself raising my hand to answer a few of the questions he addressed to the class, but it was like I was not even in the room.
Chapter 4
Zayden
Things had become very different since the day I had gone to Aria’s school. Upset by her defiance, I had stopped pushing for her attention, but that had caused a remarkable affect on my mood. I felt cranky and impatient all the time and not a single interaction with anybody had gone by without my snapping.
I was at the dinner table with my mother and Gina and whatever they were chattering about was making my blood boil.
“What do you think, darling? You haven’t spoken a single word all evening,” my mother said sweetly. “Should I try acupuncture? Gina seems to swear by it.”
“Sure,” I mumbled and went back to nibbling on my shrimp and mashed potatoes.
“For God’s sakes, Zayden,” my mother snapped, seeming to finally lose her temper. “Make the slightest bit of an effort. How much time do you get to spend with family? Do you think it’s fair that on the odd night that we all get to sit down and have a meal together, you are not even really here?”
“What do you want me to say?” I snapped back. “You two seem to be doing fine on your own. I have nothing to contribute to the conversation. Leave me alone, mom.”
“Hey, don’t speak to your mom like that!” Gina gasped. “She is only trying to spend some quality time with her son.”
“Nobody asked you for your fucking opinion,” I snapped at her too. “I am done eating.” I through my napkin down and stormed out of the kitchen.
No matter where I went, I couldn’t find peace. At work I was forced to look at Aria all day and not be able to approach her. At home it was the constant whining of two women who somehow seemed to have vowed to make my life difficult. Maybe now was a good time to take a vacation…
There was a knock on my door. I ignored it hoping that would make it stop but I had no such luck.
“Open the door, Zay,” my mother finally said. “This is really important.”
“It’s open, just come inside.” I sighed.
She walked in and sat across from my desk.
“Are you feeling alright, sweetheart?” The look of genuine concern on her face took me aback. “You seem to have been very disturbed by something these past few weeks. I know you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, and whatever it is that is bothering you, you know you can really talk to your mother.”
“Do I?” I glared at her. “It has never quite seemed like it.”
Her eyes started to moisten but she held back. I had never seen her this way before. The only times I had seen her cry were full-blown episodes where she wailed until she manipulated me into doing whatever she wanted.
“I know you think I am a horrible mother. You always have. Even before your father passed away, and you learned about things that I wish you never had to hear.” She looked at me with a kind of rare intensity for a long while before speaking again. “And you are right.”
“What’s that?” I was surprised to hear what she was saying. It was not like her. Unless this was some new twisted plot intended to manipulate me.
“You are right. I could have been a better mother and a better wife. I had you when I was too young. Married your dad at an age when I should have focused on my career and living my life, without understanding the repercussions of being a wife. He wanted a child right away and I loved him so much, I went with it. Without warning, my youth was suddenly over and I became responsible for a whole new life at a time when I wasn’t sure I was doing a very good job of taking care of my own. Your dad had a huge business to run, so even though he had wanted a child, he didn’t have the time to care for it. Obviously, I had to quit my job – I was working towards being a chartered accountant – and then I started getting lonely and distant with your dad always working. I started finding comfort in other things, other men, and a part of me felt like I had given up so much, that I deserved to stray a little bit. Subconsciously, I blamed you for some of the things I had to give up, but it was never your fault. As you grew older, your dad started spending more time with you and going to all your football games and you two bonded while I stayed home and made dinner. So it always looked to you like he was more of a parent to you than I was, but he never helped me raise you, Zayden.”
“Why are you telling me these things?” I asked softly. “Why now?”
“Because it is important that you understand. I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, Zay, but maybe you will understand why I was always the way I was and why I want so badly for you and Gina to work out. It’s not for my sake, not at all.”
“Why then? Because if you haven’t picked up on it yet, mom, Gina is only around for your sake. She is what you want for me, not what I want.”
“I know you feel that way right now because you’re hurt–”
“I am not hurt. I don’t love her. She means absolutely nothing to me, but that doesn’t matter to you does it? You have decided that she is the perfect woman for me and you will just continue emotionally blackmailing me into trying to make it work with her. Whether or not I am happy in the process doesn’t matter to anybody, does it?”
“Have you been listening to a word I have said?” She was getting teary again. “I love you very much, Zay. You are my son, and no matter what happened in the past, I want to make it up to you by being a better mother now. Of course your happiness means a lot to me. It means everything to me. I have very little else to live for.”
“Then why don’t you give a shit that I don’t want to make things work with Gina?”
“Because I have been where she is now, and it’s a terrible, terrible place! If I had gotten a chance to make things better with your dad, I would have given everything I had to make him happy, and I know she will do the same. She used to make you happy once, and I just want to see that again.”
“Would you care if I told you there was someone else I am certain I would be happier with?” I didn’t know why I had asked that. It wasn’t like Aria and I were going to spend the rest of our lives together. Hell, she barely even spoke to me, yet I was having this conversation, as though she were ready to seamlessly take Gina’s place in my life.
“You’re only saying that to shut me up. Believe me Zay, just give her another chance. She will make you happy again, you will see.”
“So we are back to square one, then? You want what you want and obviously think you know what’s better for me than I do myself. Why are we even having this conversation?”
“Because I had to tell you I loved you, I don’t think I do it nearly enough,” she said, crying openly now.
“It’s not necessary that you do. I have a lot to get done for work, so you should go back to your room.”
She didn’t say another word but hugged me tightly before leaving with tears in her eyes.
---
The next day Aria was already at the bank when I got there, and she was by herself. Taking the opportunity, I strode over to her desk.
“Hello,” I said, unsure of what I was hoping to achieve from this interaction.
“Good morning, Mr. Sinclair, how may I help you?” she asked with a fake bright smile.
“We’re still at Mr. Sinclair, then?” I frowned.
“Depends. Am I allowed to talk to whomever I want yet? You still married?”
I shook my head and walked back to my office, not having the energy or the will to deal with this for now, and then buried myself in paperwork for the next few hours.
No matter what I did though, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The way she moved in her body-hugging dress sent tingles of excitement throughout my whole body. Aria had such an incredible presence. Every customer who walked up to her would leave looking happier than they were walking in. She exuded the kind of charisma that very few people I knew could muster, and this was when I knew for certain that she was going through a bunch of issues in her personal life.
The truth was that I missed her incredibly. She had been great in bed, despite only having sex once before me. It was like she had this inherent talent that drove me completely mad. And it wasn’t just the sex that I missed, I missed talking to her, hearing her laugh, and working through her schoolwork together.
When I had first thought up the contract, I never imagined that this girl would have such a powerful impact on me. It was supposed to be a game, a challenge to show myself that I was capable of making any woman want me. To an extent, I could say I had succeeded. Then why was the fact that she would refuse to meet my eye frustrating me so much? What could I even do to make her stop being so distant?
The answer was obvious: I had to end it with Gina and let Aria do whatever she wanted. She wasn’t like other girls, she would never be okay with doing things my way. That was one of the things I admired about her. In asking her to compromise her ideals, I was forcing her to be someone she was not and there was no point in even trying to pursue that person. If I wanted her back in my life, just the way she was, I had to do it.
I thought back to my conversation with my mother last night. From her feeble attempts at motherhood, I had at least gathered that she thinks she wants me to be happy. Surely this meant she wouldn’t threaten me with more suicide attempts if I could explain to her what I really wanted? Maybe I would take her out to dinner and forgive her for everything I was holding against her, if she were able to handle this without pulling any new shenanigans.
With new resolve, I dialed Gina on my cellphone and walked out into the hall so that I could make sure Aria heard the conversation.
“Hi,” I said when she answered. “About that deal you wanted to make with me? I don’t think so. I don’t love you, Gina,” I said more loudly. “And you don’t love me. Let’s not waste any more time on facades and pretenses. I don’t hold anything against you, and if you ever need anything, I will be glad to help out, financially or otherwise.”
“Zayden! You can’t do this! Not like this, over the phone! Come home and we can talk about it properly. You don’t need to–”
“I am done talking about it. I am just done. Can’t you respect me enough to understand that? It’s over, Gina. Take as long as you need to move out, and I would appreciate it if you let me tell my mother myself. Goodbye,” I said and hung up before she could make any more protests. She called back immediately so I shut my phone off. Then I looked up at Aria. She was pretending to be typing something intensely on her computer, but there was no way she hadn’t heard that conversation.
Next order of business: I made a second phone call from my office.
One hour later, Rick, Aria’s ex-boyfriend, was inside my office. She was now actively looking towards me with genuine curiosity.
“Hello, Dick,” I said when he walked in.
“It’s Rick actually,” he said looking slightly confused. “Is there a reason why you asked me to come here today, Mr. Sinclair? Can I help you in any way?”
“Yes,” I said looking at Aria. “Go talk to Aria over there.”
“Huh?” He looked like someone had dropped him right in the middle of a bizarre dream. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re not very smart, are you?” I scoffed. “What is there not to understand? Go talk to Aria.”
“Was there something particular you wanted me to say to her? You understand my confusion?” He screwed his nose.
“Nope. I am giving you permission to talk to her because that’s what she wants, I think. But if you hurt her again, you won’t be seeing the light of the day for a very long time. Are we clear?”
He nodded, looking utterly confounded. “You can go now,” I said and got back to my paperwork.
Chapter 5
Aria
I had to be dreaming! There was no way that my ex-boyfriend was walking out of Zayden’s office.
Even though I had been trying hard to pretend I didn’t care what Zayden was saying on the phone, I had been very alert when he ended it with his wife. In spite of myself, I couldn’t help but feel a little excited upon hearing that conversation, which was obviously happening loud and clear out in the hallway for my benefit. There was no way I was going to let him know that it made me feel better though. Perhaps it didn’t even have anything to do with me and I was over-analyzing all of it. But as Rick walked towards my desk, I was starting to get a good idea of what was going on.
“Hi,” Rick said and smiled at me. “So, I was apparently called here and given permission to talk to you.”
Zayden was unmistakably focusing all his attention towards us, and knowing full well he could hear whatever I was saying, I said, “Well, it’s not up to anyone to give you permission to talk to whoever you want, is it?”
“Hey, it’s Zayden Sinclair, I’ll eat a hat if he tells me to. Can’t go too wrong with being in a billionaire’s good graces. I don’t know what is going on between the two of you but–”
“Nothing is going on between the two of us,” I said quickly. “And nothing is, or ever will, go on between you and me either, Rick. So just go home, and for your own good, stop taking instructions from strangers just because they happen to be influential people.”
Like I had any room to talk.
He looked hurt and my anger was definitely misplaced at him, but I didn’t care. Giving him permission to talk to me! What was Zayden trying to pull? There did not need to be such a huge show, and he didn’t have to make Rick come all the way here just to prove a point. A small part of me couldn’t help but be happy, though. Clearly, he must have been regretting the situation and he was trying to change it.
“Okay, then, I’ll get going,” Rick said with a pained expression.
“I am sorry, Rick. I didn’t mean to offend you, but seriously, there is nothing between us. I am telling you so you don’t get your hopes up, I would hate to lead you on. Nobody deserves that.”
He probably did deserve it from what he did to me.
“Well, I am going to back off then.” As he walked away, I heard him mumble “what a damn waste of my time.”
When he was gone, my phone rang and I immediately knew who it was.
“Come into my office,” Zayden said and hung up without even letting me answer.
I went without having any idea of what to expect, trying to calm the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. What’s the worst that could happen? He had, after all, just made the effort to show me that he was capable of making some changes. But did he really have to call Rick here and make a whole scene of it? No matter how excited I was, I couldn’t help my temper.
“Why did you call him here?” I snapped as soon as I walked into his office.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Wasn’t it obvious? I gave him the permission to talk to you!”
“Who do you think you are, god? You can just swing people around like puppets and tell them what they can or can’t do? If you were trying to make the point that you are not going to be controlling anymore, the best way to do it would not have been by controlling another human being and giving them ‘permission,’ as though you owned the rights to their life.”
Upon hearing that his eyes got red with what seemed to be anger. “What the fuck do you even want from me, Aria? I just ended a very long and complicated relationship with my ex-wife, something for which I will have to face more consequences than you can imagine. And I let that guy talk to you. Why isn’t any of this shit enough?”
“Oh, the sad consequences of not having a beautiful blonde woman as a trophy wife. I feel your pain,” I said and immediately regretted it. I was being bitchy for no reason, while he was making the effort. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean–”
“You have no idea what I will have to endure for ending that relationship.”
“Tell me then. Give me an idea,” I spoke more softly. “What was the whole deal behind you and your wife?”
“My mother thinks that Gina is an angel who descended from heaven. She almost tried to kill herself because of our divorce, and I have been forced to try couple’s counseling ever since. She then invited her to come live in my home, making more threats about taking her own life. I didn’t have a choice in any of this, but I don’t expect you to understand. You have already made up your mind that I am a lying scumbag–”
“I don’t think you’re a scumbag!” I exclaimed, cutting him off. “I did think you were lying to me. I had no idea… about your mom… you never talked about her.”
“Well, she isn’t exactly my favorite topic of conversation.”
“I am sorry, Zayden,” I said his name properly for the first time in a while and the effect on him was visible. His tense face lightened up considerably, and his muscles relaxed. “If I had known about your mother, I wouldn’t have been so harsh… you have to understand what it looked like to me… like you had been lying all along.”
“You didn’t think to give me the benefit of the doubt even for a second, did you? Even though I had never lied to you. Hell, I had convinced myself somehow that you thought I was a half-way decent human being, which was a refreshing change.” He started to look angry again, as though the full implications of my reaction were finally starting to sink in.
“I do think that you are a decent human being,” I said in a desperate attempt to smooth out the situation. “But you have to look at it from my perspective too. Mrs. Brian told me that no matter who you were screwing around with, your wife always came back in the end. Like there was some sort of a repeating pattern and she said you two were meant to be and any girl who thought you would put her before your wife was deluded!”
“So you would rather listen to a crazy old bitch than trust me or hear me out?” He was clutching the hem of his shirt tightly; it made me afraid. His temper was clearly rising.
“It’s not like that. I am sorry about what your mother has been putting you through,” I said genuinely.
“So you believe me, then?” He met my eyes in surprise.
“Of course!” I said at once. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He shrugged. “You didn’t believe me when I said there was nothing between Gina and I, so why would you believe this?”
“Because I know you better than to think you would make up some story about your mother trying to kill herself just to get in my pants.”
“That’s reassuring,” he said sarcastically. “You can get back to work.”
“But–”
“Go!” he shouted, pointing at the door.
