“Well, after you and Zayden had gotten over your last set of – uh – complications, Stacey and I were talking about it – we were glad!” he added immediately upon seeing the expression on my face, which wasn’t exactly that of glee. “We are always happy to see you happy, Aria, you know this. But Stacey and I were talking about how, well, theatrical this whole thing between you and him has been. So full of twists and turns and popcorn worthy. He’s a handsome billionaire and your boss. How often does stuff like this happen in real life?”
“I don’t understand why any of it is funny yet,” I said, still annoyed. “Enlighten me?”
“Okay, okay.” Nick sighed. “So Stacey and I were talking about it and she jokingly said ‘what’s next, we find out that Aria’s dad banked with South National before he went bankrupt?’ and we just laughed about it.”
“That is eerie,” I said with my mouth hanging open, and then burst out laughing myself. If this hadn’t been so utterly bizarre, perhaps I would have been really pissed. “My goodness, Stacey, you should become a fortune teller!”
“No,” she gasped. “It’s not like I was predicting this or would ever wish for something like this to happen to you. The reason I had even said it was because it seemed so absurdly far-fetched to be true.”
“It is. Too absurdly far-fetched to be true. And yet it’s true. If this wasn’t all happening to me, I wouldn’t believe it could happen to anyone in real life.”
“Are you okay though, Aria?” Stacey now looked serious, as though only just registering the full implications of what I had told them. “What are you going to do?”
“I am going to pay him back.” I shrugged. “Eventually.”
“Oh god, Aria. This is ridiculous! You shouldn’t have to. You’re not the one that lost him all that money!”
“He knows that. He is just angry right now and you can’t exactly blame him. I did for a bit but then I put myself in his shoes and it kind of makes sense why he is so frustrated, with the money he is paying for my mom and everything.”
“You are so mature about this, Aria,” Stacey said in amazement and looked at Nick. “If you ever made me pay you five hundred thousand dollars for something I didn’t do, I would dump your ass.”
“That is never going to be a problem since I doubt either one of us will have that kind of money any time soon. And if we do in the far, far future, it won’t matter cause it will be both our money since we’ll be marri—” he immediately stopped talking. His cheeks flushed hard. I turned to look at Stacey, who seemed to be about ready to pass out.
“So you guys ready for when I invite Zayden over for pizza?” I asked brightly, trying to change the subject and making a mental note to ask Nick if a proposal was coming up. It was essential that I helped him pick out a ring that Stacey would like or else she would never forgive me for not fulfilling my best friend duties.
Neither of them answered for a while, but Nick finally broke the silence. “I actually really am. Let’s see what the big deal about the dude is anyway!”
“You will soon enough.” I sighed, relieved that the awkward moment had passed. “For now I have to go to his house. He is helping me with my paper after much cajoling. He thinks he has made a career out of helping me out.” I rolled my eyes and walked towards my bedroom to gather my stuff. I was glad to be able to leave the two of them alone.
Chapter 7
Zayden
I was informed that Aria was waiting in my living room when I was still speaking to my mother on the phone, exasperated.
“Yes, I am fine,” I said for the thousandth time. “Of course I was hurt by what happened with Gina mom, but I’m trying hard to move on. If you keep calling me every day to remind me of this, I won’t get past it.”
“I’m sorry, Zay. I don’t mean to upset you further. I just, I worry about you sometimes,” she said, sounding dismayed. “And quite honestly, I am always just looking for an excuse to talk to you.”
I swore silently and clutched my palms tight. How long was this going to go on? When it was over, I also had Aria to deal with. While I was looking forward to seeing her – certain parts of her especially so – the last time we had been in each other’s company had not exactly been pleasant. I wasn’t very keen on picking up from there.
A sentimental speech from my mother was the worst possible preamble to the evening. It went on for another ten minutes before I could excuse myself, claiming an essential business contact was waiting for me outside. I did not dare mention Aria. My mother was not ready to hear that I had managed to fall for a young employee just yet. Not that she could complain at this point since she was convinced she had ruined the last woman in my life. Grinning at that thought, I finally stepped outside to find Aria sitting alone, cross-legged, on the sofa, wearing a bright blue and extremely low-cut dress and reading a magazine. The effect on me was instantaneous and I wondered why I hadn’t chosen to wear more comfortable pants knowing Aria would be showing up. There wouldn’t be enough room for all of me that got excited upon seeing her shimmering legs. I swallowed, ignoring the odd yet now familiar desire to lift up her skirt and devour her with my mouth. I simply coughed lightly to announce my presence.
She looked up at me innocently. “Hi,” she said and smiled brightly. “Thanks for agreeing to help me out with my paper. Especially under the given circumstances. Are you still feeling…unpleasant?”
I hardly caught on to what she was saying, as I was still mentally salivating at the thought of whatever was underneath her skirt.
“Zayden,” she whispered, looking at me pleased. “You’re ogling.”
“Am I now?” I asked in a barely audible whisper. “Sorry,” I said, not feeling sorry at all, rather wishing that I could take her clothes off with my eyes. I didn’t see how any work was going to get done unless I took care of my raging erection first. I suspected Aria had a different order of events in mind. I blinked hard in order to shake off whatever was boiling inside me. I tried looking to the side of her and said, “Sorry, what were you saying?”
“I was asking if you were still…I don’t know… upset with me?”
“Aria, I was never upset with you, you understand that?” I sighed and sat as far away from her on the sofa as I could.
She snorted. “Right. You weren’t. And you sure as hell didn’t go completely batshit on me in your office earlier either. Or scowl at me until I promised to give you five hundred thousand dollars. That was all my imagination.”
And there we were. No matter how hard I had hoped that we would just simply ignore what had happened earlier, I knew Aria far too well to even momentarily consider she would just give me an easy pass for offending her so deeply. How else was I supposed to react to what I had heard?