With that I was dismissed as he jumped back into handling whatever paperwork was in front of him. I walked back to my desk feeling confused with a million questions in my mind. So where did we stand? He had ended it with his wife for me, despite it risking his relationship with his mother. But he hadn’t mentioned anything about our contract or where we stood in regards to that…
I wanted to ask him, but he seemed to be in a foul mood and I didn’t want to upset him even further. Nervous about my mother’s hospital bills, I decided I would wait a couple of days and then bring up the issue with him. I just hoped that I hadn’t caused problems between Zayden and his mother. What if she got so upset that she tried to kill herself again? The thought of that sent a shudder down my spine. I would never be able to forgive myself for causing that. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for him to have ended things with his wife. Since I couldn’t get myself to go back in there and tell him that, I wrote him an email.
Zayden,
I don’t know where we stand in terms of our contract right now, and I don’t need to know for now. I did, however, want to apologize for not giving you a chance to explain it about your mom before. It must be hard for you to deal with this situation. The last thing I would want in the world is to cause your mother to be upset and do something that hurts you, just because I couldn’t handle the fact that you were married. Please don’t rush to end things with your wife – I believe that you are not sexually involved with her because I trust you – but perhaps you should take more time to sort things out with your mom before ending it so suddenly. I promise I won’t let it affect our contract, regardless of what happens to it.
Aria
P.S. I really do think you are a decent person, a little more controlling than you need to be, but better than most men I know.
I waited until it was time for me to leave before hitting send so that I wouldn’t have to watch him read it.
---
The Friday after Zayden ended it with his wife, I was hanging out with Nick and Stacey in our living room, when I got a phone call from my mom.
“Hi mom,” I answered, surprised. “Isn’t it a little late for you to be calling? You are always in bed by ten. Is everything okay?”
Mom giggled nervously, suggesting that she must be a little tipsy. “Everything is okay, dear. Or I think so. I don’t know. The last two months, my hospital bills had been paid by this day but it hasn’t gone through yet this time, and I wanted to check to see if everything is okay on your end.”
Shit. I felt my face grow hot with frustration. The month was not over yet, technically. But perhaps this meant – it could mean – had Zayden decided our contract was over after all and he wouldn’t be making any more payments?
“Mom, I have to tell you something,” I said, resigned. “Please listen very carefully and don’t get upset with me.”
“Why would I get upset with you?” she asked sounding surprised that I would even suggest such a thing. “You have been wonderful, Aria, helping me with my hospital bills like this! I only hope I get the opportunity to do something great for you in return someday.”
“You have mom, you did that little thing where you, you know, raised me?” I tried to sound cheerful but my insides were at war. How was I going to explain it to her? The contract was not exactly something she would approve of; it would sound, no matter how I put it, like I was selling myself. She would not be able to handle that. I had to come up with a better story. “Listen, mom,” I started again. “I may have lied to you a little bit, but it was so you didn’t feel uncomfortable about those payments. My loan never exactly got through.”
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until she spoke, “What do you mean your loan never got through? You have been making payments! I have the receipt!”
“That wasn’t me,” I said sulkily, as Stacey threw me a pillow for comfort.
“What? I don’t understand. Of course it was you!”
“It wasn’t. I mean it was. It’s complicated. My loan got denied so my – uh – boyfriend, who has a lot of money, offered to lend me the money, which I am to pay him back after finding a job.”
“Boyfriend?” She sounded shocked. “You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend, Aria! Since when do we hide things from each other? It’s not, oh god, it’s not that awful boy who broke your heart last year, is it?”
“No mom, it’s someone else, and we hadn’t really figured out what we were for the longest time so I never felt like talking about it.”
“So the guy was willing to give you sixty thousand dollars before even putting a name on your relationship? I don’t get it, Aria. I hope you haven’t been doing anything illegal. I’m not worth the trouble.”
“No, mom, no no! Nothing illegal, I promise. Like I said, it is very complicated. But I haven’t done anything you wouldn’t approve of mom,” I said crossing my fingers.
“I don’t know, Aria. You didn’t even tell me about this guy, and he has been paying all this money.” Her voice was shaking slightly.
“I will be paying him back, I promise!” I said honestly. “But I think for now the payments will have to stop because, uh, we broke up.”
“Aww, honey! Are you all right? Maybe I should come over and spend a few days with you.”
I thought about that for a second and realized it was a horrible idea. If she came here it would be easier for her to find out exactly what the deal between me and Zayden was.
“Don’t be silly, mom.” I tried to sound as cheerful as possible. “We were not even dating for too long. He was a good boyfriend but he began to get controlling and that pissed me off so I ended it. I am not even upset about it! Worried about your hospital bills, sure, but not upset. And I will find another way to continue your payments. You trust me don’t you?”
“Of course I trust you! But I feel like I am putting way too much pressure on you with all this money business. You are twenty years old; how can I expect you to come up with forty thousand more dollars just like that? Especially if your loan got denied. Oh, those rascals! You actually work at the bank and they would still deny you.”
“It’s okay, mom, it really is. We will figure something out, you know I will. Please don’t worry about this for now. It’s late, go to bed, I will call you soon and we will make a plan. Everything is going to be alright.”
“As long as you are okay, honey,” she said, sounding apologetic. “I am so sorry about all this.”
“Don’t be! I am fine and if I can’t even help out my mom when she needs me, what’s the point of anything?” I asked brightly. “Goodnight, mom. Sleep well. You are going to be okay. We are going to be okay.”
“Goodnight, baby. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whispered and hung up, feeling extremely anxious.
Even though I had told her I would figure it out, I had no idea what I was going to do. There were only a couple of days left until the month was over, and if Zayden really had decided to back down, I hadn’t the slightest idea how I was going to get us out of this pickle.
“What is going on?” Stacey, who had been silently listening to my whole conversation finally spoke.
“What is going on, Stace,” I said sullenly. “Is that I am so very fucked.”
Chapter 6
Zayden
My last encounter with Aria had not been nearly as satisfying as I would have thought. Giving her what she wants did not make me feel the slightest bit better, but rather it made me feel weak; an emotion I had never been able to identify with in my whole life. She had sent me an email afterwards, which I unconsciously chose to ignore. Who cared if she felt guilty about my mother? She hadn’t exactly given me the opportunity to explain myself. I couldn’t help but take this time to make her as anxious and vulnerable as she had made me feel. I fully intended to make the payment to her mother’s hospital, but she didn’t need to know that yet. For another couple of days she could go on without knowing whether I was going to do it or not.
Meanwhile, I had my mom and Gina to deal with, and I figured I would start with Gina, who to her credit hadn’t told my mother anything. Perhaps for the same fear I had that she would react in a perfectly irrational manner. And I had come to believe that regardless of the fact that she was a royal pain in the ass, she really did care about my mother.
I had invited her over for breakfast at one of her favorite restaurants, so that the angry phone call wasn’t the last she heard of me. Subtlety was the secret to making sure this ordeal went smoothly from all directions, not that I had definitively decided that I was going to end it.
She arrived about ten minutes late, looking as though she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy even underneath the multiple layers of makeup, and I felt slightly uncomfortable. Oh well. As long as she didn’t start crying in front of me, it wasn’t my problem.
“Hello,” Gina said, sitting across from me. “I am sorry I’m late, I just–”
“It’s okay,” I said and waved my arm nonchalantly. “Not important. Thank you for coming here, especially after that phone call.”
“Yeah, that phone call, it was really something,” she said and attempted a meek smile. “I have been spending the last few days half hoping you were joking.”
“I wasn’t,” I said and frowned. “For what it’s worth, your deal really did sound tempting and I was seriously considering it. But then you came into my office the other day and put on a show, which I am still paying for.”
“What do you mean?” She looked genuinely surprised. “I wasn’t putting on a show. I was in the area and came by to say hello. I thought we were friends and that was acceptable.”
“We’re not friends, we never were. You know full well why you were there that day, and so do I so let’s skip all the pretenses, shall we?”
There was a long silence, during which Gina pretended to be surveying the menu intensely. When she eventually looked up to meet my eye, she said in a barely audible whisper, “I thought there wasn’t anyone else.”
“I thought you didn’t know what I was talking about,” I snapped.
“Look, I did not come in there with the intention of ruining things for you and whoever this girl is. I was, however, curious to find out if there was anyone at all. Because despite of what deal I tried to make with you, I guess some part of me wanted to believe that we could be a real couple one day, which would be impossible if your heart was someplace else.”
“Why? Why do you even care, Gina? You never loved me, by your own admission. And you know what, maybe I would have agreed to whatever you had to say, if I had gotten the chance to explain it to Ar – the girl – before she saw it the way she did. That made the decision for me. You kind of brought this onto yourself, you know?”
She started tearing up upon hearing those words. “Yep, which is why I have spent extra time bawling my eyes out the last few days. I figured it was something like that. But like I said, I wasn’t putting on a show for her, I was just testing to see if you were lying about there not being anyone else.”
“And you caught me, hoorah!” I said angrily. “Hope it was worth it.”
She was openly crying, which made me want to just walk out of the restaurant and never see her again. But I had to be careful, if I wanted my mother on my side.
“Look, I am sorry, Gina. Mostly because for once in our lives you were being honest with me when you proposed that deal. It was a refreshing change to see you so candid. But I am afraid, it can’t work out. I know you need money–”
“More… than… you…realize…” She sniffed tearfully. “I’m losing my house. It was the only thing my parents left for me and it’s getting foreclosed on, and I thought maybe if we could strike up a deal, I could save it and in return you get peace from your mom. And perhaps when she, you know, passed on, we could go our separate ways and we would both have gotten something out of it.”
“Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?” I said, a brilliant plan finally playing out in my mind. This was going to be much simpler than I had thought; in fact, I was disappointed in myself for not thinking of this sooner. It was the perfect solution and I felt a surge of relief spread across my whole body as I spoke again, “I will make you a deal. Another one, but I think you will be quite pleased.”
After explaining to her that I would pay for her house if she signed the divorce papers, she looked considerably cheerful, and was almost too eager to accept.
“Thank you, Zayden! You are actually a pretty good guy, you know?” She said, wiping her face with the napkin on the table.
“No need to fawn all over me, I am doing this because I have something to gain from it as well. Pull something like you did in my office the other day again – or do anything at all to upset me and the deal is off.”
“I won’t! I will be gone forever, Zay, if that is what you want.”
After another few minutes of hearing the needless words of gratitude, I paid the check and got up to leave.
“Just one question, Zayden, before you leave,” Gina said right as I was inching towards the door. “And it is personal so don’t feel obligated to answer. I am just really curious because I have known you for so long, but I have never seen you do so much for just a girl.”
“What are you trying to get at, Gina?” I sighed.
“I don’t know. I am just wondering… are you in love this Aria girl?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” I said without thinking and walked away. It was true, love was not something I had ever experienced in my life before, so even if I felt it somehow, I would never recognize it. Nor was there any reason to recognize it. Love was probably just a word invented for the weak in order to justify extremely stupid things they did. I was neither stupid nor weak.
---
Next order of business was dealing with my mother, and if all went as planned, that was bound to be a piece of cake. I still couldn’t get over the fact that this idea hadn’t occurred to me sooner. It was so simple and brilliant. I should have thought of it the day Gina had made me that offer; she only needed money, after all.
Unsurprisingly, my mom came into my room at about eight that night looking completely horrorstruck.
“I just,” she said almost hyperventilating. “I just got a call from Gina. Oh Zayden, I am so sorry.”
She was obviously on the verge of tears and for a split second I almost felt guilty for pulling this off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked innocently looking up from my laptop. “Is she okay?”
“She is fine… I think,” my mom said in a shaking voice. “But – but – Zayden I am sorry for all of this.”
“What do you mean? What are you apologizing for? Is everything okay, mom?” I was trying hard to sound genuinely curious and concerned, but my insides were jumping in joy; the plan had obviously worked fantastically.
“No, no, no, no!” she exclaimed dramatically. “Nothing is okay, and it’s all my fault. I did this to you. I am so, so sorry son.”
“For what?” I eyed her quizzically.
She waited a few minutes before speaking, as though her next words held a lot of weight and she wanted to make sure she delivered them in the best possible way.
“Gina, she is,” she halted for a few more seconds. “She is gone, Zay. I am so so sorry. I should have never pushed you towards her like that. This is all my fault!”
“What is your fault? What do you mean she’s gone?” I stood up from my chair, just to make the whole act seem more genuine. “Did she go back home for a bit?”
“No,” she said sounding upset. “She’s gone. Forever. I am so sorry, Zay. She said that she is in love with someone else and she was only staying with you for my sake and it wasn’t fair to anybody. I thought she was joking at first.” She was breathing heavily. “But then… but then…”
“Mom, sit down,” I said, holding her by the shoulders. “Take a deep breath and tell me everything. What did Gina say to you?”
“That she is,” she covered her face in her hands and started crying hysterically. “She is in love with someone else and she thought she could do this for me but she really couldn’t and to tell you she’s sorry.”
“She didn’t even have the decency to tell me so herself?” I asked, pretending to look disappointed. “And that’s the girl you thought was perfect for me?”
The crying grew louder, and a sinister part of me felt good about the fact that I had managed to manipulate the master manipulator. I was, after all, her son. All that stress she gave me from trying to kill herself; this was but a small payback. And she could never threaten to pull that shit again; as far as she knew, she had caused me great grief by bringing Gina back into my life.
“I am so, so sorry, Zayden. I really thought – I thought she loved you and she would be good for you. I never would have suggested she come back into your life if I knew she would bail on you like this.”
“Just when I was beginning to accept her back into my life too,” I said dolefully. “What have I done to deserve this shit?”
“Nothing,” she said looking up finally. “Nothing at all. This is all my fault, Zay. From now on I will never try to interfere in your life again. I want to be there for you and I have realized that the best way to do so is to leave you be. I am leaving to go back West over the weekend. Unless,” she looked at me hopefully. “Unless I can be there for you in some way by staying? Help you get through the heartbreak.”
“I think you have done enough,” I said. “You meant well and I really appreciate it. But I am hurt right now and need some time alone to recuperate. Is that okay with you?” I added the last bit trying to seem as earnest as possible.
“Of course, but if you need anything at all, I am just a phone call away,” she exclaimed and hugged me tight.
“I know that, mom.” I grinned behind her back.
For the first time in my entire life, I had managed to outsmart my mother. And in some ways I had Aria to thank for it. I was now the ultimate manipulator.
---
Now that most of the issue was taken care of, I began to fully appreciate the situation I was in; it was, in fact, perfect! There were only two days until the next payment needed to be made on Aria’s mother’s hospital bill, and she still did not know whether I was going to make it or not. In other words, I had complete and utter control over how our dynamic proceeded once again. And man, had I missed being in this position.
When I went into work the next day, I didn’t even so much glance at Aria because I wanted to let her continue believing that I was done with her. If she wanted things to be different, she would have to come to me this time. Maybe I would even make her beg… after all, I did suffer a great deal for her sake, and she needed to not only know that, but appreciate it fully so that she would never try and make things difficult for me again.
The few times I did look up towards her booth, I caught her staring at my office, to my great satisfaction. She obviously wanted to run in here and ask me what was going on, especially since I never even replied to her email. Well, she was free to walk in any minute; she just wouldn’t get any prodding from my end.
To my great surprise, she never came in the whole day, and when I saw her begin to leave from work that evening, I almost reached out to her myself. But I had to have better restraint, if things were going to go my way from now on. I couldn’t let my need to talk to her overcome me, since I was trying hard to never show another sign of weakness. Thankfully, I didn’t have to test myself for much longer because soon after she left the bank, my phone rang. It was her, so I thumbed the talk button.
“You have decided to speak to me then,” I answered the phone.
She didn’t speak for what felt like almost a whole minute, after which she said, “I sent you an email!”
“How thoughtful,” I said sardonically. “I sit ten feet away from you.”
“You never wrote back,” she said softly.
“I had nothing to say. What did you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. Our contract. What is going on, Zayden? Just tell me, are we still doing this?”
“Last I remember, you wanted desperately to get out of this contract,” I scoffed. Perhaps I should have stopped; I had already given her enough of a scare, but there was something about the feeling of being powerful that I just could not pass up on.
“That’s not true,” she snapped. “Obviously, if I emailed you asking where you stand on the contract, it means I’m still in.”
“I think,” I said with a triumphant smile. “I think you need to revisit the dictionary in reference to what constitutes the word ‘obvious.’ In no way have you said to me that you want to continue the contract. You need to, I mean.”
“Look, I know what you’re trying to do and I’m not biting. Just skip the games, Zayden. Do you want this or not?”
“What am I trying to do?” I asked pretending to sound surprised. “It’s pretty funny that you think you know something I am supposedly doing that I don’t know myself, don’t you think?”
“You want me to beg,” she said simply. “You want me to tell you just how much I need this and how I will do anything to continue the contract.”
“Well, then?”
“Are you definitely getting rid of your ex?”
“Already done it, thanks to you.”
“Sarcasm?”
“No, not at all!” I exclaimed. “Because you put me in a situation where I had no choice but to end it with her–”
“You had a choice,” she sounded delighted now. “You always have a choice.”
“Aria, don’t be such a smart ass. As I was saying, since I had no choice in the matter, I had to come up with a way to end it with Gina in a way that best suited everyone involved. Without that kind of a pressure to get on this right away, I probably would have been trapped forever.”
“What pressure? I didn’t put any pressure on you!”
“Right,” I scoffed. “None at all. I am not complaining, Aria. You did me quite the favor.”
“So your mother?”
“She will not be giving me, herself, or anyone else any more trouble.”
“You sound like you murdered her,” she said giggling.
“I wish,” I joked. “I just played her own games against her so she now feels responsible for ruining my life. Petty details, really. But let’s stick to what is important. The contract. You were saying? Something about really, really needing–”
“I didn’t say that,” she said, the defiant tone back. “Your ex is gone, then, that is good news. And how about who I am allowed to speak with?”
“Whoever the hell you want, Aria,” I said earnestly. “As long as I am the only one touching your perfect little body.”
My own words ignited a surge of desire in my body, and by the sudden silence that had befallen on the other end, I suspected it had the same effect on Aria.
“I don’t want anyone else to touch me,” she said eventually. “Isn’t that obvious by now, Zayden? That’s why there never was any reason to be jealous. The fact that you couldn’t see that pissed me off almost as much as your trying to control my life.”
“What, you thought I couldn’t trust you?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“Why else would you put restrictions on who I was talking to?” She asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Because I don’t like the thought of stupid assholes mentally undressing you every time they talk to you. And as a stupid asshole who does that every time myself, take it from me, they all do. I have come to think of undressing you – mentally or otherwise – as a privilege that is exclusive to me.”
“Well, you can’t control what other guys think, but nobody else is actually undressing me any time soon. So you need to calm down, and take out all the controlling clauses from the contract.”
“If there still is a contract,” I said, pushing it only a little bit further. It would all be over soon but I had to have a bit more fun. “Come over the day after tomorrow and we will take it from there. I will make sure that Ned will–”
“No,” she cut me off. “No Ned, just send me the address and I will be there, okay? I can drive, you know?”
“Look, Aria,” I said, frustrated. “If I send a car to pick you up, I am not making some sexist statement about how I don’t think you are capable of doing something yourself. It just means that sometimes I feel like taking care of you, even though you are perfectly capable of doing so. It’s how I show I care.”
That seemed to have the desired effect, as she now seemed okay with Ned picking her up.
“Fine. See you then.”
After we hung up, I felt more excited than I had in a long time. The thought of Aria in my house, in my bed, in every other part of my room, naked, was enough to keep me going gleefully the next two days.
Chapter 7
Aria
“So let me get this straight: you are going over to see the guy tomorrow, in his house, without being certain your mother’s bill will get paid on time?”
I shrugged. What was she expecting me to say? Like I hadn’t considered this in my head over and over again. Too afraid to ask him directly about the money and how it was due in two days, I had instead devised a careful plan, which would hopefully help him make the right decision in my favor. Stacey, unfortunately, did not sound very convinced by my plan.
“I can list at least a hundred ways in which you showing up at his house in a super sexy outfit and seducing him into submission can go wrong.”
“Well, do you see me having any sort of a choice here?”
She looked like she was deep in thought for a moment. “I mean, no, not really, but I am worried, Aria. This guy has already hurt you once.”
“Yes, but he also ended a long off-and-on relationship with his ex-wife and risked the wrath of his mother for me. It’s kind of sweet?” I said hopefully, trying to phrase it into a question.
“Oh he’s sweet, alright. That has never quite been in question. He has been a sweetheart to you since day one.” She saw my raised eyebrow and paused. “What? All those flowers and that dress and he sent your work for publication!”
“And he showed up at school,” I said, just remembering. “I forgot to tell you?”
“What do you mean he showed up at school?”
“He came as a guest lecturer in Mr. Weber’s class after I didn’t speak to him for two weeks.”
Stacey burst out laughing. “This guy! I don’t even know what to think. I mean, well it’s kind of obvious that he is in love with you, isn’t it?”
“Woah, woah, woah! Calm down there, don’t go around throwing big words out like that,” I said, pretending to be horrified, when in reality the thought of what she said made me feel delighted.
“Come on, Aria!” Stacey’s whole face was lightening up in realization, as though this conclusion should have occurred to her a while ago. “It makes perfect sense! That’s why he didn’t want you talking to Dick; because he is in love with you so he got jealous! Not because it was in some stupid contract.”
“Yeah, he kind of admitted to being jealous,” I said thinking back to our phone conversation. “But that does not mean he is in love with me! It has nothing to do with it.”
“Yes it does,” she said a different voice, and I realized Nick had been standing by the door and listening to our conversation the whole time. “Guys don’t just get jealous unless they have genuine feelings for a girl.”
“Well, he did have feelings… feelings of control! Feelings that he owned me because he gave me money, and…you get the gist.” I smiled at Nick. “How long have you been standing there anyway?”
“Heard the important bits,” he said and shrugged. “And Stacey is right, the dude is obviously in love with you, but you need to be cautious given… prior circumstances.”
“What do you guys want me to do, exactly?” I asked, annoyed because it seemed like they were ganging up on me somehow. “Let the hospital bills not be paid? Let my mom lose everything?”
“That’s not at all what I am saying, Aria, and you know it,” Stacey said, looking as annoyed as I was. “It’s just… I am just saying be careful. You know this guy very well by now, and you are going back despite disliking some of his ways. If you are expecting him to change a little, sure that could happen, but a complete one eighty is unlikely, and you’re just wasting everybody’s time if you go back with particular expectations in that regard, because it will end just like it did last time.”
That made way more sense than I liked. Stacey was right, I couldn’t go in there thinking everything was suddenly going to be different. Most likely, he would still have controlling tendencies, and I would have to learn to talk him out of it without wanting to storm out every time.
“I will be careful, I promise,” I said finally. “You guys are absolutely on point about this. But you understand that I am in a sticky situation, right? There are only two days until payment and I have so far been completely unsuccessful in coming up with a plan to do it without Zayden’s help. As much as I hate to admit it – and would never ever admit to him, god no – I do need him right now, so I will have to make more compromises than not.”
“As long as you are aware that’s what you’re doing.” Stacey smiled. “There is nothing wrong with a little compromise, Aria.”
Nick made a coughing sound.
“What?” Stacey snapped looking at him. “Are you trying to say something to me, Nicholas?”
He looked like he had a bullet fast approaching his face and finding a direction to duck in to dodge it. “No. Uh, I mean, like. Yeah, sure. We compromise. Both of us, all the time.”
He was trying hard not to meet her eye.
“You think I don’t compromise enough!” Her face changed completely in realization.
I started feeling uncomfortable about being there. It was one of those rare moments, when I became very aware of the fact that Nick and Stacey were a couple in a real relationship with real relationship problems – and not just bickering about blogs and video games - and I was intruding on their private moments.
Trying not to draw attention to myself, I slowly got up, but their fight was getting heated and I was sitting right smack in the middle of the two so there was no way to escape without drawing attention to myself. I thought it was best to just announce my departure at that point, so I said softly, “I am really tired, guys, I have a long weekend ahead of me, so I am gonna be off now.”
Without waiting for an answer, I began to march off, but Stacey stopped me. “Wait! What do you think, Aria? Do I not compromise enough?”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled, feeling uncomfortable to be summoned into the conversation. “How would I know?”
“You live with us! You see us together all the time. You must have an opinion!”
“I don’t,” I said not entirely truthfully. In all honesty, I did think that Nick made the majority of the compromises and Stacey made the majority of the decisions in their relationship; however, this seemed to work for them, and wasn’t that kind of the point? There certainly wasn’t a universal rule of conduct that worked evenly for everybody, was there? Something that I would need to keep in mind as well; every two people are different, and need to find their own unique ways to make it work, no matter how crazy or ridiculous it may seem to other people.
“You guys really need to talk this out among yourself, but I will say this, I have harped on this over and over again the entire time the two of you have been together, and to date, I would be harder pressed to find two people that are completely perfect for each other. And that remains true even if one of you may be more…” I looked at Nick with a half-smile, “….compromising.”
Then I walked away, not letting Stacey stop me this time, and feeling kind of pleased with myself for the way I handled the situation.
Dealing with other people’s problems, however, was much easier than addressing your own. I could write an essay on Nick and Stacey’s relationship, and relationships in general, and people in relationships. I could write an essay on love even, in a heartbeat. Yet, when it came to understanding the best approach to handling my situation with Zayden, I was always at a complete loss. I had a plan but I wasn’t sure how it was going to work. Knowing him and his weaknesses, I didn’t doubt he would physically cave in a second, but would he make the payment?
A part of me wished that we had gotten comfortable enough with each other that I could just straight up ask him whether he was planning on making it, but I had tried in my own way, hadn’t I? And he clearly wanted to keep me in the dark and was enjoying taunting me like this. That was the kind of thing I needed to learn to be okay with if I was determined to continue whatever this was. Zayden Sinclair loved playing games, and he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, was he? His games weren’t entirely un-stimulating. I wasn’t saying that I enjoyed feeling like I was constantly in the middle of a mental tug-of-war, but it was refreshing to always be left wondering what was going to happen next. It kept me on my toes and I could at the very least safely say that having Zayden Sinclair in my life meant there was never a dull moment.
---
On Saturday I woke up early in the morning to groom myself thoroughly. After spending hours cleansing, toning, exfoliated, and waxing, I felt much more relaxed about my upcoming encounter with Zayden. Not that seducing him was ever going to be the difficult part; he would get excited even if I showed up in a rucksack, but I wanted him to feel that I had put in some effort, so that he saw that I cared. Which is why I had purchased the sexy lingerie that was staring at me with anticipation.
My nerves began to bubble up again. Never before I had worn anything of this sort. Best I had done was purchase bras and panties from Target separately to match the colors. This deep red and sultry corset from Victoria’s Secret had cost a fortune. If I didn’t wear it, I could just return it, since I was feeling guilty about it anyway.
But if I thought about the opportunity cost – something my line of work had just hard-wired me to do all the time – it amounted to a very, very small price to pay. After all, if Zayden was happy and he went ahead and made the payment, then I would have a lot less to worry about altogether.
With that in mind, I stripped naked and put on the red lingerie. When I looked in the mirror, I gasped. The outfit had superpowers. My breasts, half-covered, were popping out tight and firm, and so much bigger than I had ever seen them. All my curves were highlighted to perfection and I felt more attractive than I ever had in my entire life. Zayden was in for a treat, I thought happily, then got nervous again. What if he didn’t even want to sleep with me and was just calling me over to officially end the contract? I had woken up this morning to the dream that Ned took me to Zayden’s office instead of Zayden’s house, where a room full of people were waiting in anticipation, including a camera crew from the local news station. It was some kind of a training session on how to fire somebody, and I was the test subject.
Needless to say, waking up from that dream was unnerving. Of course, I knew deep down that Zayden wasn’t actually ready to let go of me just yet.
Trying not to dwell on that too much, I started putting on the rest of my outfit. A simple black halter dress that was a little too short perhaps, but served the purpose of getting Zayden’s immediate attention. The lingerie corset had been so effective in doing its job that even through my halter dress, my breasts looked like they had been carved to optimal perk. Even I wouldn’t have been able to turn down what I saw in the mirror if I were a guy.
Feeling satisfied, I put on my make-up and tied my hair back in a loose bun, letting strands fall evenly on the contours of my face. This caused the back of the halter to be open, adding to the seductive look I was going for. I finished it off with a pair of Stacey’s red stilettos that was to match what was underneath the dress when it came off, and that made me feel tall and slender. A little bit of sexy perfume and a cute red purse later, I was ready to go.
Ned arrived ten minutes later and instead of buzzing up, Zayden called me.
“You ride is waiting for you downstairs,” he said on the phone.
“Did you have to deliver the message remotely? We have a buzzer, you know?”
“Oh yeah, Ned wanted to utilize the, uh, ‘buzzing’ service, but I thought it best to not pass up on an opportunity to make this phone call.”
“Well, I hope that you feel satisfied,” I said, amused.
“Not yet, Aria. You know what I sound like when I am satisfied,” he chuckled. “This is obviously not it. Now tell me, what are you wearing?”
“I have to go. Ned is waiting for me downstairs.” I couldn’t suppress a smile, so I felt glad that he couldn’t see me.
“I pay him to wait for you,” he said, unconcerned. “Tell me, so I can prepare.”
“Prepare for what?” I asked playfully.
“What do you think?” He was starting to sound frustrated.
“I don’t know. To discuss the contract I suppose.” I tried hard not to burst out laughing.
“Maybe. But that’s not what I am talking about and you know it. It has been a difficult few weeks, Aria. I have been dreaming about it every single night.”
“About what?” I asked innocently.
“Come here and I will show you.” His tone had an abrupt change. “Ned is downstairs, it’s rude to make him wait.”
“What the hell? You just said–”
But he cut off before I could finish my sentence. More excited and nervous than I had felt all day, I walked downstairs to find a black BMW waiting for me.
Chapter 8
Zayden
I kept checking the time at an alarming frequency. Tonight was going to be exciting. I had sent my entire staff home so it would be just me and Aria in this big house with so many rooms. And so many beds.
She didn’t know it yet, but I had already made the payment to her mother’s hospital bill earlier today. I wasn’t planning on telling her until later either. She needed to see the error in her ways and learn to never cross me like that again. The fear that I would maybe not make the payment at all should be an excellent way for me to regain the upper hand in this dynamic.
To my great disappointment, I realized that during the past month she had completely stolen that position from me. Asking to break the contract! Even though it had all turned out pretty well in the end, she had unintentionally manipulated me into making some big changes in my life. I didn’t remember the last time in my life somebody had had such a profound impact, and not necessarily in a positive way.
But it was all okay, because she would be here any minute, and I missed Aria far too much to waste the time pondering over my own mind games. Tonight was about reconciliation.
When the doorbell finally rang, I got up instantly to get it for her, and when I saw her I forgot almost everything, even my name.
“Your mouth is hanging open,” she said with a radiant smile, walking inside comfortably.
What? I couldn’t quite process anything that was happening or anything she was saying. All I knew was that Aria had somehow managed to get even hotter than I had ever seen her before – I didn’t even think that was possible – and all the blood in my body rushed away from my brain and everywhere else and deposited itself into my groin.
“Say something. You’re making me nervous,” Aria said, now sitting cross-legged on my couch. With those deep red stilettos, her legs looked like they were out of a fashion magazine catalogue. I just wanted to grab them, pull up her skirt, and take her right there.
“You look… exquisite,” I said, unable to find the perfect word to describe exactly how good she looked.
“You’re talking to my boobs?” she said following my gaze.
“No.” I was still glaring at them. “But sure, those too. Did they get bigger somehow?”
She chuckled girlishly. I had never quite seen her like this before, acting so feminine, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, wearing deep red stilettos!
“You’re trying to seduce me?” It wasn’t a question, as I realized what was going on, and couldn’t help feeling excited.
“Why on earth would I do such a thing?” She batted her eye-lashes innocently, playing with her hair.
“Why wouldn’t you?” I grinned. “You had some of Zayden and you just had to come and get more.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Oh, that’s how you want to play, then? Game is on.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said again, this time with a hint of a smile lingering around her lips. Her lipstick matched her shoes perfectly. I thought of how I would be smearing it up all over her face soon enough and felt myself getting hard.
“Are you hungry?” I said to change the subject, so that I didn’t give in to my temptations just yet. Although she would probably like that, the important thing here was to win, and it was getting increasingly difficult as her breasts were almost outside of her dress. I wanted nothing more than to kneel on the floor and suck them until she came.
“I am so, so hungry, not for food though,” she said with a look that made me almost change my mind about dinner.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said mimicking her and turned around to walk towards the kitchen. Looking at her was not going to help the situation in anyway whatsoever. “Follow me.”
Even the staccato sounds of her heels was increasing my desire so I walked as fast as I could, trying to think about dinner instead of the desert that was to come after.
“Where are we headed? Your house is huge!” I heard her exclaim behind me. “What mind-blowing concoction has your chef come up with today?”
“I sent him home,” I said causally, arriving at the kitchen and then turning to look at her. “I sent all the help home.”
“But dinner?” She screwed her mouth and then gasped. “You don’t expect me to cook, do you? I mean, well, I guess I could, but I am not dressed for that. I suppose I could change.”
“Aria, stop mumbling. We are grilling. Well, I am, outside on my balcony.”
“Then why are we in your kitchen? It’s such a nice kitchen!” She looked so excited about everything in this house that a part of me just wanted to ask her to move in with me and be done with it. I thought of her tiny apartment and wondered if it would, in fact, be worth finding her a better place to stay. I highly doubted she would be okay with it, though.
“We are here because I marinated some steaks earlier that we will take outside and grill.”
I opened the fridge and looked around for a suitable beverage to offer her. She had said she liked beer, so I had gotten her some Belgian Ale, but perhaps she would want wine since she was dressed all seductive. It suited the role she was currently playing.
“Beer is fine,” she said, noticing my hesitation. “Thanks, I didn’t even think you kept any in your place!”
“I don’t.” I shrugged. “But since you were coming over–”
“Thank you Zayden.”
“And I did something else you might appreciate,” I said removing the steaks from the fridge. “I marinated the steak in curry powder. Thought it would give you your kick.”
The look on her face right now was worth all the curry powders in the whole world. She looked absolutely delighted, like she couldn’t believe that someone would do that for her.
“What?” I grinned.
“When was the last time you cooked?”
“I don’t remember,” I said honestly. “I never have to and don’t have the time anyway. My chef does an excellent job without my interference.”
“Then why are you cooking – or grilling I guess – now?”
“Because, Aria…” I spoke like I was explaining two plus two equals four to a very difficult infant. “I really like you.”
Her cheeks blushed so hard upon hearing those words that they almost matched her lipstick. “I... I really like you too.”
I raised my eyebrows quizzically. “Really? I never quite got that from you, based on the fact that you were trying to break the contract only a month ago, so that you could get as far away from me as physically possible.”
“It wasn’t like that,” she said, the joy from before beginning to wane from her face. “You know what it was about. I have never answered to anyone in my life before, Zayden, not even my parents. So I just don’t have a way to deal with somebody trying to control me other than cut them off.”
“Did it ever occur to you–” I cut myself off mid-sentence, realizing what a waste it would be to get into this right now. “Never mind, let’s not dwell on this now. Let’s go outside.”
I offered her my hand – and she struggled before deciding to take it – and escorted her towards the balcony. “Close your eyes,” I said on the way there. “And no cheating, Aria. I’ll know if you cheat and if you do your mother’s bill might not get paid.”
She stopped walking and looked at me with a slight hint of annoyance mixed with amusement. “Is that what it is going to be from now on? ‘Oh Aria, breathe at rhythmic intervals of .05 seconds, or your mother’s bill might not get paid!’”
“Just close your eyes. Trust me, you will like this!”
After a brief moment she finally did and I reached for her hand again. When we were at the balcony, I said, “Now open.”
She gasped loudly; I was sure all the neighbors in a five-mile radius could hear. “What – what did you – why?” Her eyes were starting to tear up.
I had the whole balcony decorated with heart-shaped red balloons and scented candles, and in the middle was a table with her favorite bottle of champagne and two chairs underneath a crystal chandelier. It was like Valentine’s Day had thrown up all over the balcony. We were facing the view of the mountain with a beautiful lake on its foothills. The scene was as romantic as it could get, and Aria’s tears and inability to form a complete coherent sentence was what convinced me that I had done it. I had won.
“You did all of this for me? By yourself?” she asked when she could finally speak properly again.
“Do you see anyone else here?” I lied and shrugged. I had thought of it, so I did have some say.
“Oh Zayden!” she said and threw herself at me, almost knocking out the steaks I was holding in my left hand. I tried to carefully place them by the grill, but it was difficult to move because Aria was holding on to me tightly. After I finally managed to place them away, I drew her closer for a proper embrace and stroked her hair. “Do you really like it that much?” I said grinning, very pleased with myself.
“You just want to hear me say it, don’t you?” she mumbled against my chest. “Yes, Zayden. I like it that much. This is hands down the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. Or anyone I know. Not even Nick for Stacey.”
“Great, I have outdone a nerdy little kid, I should be proud of myself.”
“Shut up, I am in the middle of a very special hug with a very special guy, let me enjoy this,” she mumbled.
We stood there holding each other for a long time.
---
“This is delicious!” Aria closed her eyes, devouring the steak. It was satisfying to watch her enjoy something I created. “I don’t know why people haven’t been putting curry on their steaks since the beginning of time.”
“I think we can use this moment to firmly establish the fact that I am a genius.” I smiled.
She giggled. “You’re running a multi-billion dollar corporation at such a young age, and running it so well at that, and of all things, a steak recipe is what makes you declare you’re genius?”
“Priorities.” I shrugged. “And I am not all that. I was handed everything, I didn’t earn it really. Born with a silver spoon and all.”
“But you had the skills to handle what was given to you. Oh god, Zayden, is this modesty? You are capable of such a thing?” She made an expression of complete shock.
“Very funny. In any case, you will be way ahead of me by the time you’re my age. You are really bright, Aria. I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this.”
“Nope, never heard it before.” She winked.
“Have you thought about what you want to do after you finish college?” I found myself asking.
She shrugged. “I am studying to be a loan officer so that is what I plan on doing I guess.”
“Would you want to come work for me instead?”
“Newsflash, I already do,” she chuckled.
“No, not something trivial like that.” I waved my hand dismissively, but upon seeing the change in her expression, I added, “I mean… not like there is anything wrong with working as a teller while you are getting your degree. Again, it’s more than I did when I was your age. But I am thinking more like finding a suitable long-term position for you in my bank.”
“There is a lot of time left between now and in the long-term,” she said slowly, as though weighing every single word before speaking it out loud. “You may not even want to, you know.” She shrugged.
“I don’t know. What are you talking about?”
“I am assuming that when this contract is over, you would like to move on to newer and hotter women for more exciting adventures.”
It took a lot to spit those words out.
“That’s a big assumption. Do you really think this is all,” I gestured around the balcony décor, “just about the contract?”
“What is it, then?” she challenged.
“That is for us to figure out as we go along,” I said looking away from her. Not once had I actually thought beyond the contract; I assumed that Aria was just going to be around forever. Now that the thought crossed my mind, I felt a weird sort of a gloom and didn’t want to dwell on it too much.
“Speaking of the contract, since we are finally on the subject, what is going on with that?”
“That is for us to figure out as we go along too.” I smirked and had to duck because she tossed a grape towards me in mock-anger. “Come on, let’s go inside, it is starting to get chilly,” I said to change the subject. Plus my restraint wasn’t going to last very much longer, and unless Aria was okay with my neighbors potentially seeing me rip her clothes off, which I highly doubted, we had to at least make it indoors soon enough.
Chapter 9
Aria
We got up to head inside and my phone buzzed. It was a text from my mother. The payment on her hospital bill had been made this morning. An immense relief spread through my body, as though I hadn’t even realized just how tense I had been this whole time. It was technically the last day to do it, so the whole time I had been here, I was somewhat antsy, even though I did not want Zayden to notice, and did a good job of that I suppose. But I could relax now and truly enjoy his company. The payment was made. I had nothing else to worry about. For now.
“Zayden.” I stopped in my tracks. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked looking from my text to his face and back.
“Because I knew you would find out soon enough,” he said shrugging. He knew exactly what I was talking about. “But I wanted you worry about it for a bit.”
“That is really messed up, you know,” I couldn’t help saying, but right after, I felt uncomfortable, like I was being ungrateful. “I didn’t mean to say it like that. Thank you for paying the bill is what I meant to say.” I reached out to hug him but he backed off this time. “Is everything okay?” I looked at him concerned.
“Yeah, I think so, but let’s talk about this inside. In my bedroom,” he said with a completely straight face.
“Sure,” I said cheerfully. “To the bedroom then, to ‘talk’,” I said playfully air-quoting the word.
“No, Aria, we really will be talking in there. At first anyway,” he added with the hint of a smile. It didn’t make any sense. He had already made the payment and I was here ready – and in all honesty yearning – to take my clothes off for him, but he wanted to talk?
When we got to his bedroom, I immediately picked the office chair across from his desk to sit on, deliberately avoiding looking at the enormous bed right in the middle of the room. I had never seen a bed quite that size. It had to be bigger than a king size. Did they even make those? He probably had it custom-made for his benefit. He was probably best friends with the president of IKEA or something.
Trying not to think about how it would feel to roll around naked in that bed, I looked at Zayden sincerely. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“The contract. You noticed how this payment was made late? As late as possible, in fact?”
“Nope,” I said trying to be teasing. “I hadn’t noticed at all. Was it late, then?”
“No, Aria, really, listen to me. I know how difficult it was for you to be constantly anxious about the payment and to not know whether I would actually pull through. You don’t ever want to experience that agony, do you?”
“Of course not.” I sighed, giving in to his mood. “But where are you going with this?”
His deep blue eyes gazed at me with so much intensity that I thought it would tear right through me. “You tried to get out of the contract at the beginning of the month. Don’t do it again.”
My heart started thumping fast because of the stern look on his face. “I’m – I’m sorry,” was all I could manage to say.
“You should be. You thought you would just cut me out and not face any consequences!” he exclaimed. “Like somehow you were just going to walk into all that money and never have to worry about it again.”
“I didn’t think any of those things,” I said, starting to get a little frustrated myself. “I was just upset, Zayden, because of how controlling you were being! And like I already told you, that is just not something I am programmed to deal with.”
“So at the hint of the slightest bit of trouble, you run? How can I trust that you won’t just randomly decide you dislike something else I do or say and try to bail again? Only to want to come running back when you realize you had no other options?”
“How can I trust that you don’t have any more wives up your sleeve?” I asked cheekily and before he could answer, quickly added, “The answer is there is no reason for me to do so, but I do. I trust you because that’s how trust works, with or without evidence.”
“This was your punishment for breaking the rules, Aria. I hope you don’t do it again.”
“My punishment?” I spat. “You need to stop patronizing me. Why can’t we just be equals, Zayden? Is it because I am a woman?”
“It’s because I am holding sixty thousand dollars over your head,” he said in a tone that made me shiver. “Not to mention, employ you – something I plan to continue to do into the far future, as I mentioned earlier. So as the slightest bit of a courtesy or gratitude or whatever it is that you feel, do me the favor of letting me act however I fucking want.”
“So you don’t care that how you act may hurt me?” I challenged him further.
“That is not what I said,” he said and sighed. “I never said I wouldn’t make an attempt to change some of my ways, but simply that you stop quitting every time something bothers you.”
“Fair enough.” I shrugged, beginning to feel drained.
It was a contract after all.
“And the contract will remain intact as long as you don’t go around breaking any of the rules. Are we clear?”
“Yes, master,” I said with a fake toothy grin. “Would you like me to curtsy now?”
“No, I would like you to take your clothes off,” he said starting to walk towards me.
It was my turn to be a tease and taunt him, and I could not be more excited for payback. “Uh, actually, let me see, I am feeling like taking a shower before bed, so I will pass on the offer.”
“You’re sleeping over, then?” He grinned, continuing to walk towards me, ignoring my “pass.”
“I thought that was obvious, since you sent all your staff home and it would be impossible for me to find a cab at this hour. Unless you feel like driving me, but you’ve had quite a bit of whiskey.”
“Aria, you just go off on so many unnecessary tangents. I want you to stay, isn’t that kind of obvious? I decorated the damn balcony for you.”
The mention of the balcony made me feel giddy. I still couldn’t believe he had done all that. It was something that usually couples – actual, real couples, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives – did for each other, not people who were dating on a legally binding contract. The fact that he had taken the effort to do it made me appreciate him more than I ever had before.
“I’m staying because I want to stay too.” I smiled at him. “But for now I just want to take a shower. I had a long and, as you know, stressful, day. I just want to relax for a little bit if that is okay with you.”
“Uh, of course,” he said looking slightly taken aback. “Go on ahead. First door to the right.”
I turned around facing the bathroom with the biggest grin on my face. Then, I very slowly slid my dress off my shoulders, then down my legs through my stilettos, revealing the sultry red corset.
“Aria,” I heard him moan. “Aria, Aria, Aria. Turn around.”
I did for a very brief moment, just long enough to let him see the full effect. The knowledge that right that second, I was giving him the biggest erection of his life made me feel powerful and incredibly sexy. I continued to walk into the bathroom, but heard his footsteps behind me.
Innocently, I went into the bathroom, which was bigger than my own room and closed the door behind me. Then I let out a huge sigh. I couldn’t believe I had just pulled that off. As I took off the lingerie – but with my shoes still on - and turned the shower on, I heard Zayden open the door. I jumped into the shower quickly and let the water run down my naked, polished body.
The glass door of the shower opened and Zayden was standing there, completely naked, with his dick pointing straight at me, rock hard.
“You are showering with those shoes on,” he groaned, like speaking was taking up way too much of his energy.
“I do that all the time.” I shrugged, as I felt myself get wet upon the sight of his naked body. How I ached for his touch again.
“Oh, do you, now? So this isn’t some kind of a ploy to tease me?” His mouth was twitching into a half-smile, as though it wasn’t sure it was capable of joining in on the sass.
“Why would I do that?” I asked batting my eyelashes. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“I,” he said, stepping into the shower with me, “am taking a shower with my girlfriend.”
Hearing him use that word broke all my restraints so I threw myself on him, meeting his lips fiercely with my own. His enormous shower head poured pleasant warm water over the both of us like summer rain, as I grabbed the back of his head as passionately as I could, and he opened my mouth with his tongue with brute force that made me ache for him. His mouth explored mine, as his hands were touching me all over my back. The kiss itself lasted forever and when he pulled away, it felt like I had just ran a marathon.
“Soap?” Zayden asked, his eyes glistening with desire. “Can I wash you?”
“You can do anything to me.”
He poured some soap into the palms of his hands and rubbed them together. Then he slowly massaged my shoulders, going downwards from there. When he reached my breasts, I almost came from the impact alone. He rubbed them in circular motions, halting to pinch my nipples every few seconds, as I let out gasps of pleasure.
After massaging my breasts, his hands skipped straight onto my legs, to my utter disappointment. He must have sensed the change in my body’s response because he pushed me against the shower wall, looked me straight in the eye and said, “I won’t be needing soap to clean your pussy, Aria.”
Then he dived face first into me, making me forget everything about the world. His tongue was moving across my clit, licking it in rhythmic motions, while the rest of his mouth was sucking on my pussy lips. When he halted the licking to slide his tongue inside me, I exploded into oblivion. With the warm water running over my body, and the mind-blowing, earth-shattering orgasm, I didn’t think I would be able to feel better than I did in that moment ever again.
It felt like it took forever to come back to my senses and when I did Zayden was glaring at me. It was my turn. I kneeled across from him and wasted no time taking all of him into my mouth.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed and closed his eyes, holding my head close.
He shoved himself deep down my throat, and even though the feeling wasn’t entirely pleasant, the look on his face as he thrust in and out was worth every moment.
He pulled away before coming, to my concern. “Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no, Aria, you did everything right,” is all he said.
He pulled me up, spun me around, and bent me over. He pushed himself inside me, leaving me elated. I braced myself against the shower wall using my hands. I moaned loudly and he took this as encouragement to move faster and deeper within me.
“Zayden,” I said his name, as with every thrust and motion, bursts of pleasure traveled through every vein in my body. All I managed was to say his name over and over again as he thrust deeper and harder. His hands gripped my hips firmly, directing my body’s movement.
“Ah,” he grunted. After a few moments we both erupted together like a volcano. The orgasm was so intense that I screamed. He slowed his pace and eventually completely stopped. I stood up and he wrapped his arms around me.
Ten minutes later—though it could have been hours, days, I would never know—we finally became coherent again and I said, “That was–”
“The best sex I have ever had,” Zayden completed.
“Me too,” I said. “Tonight was perfect.”
“You say that like it’s over.” He grinned. “I bet you are dying to find out what my bed feels like.”
“Yes I am. Let’s go.” I grinned back, feeling happier and more content than I could ever remember. “Boyfriend,” I added softly, but did not dare meet his eye when I said it.
THE BOSS #4
Chapter 1
Zayden
Her use of the word “boyfriend” made me feel all kinds of things that I had resigned into believing I was rendered forever incapable of feeling. Was that what I had become? Aria Roberts’ boyfriend? I thought back to the past few days – months even – and all the things I had willfully done for her. Maybe I was her boyfriend. Either that, or I was very, very messed up in the head.
To think that I had my entire balcony decorated for her. I didn’t even think people did such things outside of movies. Here I was, holding a naked twenty-year-old girl in the shower, after showing her what I presumed to be one of the best nights of her life.
After all that I had been through in my life, I could not quite believe how I had become so drawn to this woman. After Gina and all the things she represented, I was convinced that I had sworn off women forever. How could I not? My mother had done to my father what Gina had done to me; there was no room for me to ever consider a woman possessing any real character. I simply had never met one that wasn’t always after something else, money usually.
Oddly enough, even though I had been paying a lot of money to keep Aria around, she never struck me as somebody who would want me for my money. To think of it, I had offered to pay the hospital bills without any financial returns on her part, but she had pretty much rejected the contract without a clause that stated she would pay me back after college. How many women – people in general at that – would do that? She knew I didn’t need to be paid back, but somehow the idea that she would be taking my money for free made her so uncomfortable that it was very charming.
The closest she had come to “using” me in some sense was for my intellect and what a revitalizing change that was! She wanted to learn from me, so that she could use that knowledge to expand her own intellect and advance her own career. She hadn’t even given me a straight answer when I offered her a real job at the bank, which had really surprised me. How many college students would give an arm and a leg in order to have a guaranteed job at the end of their college careers? Yet Aria had hesitated, perhaps because she felt that she needed to do it on her own. Little did she know that she had, in fact, done exactly that.
She had impressed me greatly with her spark and intelligence – much like she would have to in order to impress any other employer for any other kind of a job – which is why I had wanted her so badly on my team.
That and she was always a pleasure to look at, but really many, many women were and I didn’t go around offering jobs unless I was attracted to their minds. Which in Aria’s case, I undoubtedly was. After all, I had made myself a promise a long time ago that I would never do many of the things I had ended up doing since Aria came into my life. The disaster that was my marriage had convinced me that I was not made for monogamy and women really only served one purpose. Never again was I supposed to see a woman after sleeping with her, let alone repeat the act. Yet with Aria, somehow, I had wanted more and more every time and been completely unable to stop myself over and over again.
No matter what she did, she blew my mind and made it impossible for me to give her whatever she needed in order to be in my presence.
I was also not supposed to date again – not in the sense of exclusivity. After Gina, the whole idea of taking someone out on dinners and pleasing them into bed while seeing nobody else had seemed so ludicrous, yet when it came to Aria I had been completely fine with having an entire clause regarding exclusivity. Hell, I couldn’t even remember the last time I had been exclusive even for a day – yet Aria had compelled me to do so for over three months.
I couldn’t quite believe the effect she had on me sometimes, yet I understood where it all came from. She was intelligent far beyond her years – and far beyond most women I had met, much older and more successful – and that didn’t simply stick to her textbooks and papers. She exuded charm and wit regularly, in everyday conversations, in her sarcastic retorts to me, in almost everything she said and did.
And then there was the way she defied me. Hell, that frustrated me endlessly, so much so that sometimes I just wanted to rip my hair apart and shred the fucking contract. At the same time, it was completely enthralling. Nobody stood up to me like Aria was capable of doing. Since the very first day when I proposed the contract, she had refused to take shit from me and convinced me that the best way to do it was her way, adding in her own clauses, bargaining with me. Then when I had tried to control who she spoke to, alluding to the contract, she had straight up told me off and threatened to quit even though deep down I knew that she wouldn’t actually be able to pull it off because she really needed the money for her mother’s bill. The fact that she temporarily believed that she could and demonstrated stubborn attitude was just as endearing as it was maddening.
The fact that she could exasperate me so very much and yet I was completely mesmerized her meant that I had done one more thing I had promised myself I would never do again; I had fallen in love with Aria Roberts. As soon as the thought hit my mind, I began feeling a jolt of raw excitement, combined with joy in every vein in my body. I grabbed Aria, who was getting ready to go out of the shower and into my bedroom, and shoved her back into the tub and looked deep into her eyes.
“Zayden,” she said nervously.
“No. Don’t say anything,” I said, not wanting to ruin this moment with words. Instead, I bent down towards her and kissed her gently across the mouth: more gently than I had thought I was capable of. Then I slowly parted her mouth, trying to ignore my urges to devour her, so that this moment somehow demonstrated the love I was feeling erupting inside me, without actually saying a word. Very lightly I put my tongue inside her mouth and felt her nipple begin to harden beneath my palm. Rubbing them gently, I began to explore her mouth softly, then sucked on her lower lip.
I broke off and pulled her up. “Bedroom,” was the only word I said. She nodded, her eyes glinting with the very desire I felt in my veins. As soon as we got there, I threw her into my huge bed. I leaned down to kiss her breasts from the side of the bed, which had a surprisingly strong effect on her, as she looked at me with her hand slightly shivering.
“Touch yourself,” I groaned into her right breast, then took almost all of it into my mouth and sucked on it as hard as I could.
“What?” She sounded confused and disoriented and very much pleasured.
I took my mouth off from her tightening nipples, looked her in the eye and repeated, “I said touch yourself, Aria. Touch your pussy and moan for me. I want to see you make yourself come while I devour your perfect little breasts.”
“I’ve – I’ve never,” she said nervously. “I have never really done that.”
That genuinely took me by surprise. I had yet to meet a woman who hadn’t at a very young age discovered how to make herself feel sexual pleasures. Girls often just offered to put on a show for me that involved a strip tease followed by self-induced orgasm. I had just assumed every single girl did that. Of course Aria was different. In a flash of inspiration, I grabbed her hair tightly and spanked her lightly on the ass.
Looking sternly into her eyes, I said in a very low voice, “Are you going to defy me in bed too or are you going to make yourself come? Now?”
As I had hoped, Aria was significantly more open to the idea of being controlled in bed than she had been in other aspects of her life, for I could see her pussy getting wetter upon hearing these words. Without any further protests, she began rubbing herself at her clit and her eyes looked like she was confused yet delighted.
“Now shove a finger inside and fuck yourself.” She did as she was told as I continued my tongue-work on her other breast, licking and sucking, as she finger-fucked herself faster and faster. “Stop,” I said, just as she was about to come. “Suck your fingers and continue with your other hand.”
She slowly put the middle finger of her right hand inside her mouth and began sucking just like it was a piece of a very tasty lollipop, while her left hand now replaced it on her clit, flicking and rubbing faster and faster. “Are you about to come?” I asked, knowing the answer before she nodded.
Instead of letting her finish herself off, I jumped at the moment and threw my face into her pussy. I ran my hungry tongue all over the wet lips and sucked her clit until her whole body was shivering violently. She tried to remove my head, but I held both of her hands tightly over my head so that all she could do was wither and let my tongue ride her through her orgasm.
As soon as she was a little capable of movement, she tried to get me up again, but I did not take my mouth of her sweet pussy even for a second. Instead, I shoved my tongue deep inside her and then began licking the inside as it continued to drip from within. Aria’s body was building up again and suddenly all of her protests were gone, instead she was holding my head firmly and rocking my face closer and closer to her until she erupted into another shaking orgasm. It was only after the third time of this that I took my head off her pussy, looked at her and grinned.
“So, have you ever came three times in less than ten minutes before?”
She shook her head while her face looked completely blank, as though it was simply incapable of dealing with anything else. It was a good few minutes before she spoke again.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know that was possible. I had heard stories, but I didn’t think—”
“What?” I asked just to stroke my own ego, even though I knew perfectly well what the answer was for.
“Multiple orgasms in such a short time.”
I shrugged, even though I was feeling good about myself inside. “There are still many, many things your body is capable of that you didn’t know. I am here to show you Aria.”
I had been throbbing hard since we were in the bathroom but I had wanted to show her a good time before letting myself get carried away. But it was getting out of hand and I felt like if I didn’t put myself inside her any minute, I would collapse from the need to fuck her. Unable to hold myself together any longer, I flung her off the bed and turned her around. Half her body from the torso above was in the bed, but her legs were hanging off it, her ass protruding out.
At first I slid myself inside her pussy from behind, but after a few thrusts, I lost control of myself and entered her ass. It was so tight, I almost came from the force with which it wrapped around me. To my utter surprise, Aria let out a small moan that did not sound like it was exactly from pain. Encouraged by her reaction and eager to make the process as pleasurable for her as possible, I reached her pussy with my left hand and began gently stroking her clit. Continuing the strokes, I lunged forward back into her tight ass. The feeling was so incredible that I completely forgot where I was or what I was doing. All I could think of was just how tight and incredible her ass felt. My hands moved faster and faster against her while I fucked her ass with no remaining constraint, until both of us exploded around the same time. I collapsed on her back.
Chapter 2
Aria
As we lay awake in bed, I watched Zayden who seemed to have still not recovered from what had transpired between us. I was a bit in shock. Tonight had been more than I had expected in every way possible. Zayden had not only made the hospital payment, but also gone out of his way to charm me, which made me feel incredible.
I hoped that he would the last person I have sex with, but I had to be cautious in hoping things of that nature. After all, he had just called me his girlfriend, not offered me a wedding ring. Chances were that he still intended to say goodbye to me after the contract. But then he wouldn’t have used that word.
His reaction when I called him my boyfriend had also taken me by surprise. His eyes flickered with the most intense gaze I had ever seen them bestow upon me. The way he had kissed me after had also been very different, much less sexual, much more gentle and romantic. He had obviously enjoyed hearing me call him that, which meant that I could keep some hope that we would be together for far beyond the contract without feeling like a complete moron.
When Zayden finally opened his eyes, waking up from the oblivion caused by his orgasm, he turned me around to the edge of his bed gently without saying a word. He closed himself onto me, wrapping his right hand over me. As we lay spooning, I started wondering what the night had in store for us next.
“Aria,” he spoke eventually, still holding me. “Are you okay with what happened today?”
“It’s a little too late to ask that question, don’t you think?” I giggled and it was a giggle made of jest. He jerked upright, looking completely wounded by what I had just said.
“I – I am sorry,” he said looking nervous.
I had never quite seen him like this before, in such a compromising position. He looked as though he hadn’t been more remorseful about anything in his life and needed desperately to give me a reasonable explanation for what had happened.
“I lost control. You don’t know how good you feel. You don’t know the things that happen to my mind and body when I am inside you. It’s like, it’s like the whole world ceases to exist and my mind just becomes completely incapable for any real thoughts or feelings. All it can see, think, or feel is you. All rationality and logic goes out the window. And, and, I know that’s not really a very good explanation. There is no good explanation. I just wasn’t—”
“Zayden,” I cut him off, trying to make a visibly amused expression on my face. “I was joking. I don’t mind what happened at all, relax. I don’t know if you noticed but I came pretty hard too.”
“I did, which is why I thought it was okay, but—”
“No but. You thought right. It felt good.” As relief seemed to run through his whole face, I added, “Really good. Really, really good.”
“So you would do it again?” He grinned and I was glad to notice that all tension had vanished from his face.
“Maybe.” I smiled mischievously. “Maybe if you help me out first.”
He raised his eyebrows and made a quizzical expression as if to say “Aren’t I already helping you enough?”
“What? Don’t make that face! It’s just, I have this paper due tomorrow. And as you can imagine, between the stress with my mother’s bills and the contract and…well, us…I have hardly been able to concentrate on schoolwork. I have to do it tonight no matter what. And your help would be appreciated.”
“Hmm,” he said, smiling from the corner of his mouth. “If you aren’t careful you are going to make me think you’re using me for my brains.”
“Well, of course I am,” I said matter-of-factly. “I would be an idiot not to, wouldn’t I? But if it took you this long to figure that out, your brain is obviously not all that I thought it to be.”
He looked affronted for a split-second before catching my eyes, which must have been twinkling with the mirth that I felt because we both burst out laughing.
“This, right here, Aria. This is why I am so smitten. You are fucking extraordinary.”
Smitten? He was gripped by me? That sounded oddly like saying he was, I don’t know, in love with me, didn’t it? Why didn’t he just say that? I did not let it show on my face. Nor did I let it show even a hint of the profound joy that I was currently feeling. Instead, I nodded simply, bidding for time so that when I spoke I would say something sensible and wise, instead of squeaking.
“You got awfully quiet, did I offend you?” He asked, looking concerned.
“No, not at all,” I jumped to say immediately. “I was just thinking of how to thank you for your complement.”
“Have you figured out a way, then?” he asked smiling.
“Oh I can think of many, but we have both exhausted ourselves enough so that will obviously have to wait. But don’t worry; you will be handsomely rewarded for your flattery.”
“It’s not idle flattery. I really mean those things.” After looking like he was deeply considering whether to speak these next set of words, he added, “Sometimes I wish I didn’t. You frustrate me so much, you haven’t the slightest idea. Nobody in my living memory has made me feel the roller coaster of emotions you put me through and I hate it, but I can’t help be drawn to you.” He gently ran his fingers through the small of my back. “I don’t think you know this, but you are a really special girl.”
I rolled my eyes, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “Sure.” I chuckled. “I am so special, I go to college and work on an hourly wage and have regular people friends. Yep, I am so special.”
“That’s one of the things that makes you so special. You think of yourself as ordinary, even though you are the most exquisite girl – woman – that I have ever met.”
I snorted involuntarily and tried to turn it into a cough. “If I am so very exquisite, then, why don’t you help me with my homework?” I said that mostly to change the topic, as his increased description of my merits were starting to make me feel uncomfortable, especially since I had no clue what the appropriate response was.
“What do I get in return?” he teased.
“An opportunity to spend time with me, of course.” I giggled. “I mean that is obviously worth a lot to you. Word on the street is that you are paying tens of thousands of dollars just for that.”
He grunted and said, “Don’t bring that up right now.”
“Sorry.” I shrugged. “Only joking. And you don’t really have to help—”
“No, I want to help with your paper,” he cut me off. “But I do have one condition.”
I turned around to look at him so that we were no longer spooning and surveyed his face feeling slightly nervous. What could he possibly want now?
“What is it?” I asked carefully.
“I would like to meet your mother.”
Immediately, I burst out laughing. “You are really funny, Zayden. But seriously, what can I do for you?”
“Why is that funny?” He raised both his eyebrows. “I am serious. I would to meet your mom.”
“That is the worst idea you have ever had,” I said with a smile. “Right after the first worst idea of making me this contract.” As his face began to look dismal, I hastily added, “I am joking around. Seriously though, it’s not a very good idea. Maybe we should wait a little bit longer before—”
“Don’t you think I have the right to get to know the person for whose medical bills I am investing so much money?” He looked annoyed now. He was right, after all. He did deserve to know whom he was making these payments for. If I argued with him, I wouldn’t get the help I needed with my paper and we’d just spend time arguing back and forth. Plus I could always tell my mom that Zayden was simply someone I worked with, rather than letting her find out that I was sleeping with my boss.
“Just tell me when and where and I’ll arrange for it,” I said, giving up. “Now, we have a paper to write.”
---
When I woke up the next morning, the world was suddenly a different place. I felt as though I had awoken from a fantasy so deeply etched into my subconscious that I didn’t even know it existed. Groggily I turned around on the bed and reached for Zayden, but he wasn’t there. From the sound of the shower running I could tell he was in the bathroom.
I looked around the room and took a deep breath. As of last night, I was in a real relationship with my boss. The thought sent a shiver of excitement and happiness through my entire body. I was going out with Zayden Sinclair. I was going out with handsome, incredible Zayden Sinclair that every girl between the ages of eighteen and seventy would give up an arm and a leg to spend just an evening with. How had this happened? How had I not only managed to attract the attention of such an incredible man, but also make him fall for me? He had said he was smitten, hadn’t he? I only realized how hard I had been grinning when my cheeks started hurting. It was too good to be true.
I could dwell on that later. For now, I fancied a nice warm shower and fresh comfortable clothes. I slowly got up and gathered whatever items of my clothing I could find discarded all over the floor and started walking towards the shower that was in the hallway since I didn’t feel like interrupting Zayden.
As soon as I got out of his room, however, I almost had a heart-attack. An older looking woman was walking alongside the other end. I had thought there was nobody but me and Zayden in the house. With great embarrassment, I tried to cover myself up with whatever bits of my dress I could grab, but it was probably neither timely nor very effective. The woman had already caught a glimpse of my face and was smiling in what seemed to be a very sinister manner.
“So,” she said in a scornful tone. “You’re his latest conquest?”
“Excuse me?” I looked at her in confusion.
“Zayden’s newest arm-candy.”
“Um, no. Who are you?”
“Never mind that. I have to say I am not very surprised he picked such a young girl. That’s just his style. You are of legal age, right?”
Was this woman suggesting I was a minor and Zayden was committing a crime? What the hell was her problem?
“I turn twenty-one next month, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Oh wow, you’re feisty too. That’s right up his alley. Congratulations! Zayden is quite a beneficial catch for you.”
“I don’t know who you are or what you are talking about, but I don’t have time to address your needless concerns about things that to my knowledge do not pertain to you in any way shape or form.”
I turned my heels around and walked into the bathroom, feeling pissed. Who the hell was that woman and why was she being so judgmental? Suggesting I was a minor and some kind of an object of Zayden’s fantasy – well that part was, in a way, true enough, but what did she mean “beneficial”? Was she suggesting I was using Zayden for his money?
The thought gave me an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. In some ways that was exactly what I was doing, wasn’t I? I was using the resources he had to my own advantage. But I was going to pay him back eventually for all the medical bills. That was for certain. No matter what happened between the two of us in terms of our romantic relationship, I was never going to forget what he had done for me and would always be grateful. Even if I wasn’t, even if I ended up hating him somehow, I would pay each and every penny he spent back. It might take me a few years, but I was determined to make it happen.
I turned on the shower and stepped into it. Feeling a little better, I let the warm water run over my body, letting all my worries momentarily evaporate. But a part of me was still wondering who the heck I had just talked to…
Chapter 3
Zayden
Ned was driving the Limo on the day I was to finally meet Aria’s mother. Despite her many protests, I had decided that there was nothing wrong in displaying how affluent I was. If anything, it would perhaps help her feel a little less badly about my investment. It always worried me that Aria thought that the money was worth more to me than it really was and I did not want her mother to start feeling so indebted too.
“Do you think I did the right thing getting the limousine, Ned?” I asked, unsure, more to hear some kind of a reaffirmation than anything else.
Ned didn’t speak for a while, which was rather odd.
“Ned?”
“I am sorry, Zay, I want to agree with you, I really do, but come on, a limo? To see your girlfriend’s mother?” He made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a chuckle but hid it with a cough, so as not to offend.
“Shit. What do I do now?” Ned’s honesty had scared the shit out of me. “She is going to hate me, isn’t she?”
“You are spending sixty thousand dollars to help out this woman, she couldn’t hate you if you landed on her backyard in a helicopter. A limo is a bit much, yes, and you should keep that in mind for next time, but this won’t hurt your impression much. Don’t worry.”
“If you say so.” I sighed as we pulled outside of Aria’s apartment building. Some college girls walking outside were pointing at the car and giggling so I presumed that they had never seen a limo in the area before.
“We are here,” I said into the phone to Aria and hung up. She arrived shortly, dressed in jeans and a casual navy t-shirt, making my heart sink. I was wearing a suit, as I almost always did. It hadn’t even occurred to me to dress down.
“Hi,” Aria said moving into the car. Her face made it obvious that she had wanted to burst out laughing and it was taking a lot for her to keep a straight face. “Limo,” she said, the sides of her mouth twitching.
I felt the strangest sensation in my stomach, something I couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t anger or frustration or – I realized with a jolt that I was embarrassed. Not used to such a feeling at all, I wasn’t sure what the appropriate reaction was.
“I’m sorry,” I said, hoping apology would cut it.
“No, no, why are you sorry?” Her face was starting to look pained. “It’s—” she gestured around the car. “It’s quite – exclusive. And you look, uh, you look very professional.”
We both burst out laughing at the same time.
“Oh God, Zayden, what were you even thinking?” she said between laughs. “We are going to the suburbs to see my mother, in her house. This isn’t some business meeting where you have a client to impress.”
“I do have a client to impress, though,” I said matter-of-factly. “I doubt your mother will allow me to continue dating her daughter if I don’t impress her.”
“Yes, but there is a huge difference between your business partners and my mom. You can’t employ a one-size fits all approach to dealing with human beings.”
She shook her head, still giggling, but I wasn’t laughing any more.
“Do you think I don’t know how to deal with people?” I was taken aback.
“No, no, no. That’s not what I meant at all!” She looked horrified by my reaction. “Of course you’re fantastic with people. You have built and expanded upon a wonderful business by winning people over. Dale Carnegie would be so proud of you—”
“But?” I said impatiently. “Just get to the but, Aria.”
“But you’re a businessman,” she said meekly. “You think of every interaction as a business opportunity. Like there is always a give and take involved. Like you must ensure certain advantages of having the interaction in the first place.”
“Well.” I frowned. “What else am I supposed to do?”
“With my mom, don’t worry about impressing her. She’s already impressed with you based on the fact that you, you know, paid off her hospital bills without even so much as ever meeting her just because you cared about me.”
“So I shouldn’t try at all?” She was really confusing me.
“No, but try less intensely. If you really want to get along with her – and notice I said get along, not ‘impress’ – then you have to find out what she is like and what interests her. Limos and suits are not those things.”
“What does she like, then? What is she like?” I was genuinely curious at this point. I had assumed that the woman who gave birth to the force that was Aria Roberts was bound to be no less fierce.
“She is very simple.” Aria shrugged. “She is an everyday woman. Very loving, enjoys feeding her children and everybody who visits her house. She likes puzzles and board games.”
“Wow,” I said thinking back. “I haven’t played any board games since I was ten years old.”
She looked shocked upon hearing this and her eyes widened twice their size. “What? You never play board games?”
“Is that something adults do regularly?” It was strange to think that there was a whole other world out there where people participated in activities like board games. Perhaps families spent time together that way, I wouldn’t know. My had been unique compared to Aria’s. I wanted to be part of her life.
“Yeah, me and my roommates play them all the time. And card games, they are fun too. You never get too old to huddle around the people you love and get extremely competitive over things that don’t matter in the long run.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun,” I said ruefully with a little smile.
“Don’t be like that. You know what us regular people don’t get to do? Fly to the Bahamas in a moment’s notice. So don’t sit there feeling all sorry for yourself. And if you really like, we can play some scrabble with my mother tonight, but just know that she likes to win. If you don’t let her, it’s not going to go well.”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to try too hard,” I said, now grinning at her.
“You know what I meant. Now can we please stop by a store on our way there so you can get into some regular people clothes? The limo we can deal with but you really want to get more comfortable if you don’t want her fussing about how hard you must work that you came to visit her straight in your work clothes.”
“One condition,” I said. “You pick out the clothes for me.”
Shopping with Aria was an exciting affair, mostly because she picked out items of clothing that I would never in a million years deem appropriate for a meeting such as the one that was about to transpire. I didn’t understand how her mother was going to approve of me with the slightly ripped jeans. Aria matched them alongside a navy blue T-shirt that supposedly made my eyes pop out. I shrugged since she probably knew what she was doing.
When we were back in the car Aria looked much more relaxed then when she had first walked in. Even Ned seemed to be pleased with what she had picked out as well to my utter confusion.
“How do you feel?” Aria asked me happily as we continued to drive along.
“I can’t really feel my muscles tighten as usual,” I joked.
“That’s called being relaxed and comfortable,” she joked back. Aria laughed endearingly. “You should get used to it.”
“I suppose.” I shrugged. “Anyways, I bought your mom a bottle of wine. Does she like wine?”
“She loves wine. Red.”
“Perfect, I had a bottle of Pinot Noir ordered from the most expensive Vineyard in Napa Valley. It only arrived yesterday and I think your mom is going to love it because it’s seasonal and not available for retail. Members of the Vineyard club are the only ones allowed to purchase it.”
“She drinks ten dollar Yello Tails. I highly doubt she can tell the difference.” She must have noticed the disappointment in my face cause she immediately added, “I mean, she will most definitely appreciate the thought though. I didn’t mean – that was very nice of you, Zayden.”
“It’s no big deal.” I waved my hand nonchalantly. “I just hope she likes it. I didn’t know what else to get her. I should have probably asked you. I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me. Perhaps I was a little nervous. I haven’t met a girlfriend’s parents in very long time to be honest.”
For some reason, that made her blush and she looked away, not helping my nerves whatsoever.
“Everything okay?” I frowned.
She looked back at me. “Yeah, I just haven’t gotten used to you calling me your girlfriend yet. It feels nice.”
I pulled her into me in a tight embrace and lightly stroked her hair. “Well you better get used to it.”
She let out a soft giggle. “Look how far you have come from being a womanizer. You are really sweet.”
“Shh,” I whispered. “We don’t need anyone to ever know that at the office.”
So we rode in a silent embrace all the way to her mother’s house. Meanwhile, I pondered upon what she had said and all the things that had happened this evening. I couldn’t quite believe I had so eagerly let Aria change me into a different set of clothes. Only a couple of months ago, if someone had so much as suggested such a thing I would have been completely outraged.
When Aria looked like she was about to laugh at me, I would have done just about anything to not embarrass her like that again.
When we finally got close to her mother’s house, I recognized it immediately because of the huge banner in front of house that read: “FORECLOSED PROPERTY. OWNED BY BANK. CALL 1-800-DEBT FOR MORE INFORMATION.”
I looked at Aria but she pretended that we hadn’t just seen the sign. As Ned pulled over she quietly hopped out of the limo.
“Park this as far away from her mom’s house as possible,” I instructed Ned. “Make sure there is no way she sees it. Feel free to drive it around town if you want.” I handed him two hundred dollars. “For dinner. Thanks for making this long drive.”
“Don’t be silly, Zay, I’m literally just doing my job,” he said, taking the cash, probably because it was much easier than arguing with me that he was never in a million years going to spend two-hundred-dollars on dinner. “But don’t worry, Aria’s mom will never see the limo. Just text me about where I should pick you guys up from. Maybe I will send a taxi to get you there. I don’t suppose you would like walking very far in the middle of nowhere.”
“We will see. I will keep you posted. You have a good evening, Ned.”
“You too,” he said and gave me a fatherly smile. “And don’t be nervous. She will have to be stupid not to love you.”
Ned was gone and I looked at Aria standing a few feet away from the house waiting for me. “Ready?” she asked and started walking away.
I ran after her and grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her towards me. Then I planted a deep and passionate kiss on her mouth. Not sexual, as much as it was sweet. I opened her mouth only slightly and caressed her tongue softly while also stroking her hair with my right hand.
After a few seconds I pulled away and whispered softly into her ears, “Listen, Aria. I am not going to let anything bad happen to your family, okay? Your mother will be fine no matter what. I promise you that.”
Her eyes began tearing up and she kissed me back with fiery passion. She held on to my shoulder so tight I thought her nails were going to dig through my skin. When she pulled away, she gazed at me with amazing intensity and said something that shook the ground from underneath me.
“I love you, Zayden,” she whispered audibly. “I love you.”
I knew I was supposed to respond right away, more importantly, I was supposed to say it back wasn’t I? But for some reason, I couldn’t move or speak or do anything whatsoever. She loved me? What did she mean she loved me?
The back of my hand was shaking slightly in shock and I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. This was not something I was expecting, nor was I prepared for it in anyway. I had gotten myself into a relationship without thinking too much about it and I was only just realizing how deep I had managed to get myself in. She was most certainly waiting for me to respond to her confession with a very particular answer. I opened my mouth in an attempt to try to say it back but felt physically incapable so I closed it again.
Why was she choosing this particular moment to tell me she loved me above all else? She had so many other opportunities. Hell, if she really felt the way she said, perhaps that evening in my balcony when I had the whole place decorated for her would have been a more suitable opportunity. Yet she had chosen now. Didn’t this mean it was entirely possible that she felt more gratitude than love and she was merely confusing two separate positive emotions?
Had I not been paying her mother’s hospital bills – and had I not said what I had said about not worrying about her mother’s finances just now – would she have still felt that she was in love with me? In fact, would she have ever even given me the time of the day if I wasn’t paying her mother’s medical bills? If it wasn’t for the contract?
I remembered when I used to hit on her before the contract came into play: she always casually laughed off my advances – something that frustrated me endlessly – never even coming close to so much as going on a date with me. There was no way I could be sure whether her love was genuine and until such a time, I could not bring myself to say it back. Or until a time at least when I knew for sure that my words were genuine too. Instead, I just kissed her softly on the mouth one more time, looked at her earnestly and said, “Let’s go inside, baby.”
---
As we walked inside the tiny house holding hands, Aria’s mood had shifted slightly, perhaps because I hadn’t said ‘I love you’ back. I was determined to take her mind off it and have a decent evening with her and her mother.
When her mom saw us she looked delighted. She was not as old as I had imagined in my head; in fact, she didn’t look very old as all so she must have had Aria when she was young. Aria looked a lot like her mom too. They were almost a splitting image of each other.
She ran to hug Aria and they embraced for quite a while, in which time I surveyed the paintings on the wall. They all looked old and worn out. In fact, everything in this house looked like it was ready for a replacement about a few years ago. Perhaps I ought to have brought some presents…decorations for the house. If it was getting foreclosed though, then it hardly mattered. Maybe I could help her buy a new place altogether, but in Aria’s name.
After welcoming her daughter, Aria’s mother gave me a swift onceover without any expressions on her fac and then smiled heartily. “You must be Zayden,” she said and then hugged me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. I wasn’t particularly programmed to accept random hugs, but I shrugged and let it happen.
“Nice too finally meet you, Molly,” I said when she broke away.
“You too Zayden!” she exclaimed. “I hope you are hungry! I have been cooking all day. Not sure if you’re a big fan of steak or—”
“I’m sure whatever you made is fine and I can’t wait.” I smiled at her before she nervously babbled some more. “I hope you like wine.”
Chapter 4
Aria
I was glad to notice that thus far this dinner hadn’t been a complete disaster, something I was extremely worried about, considering the rather strong personalities of both parties that were currently meeting. Other than that little voice inside my head that was worried that Zayden hadn’t said he loved me back when I had made my confession, there was practically nothing about this night that wasn’t pleasurable.
While my mom prepared the dinner table, I entertained Zayden with some of the scrabble that I had promised, which my mom joined as the last of the roasted vegetables were finishing up in the oven. Naturally, my mom won the game and Zayden had the least amount of points because of trying to spell things that were made up words. The good thing was how eased and relaxed he seemed during the whole ordeal. It was something so simple that he never seemed to get a chance to enjoy and I felt glad to be able to give him what was missing from his seemingly perfect life.
Once dinner was ready, we sat on the small four-occupancy dining table, which my mom had obviously bought since our last visit. Perhaps it was in exchange for our large mahogany table, which was glaringly missing. I felt an odd sort of a discomfort in my chest as I took my seat across of Zayden and tried hard not to catch anybody’s eyes.
My mom had put together an elaborate dinner for somebody in her economic stature. Enormous Porter-House Steaks that appeared grilled to perfection, a plate full of spicy and crunchy looking shrimp, mashed potatoes cooked with gouda – perhaps one of my all time favorites growing up from all of my mom’s cooking – and an assortment of roasted vegetables. In addition, there was a whole side for dessert with various fruits, chocolate ice-cream cake, apple pie, and cookie dough ice cream.
“Mom, you really went all out,” I gasped and noticed even Zayden seemed to be impressed, which I supposed was her intention.
She shrugged, although her smile gave away that she was rather pleased with herself. “It was no big deal, really. Just threw some things together hastily. Eat up!”
As I started eating the delicious food, I forgot all about the pressure that was supposed to be present in the current situation, where I was introducing my boyfriend to my mother. For the first time since my high-school prom date, I remembered suddenly. No wonder she had gone out of her way with this dinner. Or perhaps it was the little side fact that the guy was spending sixty thousand dollars to help her out, I realized stupidly.
This wasn’t about meeting my boyfriend at all. This was about feeding a nice meal to the guy who was helping her out as a token of appreciation. For some reason, that made me feel sad, so I focused all my attention on the juicy steak that was filling all my senses.
“Mmm,” I heard Zayden moan, telling me that he was equally impressed with dinner, which was an accomplishment given that he had an international super-chef at his beck and call twenty-four seven.
“Let’s open the wine, shall we?” Mom’s voice pulled me out of my foodgasm.
“What?” I felt a little disoriented for a moment.
“The wine your boyfriend so nicely bought for me, shall we open it then?” She smiled.
I looked at Zayden, who seemed as blown-away from the dinner as I was and he nodded. “Sure, if you would like. It’s yours to do with as you please.” He smiled.
By the time she returned with the freshly opened bottle of wine, we had managed to help ourselves to third servings of everything on the table.
“Molly,” Zayden sighed at last. “You don’t suppose you would be interested in a career as a chef, would you?”
I knew immediately what he was suggesting, so I gave Zayden a stern look that was meant to read “Not another word!” But mom just giggled, thinking of it as just a stray compliment.
“It’s nothing. Aria is a really good cook, too. I’m sure you’ve had her cooking plenty of times. The mashed potatoes and gouda, at the very least!”
I looked intensely at the marks on the new dining table, aware of Zayden’s amused gaze. “No, actually,” I heard him say from beside me. “I have not quite had the pleasure of eating Aria’s cooking just yet. But if tonight is any indication of what I was missing, then I have to say I am very disappointed you never invited me for dinner.”
My mom looked at me reproachfully. “Sweetheart, that’s not very nice, especially since you told me he made you dinner the other night.”
“He grilled,” I said automatically. Feeling kind of guilty I added, “Yes, he did, and I was planning to invite him over this weekend but then we decided to come see you instead. Would you have rather we not?”
“Of course not!” she exclaimed. “I am happy you guys decided to pay me a visit. I was going crazy all by myself. This wine is amazing, by the way,” she added, sipping on the red in her glass. “The best I have ever had. Is it foreign or can I find it locally?”
I glanced at Zayden, who looked slightly uncomfortable and unsure how to answer. “It’s…it’s a special kind of wine that I got directly from the Vineyard. Limited edition, they only make it this time of the year and you have to be a member to—”
“Wow, that sounds really fancy,” my mom said, looking at me quizzically.
“It’s no big deal.” Zayden shrugged. “I can get you a whole case. It might take a couple of weeks though. I was going to bring a case tonight, but wasn’t sure if you would like it.”
“Just out of curiosity, Zayden,” my mom said, still looking at me as though searching for some kind of an answer. “What exactly do you do for a living?”
Zayden opened his mouth to answer, but before he could produce a sound, I chimed in, “He works with me, mom. I told you remember?” I smiled nervously and then looked at Zayden, hoping he could pick up on my cues.
“Yes, of course I remember,” my mom chuckled. “But don’t be silly, Aria. You work in a pretty large branch of a huge bank chain. There are certainly many, many things to be done there. I am just curious as to what exactly working with you entails here?”
Grabbing the opportunity of Zayden chewing, his mouth too full to speak, I immediately jumped to answer, “He’s a loan officer!”
From the look of perplexed curiosity in Zayden’s face, to that of looming anger in my mother, I realized that this dinner was starting to get closer to what I had imagined it would be like in the first place. I wanted to carve a hole under the table and disappear forever.
“Since when do we lie to each other, Aria?” my mom asked after a few minutes of maddening silence.
“I’m not lying! He works with me at the bank.”
“I believe that. But somebody who rides over here in a limousine with a driver and talks of exclusive memberships to fancy Vineyards and can produce an entire case of better wine than I had ever tasted in my life, is not a loan officer. It would be nice if you gave me the slightest bit of credit, Aria. I know I got us into a big pile of mess financially, but I am not stupid.”
“You didn’t,” I said, starting to feel guilty. “You were not the one who got us into this big pile of mess, mom. And I don’t think you’re stupid. In my defense…you weren’t supposed to see the limo,” I finished lamely.
“Why don’t you answer this time,” she said looking away from me and smiling at Zayden. “What exactly do you do for a living, Zayden?”
He finished chewing and swallowed, as I felt my heart thump faster and faster across my chest.
“I am the CEO of South National Bank,” he said simply.
I did not dare look at my mother. Or him. Or anybody. I simply continued to stuff mashed potatoes into my mouth, hoping that nobody expected me to speak for a long time, unable to quite think of anything rational to say.
“I see,” my mom said in a voice that did not sound entirely like her own. “So you’re her boss, then? You’re everybody’s boss?”
“In a manner of speaking. It’s really not a big deal, though,” he added hastily. “I have and always will, consider Aria an equal. Your daughter is brilliant, Molly. Especially for her age.”
“I know she is,” I heard my mom say mechanically. I was still glaring at the table in front of me. “But when you say ‘for her age’ I do wonder, are you much older, then?”
“I will turn thirty-three in February.”
“Wow, I am surprised you aren’t married then. A handsome young man like yourself. Surely somebody rather suitable must have grabbed your interest before our little Aria did?”
“I was married once, but she wasn’t the right woman for me,” he said, beginning to sound increasingly more uncomfortable. “And I am glad it didn’t work out or I would have never met Aria. She lacked your daughter’s intelligence. Most women do, Molly.”
“How about children? Did you father any with this unintelligent woman you speak of?”
“None that I know of,” he said in an attempt at humor, but it had obviously been the wrong move because I chose that moment to look up at mom’s face and it was glowing red hot.
“I’m sorry, Zayden – Mr. Zayden Sinclair, I mean – would you mind excusing us for just a little bit? I need to have a word with Aria. Family matters to discuss, you know? Why don’t you help yourself to more of that pie and ice cream in the meanwhile?”
Say no, Zayden, say no, say no, say no. I looked at him and nodded, hoping he would understand but he remained completely clueless. “Sure, go ahead. I don’t mind at all.”
Shit. As my mom lead me towards her bedroom, my heart started thumping even louder than before. What was she going to do? I wish I hadn’t lied to her! The thing was, there was no way she could exactly back off the deal now, so she had to learn to be okay with whatever was happening. If only I hadn’t lied to her to begin with, perhaps this whole thing wouldn’t have turned into the scary ordeal that it had become.
When we entered the room and my mom closed the door behind her, I crossed my fingers, even though I wasn’t sure what that would accomplish.
“Your boss?” my mom asked, not in an angry but disappointed tone. “Your boss, Aria? Of all the people in the whole world, you decided that you were going to sleep with the owner and CEO of South National Bank!”
“What does the bank have anything to do with it?” I asked, confused by where her focus was geared.
“Shhhh,” she hissed immediately. “Let’s keep our voices down, shall we?”
“Okay,” I whispered. “But mom, seriously, this is not what it must look like.”
“I love you Aria and I really appreciate all the things you have done in order to help me out. It’s just…I feel like I let you stoop too low for my sake and right now I can’t help feel like I’ve done an altogether terrible job of being a mother by letting you do this for me. Your boss has been paying my medical bills! I can’t imagine the kind of requests he must have in return. He is so much older than you too and you’re so young and naïve.”
“I’m not stupid,” I snapped, starting to get annoyed. “Yes, I am younger than him but I am not an idiot, mom. And I will admit that yes, this whole thing kind of started in a manner that might seem less than classy. He made me sign a contract that said he would make monthly payments to your bills for as long as I dated him. That was it though, just dating! There was nothing crude on there. I can show you the contract!”
She sighed. “I believe you, sweetheart. But obviously it seems that this has gone beyond the contract now, has it?”
“I love him, mom,” I said earnestly, hoping she would understand. “It started out as all games and tricks, but we just grew to really care for one another. Everything you have seen tonight between me and Zayden, it was all real. He is my boyfriend. Yes he is older and he is also my boss, but I have honestly never felt this way about anybody in my life before and that’s not something you ought to be ashamed of!”
I was quite surprised with the eloquence I had just employed in a situation where I was almost too afraid to function. My mom’s reaction, however, wasn’t quite what I expected. She looked neither mad nor happy nor please. She looked horrified.
“What’s wrong, mom?”
“Oh Aria, I am sorry,” she said covering her face in both her hands.
“What are you sorry about? You have nothing to apologize for!” The atmosphere in the room had suddenly gotten bizarre as though I had walked in the middle of a very dramatic scene in a soap opera. “What’s going on, mom? Why are you so upset?” She was crying, trying hard to hush her sniffs - so that Zayden wouldn’t hear, I presumed - leaving me completely perplexed. I walked over to her uncertainly and placed a hand on her right shoulder. “Mom, talk to me, is everything okay? Is it the house? You know you can always come live with me.”
“No, Aria,” she said, finally looking up. Her face was red and blotchy, her eyes swollen to almost twice their size. “Are you sure you love this guy?” she asked in even softer tones than before.
“Yes,” I said without even considering it for a second.
“Then I really do owe you an apology. You know when your dad filed for bankruptcy?”
“How could I ever forget?” I shrugged.
“Well before he filed that, he was obviously in a lot of debt. He owed huge sums of money to a lot of different people, but most of all, he owed five hundred thousand dollars to a particular bank.”
My heart started shaking again as I was beginning to understand where my mom was going with this. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t possibly be that my father—
“The bank was South National Bank,” my mom finished.
I threw my body on to her bed in shock.
“So you’re telling me,” I said very slowly so that there would be absolutely no confusion on this matter. “That this man is paying sixty thousand dollars to help out our family, after our family robbed his company of eight times that amount already?”
“Don’t put it like that, sweetheart!” my mom gasped. “You couldn’t have known now, could you? When you first took a job there, I felt a little uncomfortable given our shaky history with the company, but I didn’t want to say anything because it was just a job. What could go wrong? As I learned in the span of the past hour, apparently a whole lot.”
I covered my whole face with a pillow and tried to let this sink in. I had to think straight here. There was no way Zayden would ever find out about this connection, was there? Unless I told him, of course. And while a voice in my head was egging at me to do so, I did feel that it was not necessary for him to know everything about my family history.
However, I knew what the right thing to do was and it was to tell him. If he ever found out any other way and knew that I had known all along, it would be much harder for him to forgive me.
Would he really take it so badly? After all, I had no idea my dad was responsible for such a big loss to him and if I came clean and told him as much, he was bound to believe me. What my dad did was not my fault and I knew Zayden, he was better than to hold it against me. After everything we had been through together, he wasn’t going to use a fact from a distant past as a weapon against a relationship we had worked so hard to build.
“Honey, are you okay?” my mom asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry. Perhaps tonight wasn’t the best time to tell you about this. I was just so shocked when you told me who he really was. At first I was just mad that you were selling yourself to your boss, but then when you told me how you felt, I just could not bear the guilt.”
“It’s okay, mom,” I said sitting up. “It’s all okay. I am glad you told me because I am going to go out there and tell him all of this myself. That’s the only way to have a healthy relationship.”
My mom’s eyes were still teary, but she extended the palm of her hands to my face and rubbed my cheek. “You’ll do the right thing, Aria,” she said endearingly. “You always do.”
Chapter 5
Zayden
At first I wasn’t too concerned by what they were talking about. Some mother-daughter quips about dating the boss, I supposed, which seemed like a legitimate thing for a mother to worry about. Especially considering the fact that she knew I was making a financial investment in this relationship, it was only natural for her to feel concerned for her daughter. Therefore, I did not press too hard in my attempts to listen in on the talks.
But as their voices started getting louder, something caught my attention. They were speaking of South National Bank – which could very well mean they were discussing Aria’s job – but then I heard something about five hundred thousand dollars and that piqued my curiosity, so I leaned closer to the door of the room.
When I finally heard what was going on, a rush of annoyance spread through my whole body as I remembered the very case they were now discussing. A couple of years ago a man named Mike Roberts – Roberts, of course! Why hadn’t I tried to make the connection sooner? It was a fairly common last name, so I couldn’t exactly blame myself here.
He had owed the bank a lot of money when he declared bankruptcy, resulting in a huge loss for us! At the time the bank was not doing as splendidly as it was now and those five hundred thousand dollars that he owed us had caused us considerable difficulties in making some investments. We got out of that tight spot easy enough and now in the grand scheme of things that amount seemed rather too small to worry about.
But I could not shake off the feeling that I was currently spending tens of thousands of dollars to help out the very same family that had already cost me quite a lot. I didn’t want to be irked by it, but when Aria and her mother reappeared from the room I felt another flash of annoyance and decided that before I did something I would regret I needed to get out of there.
“I’m sorry for taking so much of Aria’s time.” Molly smiled at me politely. “But dinner can resume now. Would you like another glass of—”
“Actually,” I said, looking at my watch as though it would indicate some sort of honesty in my story. “I have to get going. Unfortunately, something has come up at the bank and I need to rush right away.”
“But Zayden,” Aria started protesting, looking rather disappointed. “What could have possibly come up at this hour? Surely you could postpone it until the morning without any consequences?”
“And lose more money? No thank you, I think I better get ahead,” I snapped and regretted immediately as I watched Aria’s face fall.
“Did you hear us talking?” Aria asked beginning to tear up.
“I really have to go, Aria,” I said, trying to sound slightly kinder. “Ned will come pick you up after he drops me off at the bank. It won’t be very long.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said, still looking sad. “I can manage on my own.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Aria.” I frowned. “It’s too late at night for you to be…whatever… Ned will be here and he will take you home safely and I really, really have to go. Thanks a lot for dinner, Molly,” I said, trying to be polite despite the circumstances. “See you, Aria.”
I turned around and walked out without thinking twice. Had I not gotten out of there, I would have suffocated with the knowledge. To Aria’s defense, it did sound like she planned on telling me everything, so she had no poor intention. Yet, it hardly changed the facts. Whether or not Aria had been directly involved in the situation, what had happened had happened.
---
The next day, I sat in my office playing with my stress ball, still unable to shake off the feelings of betrayal from everything I had heard the past day. No matter what way I looked at it, I couldn’t help but feel like this family had scammed me. I knew that Aria didn’t know of her dad’s connection to the bank and how he had caused me such a loss before signing the contract. However, the fact remained that the Roberts owed me a lot and instead of me getting paid back, I was spending even more on their behalf. Did intentions even matter in situations such as these? I thought not, as I bitterly thought back yet again to the conversation I had overheard.
I thought of Aria and how much I cared about her. It was true. I cared for her almost more than was acceptable, which is why I hated feeling like she was some kind of a manipulative scammer. She wasn’t and I knew that, but I still could not shake off this feeling. I wondered, had she known about her dad and my bank beforehand, would it have changed how receptive she was to the contract? Would she have still agreed to take so much money from me?
She had been desperate in the situation. There was no doubt about that. The fact that she had agreed to the contract to begin with meant that she was willing to go through some lengths for her mom’s hospital bills. But would this have made things different? Changed her mind? There really was no way of knowing as it was already too late now. I had already made half the payments. Shaking my head, I sighed deeply as I saw Aria’s head wrapped around my door. How long had she been standing there?
“Do you have a minute?” she asked me nervously.
“Sure, come on in,” I said, despite still feeling some irrational anger towards her family and Aria too. “What can I do for you?” I asked bitingly as she sat across from me. “Besides what I have already done, I mean.”
Aria looked taken aback. She opened her mouth and closed it again, as though unsure how she was going to communicate with me.
“I don’t…I mean I just came in to check if,” she paused momentarily and added, “You have been acting rather strange since last night.”
“Oh, is that right?” I asked, getting more and more annoyed. “How so?”
“Well first of all, you ran out of my mom’s house without so much as a warning and a very poor excuse,” she snapped.
“Don’t take that tone with me. Not when your family—” I stopped mid-sentence. “Nevermind.”
“You overheard us last night, didn’t you?” she asked, looking resigned all of a sudden.
I shrugged. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. You and your mother simply weren’t as quiet as you obviously thought you were.”
Her face took on a deep shade of red as she looked away from me, breaking eye-contact. “Well, if you heard everything, you must have also heard that I had no idea that South National Bank had anything to do with my father’s bankruptcy. And that as soon as I found out, I had the full intention of telling you!”
“But you didn’t, did you?” I demanded angrily.
“Yeah, because it would have been so easy to tell you considering you stormed out of my mother’s house last night and haven’t spoken to me since!”
She was right. I hadn’t even given her a chance to come clean about the whole situation since I had been so angry. Why should I give her a chance? Why should I give her anything more when I had already given so much to her family? A fresh surge of anger began to bubble up inside me so I reached for the stress ball, hoping Aria wouldn’t notice.
“Why are you so angry with me?” she asked after a few minutes of complete silence where neither of us so much as looked at one another. “I’m sorry, Zayden! Had I known about this at any point before the contract, I would have made full disclosure before letting you…I’m just…I’m sorry that you had to suffer financial loss because of my father. As a direct victim of his shenanigans, I can safely say I understand how you must be feeling right now.”
“Oh, have you lost five hundred thousand dollars to a man only to later find out you were paying his ex-wife’s hospital bills in order to help out his daughter who you had just happened to fall for?”
“That’s oddly specific. I’m going to go with no.” She attempted a weak smile, trying to change the mood of the conversation. It worked slightly as the look on her face made me want to kiss her. But I was still angry and looking at Aria’s face, I wished I wasn’t.
“Look, I know you didn’t know about any of this,” I said, exasperated with her, the entire situation and myself. “But it doesn’t change the facts, does it? And I can’t help feeling…and I’m sorry for what I am about to say, Aria, because it’s really not your fault directly… but I can’t help feeling like I’ve been scammed by your family.”
She looked like I had just slapped her across the face as tears began to visibly surface in her eyes.
“You don’t know how much your dad cost me. And on top of that, I am paying for your mother’s hospital bills…like what the actual—”
“But I am paying you back for it,” she snapped, fighting back tears. Aria was never one to show weakness, that much had been firmly established. “I am not sure you have actually read this contract you keep referring to because if you had then you would remember a very important clause at the end of it, which I might remind you. I insisted we add to the contract and even refused to sign the whole thing without the clause that states as soon as I graduate from college, I will begin paying you back for the hospital bills in installments. Or have you forgotten that entire encounter where this deal would not even have existed if you hadn’t agreed to let me pay you back!”
“I haven’t forgotten,” I said, getting more annoyed. “But that still puts me at a loss of, let’s see, about five hundred thousand dollars!”
“There is nothing I can do about that!” she exclaimed, clearly starting to get very frustrated. Her answer pissed me off too. What did she mean she couldn’t do anything about it? It was her father, after all, who owed me the money. And after all that I had done for her and after finding out what her father caused my bank, she could just sit there and act all helpless like there is no way for her to rectify the situation?
“Yes there is,” I said, more out of anger than anything else. “You can pay me back the five hundred thousand dollars after you graduate too. Installments are okay.”
For the second time that afternoon, Aria looked like I had slapped her across the face, which was unfair from where I stood, considering I was just asking for my own money back. And not even right away.
She looked like she had been searching for an appropriate response for a while when she finally just said, “Wow.” She was clearly dumbfounded.
“Just because I don’t actually need the money, Aria,” I prodded after her lack of response. “Does not mean it is okay for people to run off with what is mine, no matter the circumstances. I don’t care how rich I am or how much money I have, I am not okay with any business I run facing any sort of a loss. It’s part of being a businessman. If I didn’t learn to care about every single penny that flowed towards me where my businesses are concerned, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today. So you have two options from here on. You can take this personally, get really offended and start another fight, which you know how that is going to end. We have already been through that motion. You’ll get angry, show me a lot of attitude and haughtily walk out of here only to return in a couple of weeks when your mom’s hospital bills are due because you realize in the last minute that you need me more than you care to admit. Or, we could go for the simpler option, which is you take this with a stride – just like one business oriented person to another – and agree to pay me back and we move on, picking up where we left off. So which option will it be then?”
Instead of speaking, she allowed the tears to fall freely. This made me even angrier. It was easier to be a stern asshole when she was snapping back with all her might. Her tears just made me feel guilty, which was not something I deserved or needed to feel in the current situation.
“Aria, say something,” I said in what I thought was a much gentler tone.
She, however, continued to stare at me with tears covering her entire face, making me wish I could punch a hole through the wall.
Chapter 6
Aria