by T L Osborn
“Fair enough,” he responds draining his glass of whiskey. “I’ll leave you to the rest of your night and say hi to Charlotte from me.”
“I will. She misses you.”
“I’ll be coming over on the weekend for dinner with Mum and Mel so she doesn’t have too long to wait.”
I smile. “I’ll keep it as a surprise.” He’s about to walk out of my office. “Oh and one more thing.”
“What?” he demands.
“Keep your dick in your pants until after the investigation is over.”
He groans. “You mean with every woman or just Tanya?”
“Just Tanya, please. I want her to think about the investigation not about pleasure.”
“You’re a real dick, do you know that?”
“I excel at it.”
He chuckles. “I know. Alright I’ll try to keep it in my pants, not making any promises though.” He closes the door behind him and I shake my head turning towards my desk. Best I get started on these files, they’re not going to read, or spellcheck themselves. The last place I want to be right now is work. I decide to flick Roger a text to see if he’s available now.
Me: Roger, any chance you’re available to come get me?
Roger: Can you give me half an hour? My son’s soccer practice is just finishing up.
Me: Of course, take your time.
That’ll give me enough time to get a start on at least one of the files before tomorrow. I sit down at my desk and reach into my drawer for a red pen. As I do I immediately see the chocolate bar I stole off Aria last week, when we were having a little teasing fun between us. She’d nicked off with my coffee so I stole her chocolate pretending I was going to eat it.
I miss the way she used to try and jump to get it though she’s too short, then the time she climbed onto my desk thinking she was clever. I got a great look up her skirt that day, which was my intention all along. God! I miss her.
Her smell, her lips, her kisses…just her.
I can’t be here. I slam my drawer closed and pull on my suit jacket. Those files can wait until tomorrow for now I need to go have a drink. I’m hoping this investigation goes smoothly and is over quickly. Because being without Aria sucks.
Aria
Rolling over in bed I reach for my phone hoping by some miracle Simon has come to his senses and texted me overnight. There’s nothing and my heart sinks. Maybe he really didn’t love me, or maybe his mother has finally convinced him he should have nothing to do with me. Or maybe he’s found someone else… No, I don’t want to think about that possibility.
Tossing my phone down onto the bed beside me I hear a soft knock on my door.
“Come in,” I call.
The door opens and Toby walks in. “Hey, just came to see if you wanted a coffee?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’d love one but give me half an hour to shower and then I’ll come downstairs,” I reply.
He smiles. “Good, see you soon.” He leaves closing the door behind him and I toss the blankets off myself and head to the bathroom. I turn the shower on and wait for it to heat up. While I do I look at myself. I look awful, big bags beneath my eyes, cheeks red from crying so much. If Simon could see me now he probably wouldn’t want anything to do with me. I’m a mess, not the strong independent woman he loves, or at least loved.
I climb into the shower and quickly wash my body, so quickly I don’t dwell on thoughts of Simon. I climb out, blow dry my hair and then get dressed in yoga pants and a t-shirt. I make my way downstairs.
“That was a quick shower,” Toby remarks.
“Yeah because unlike you two, I do not feel the need to rub one out while I’m in there,” I reply with a grin.
“Hey, we do not always rub one out, sometimes it can be twice,” Jake says.
“And I’m glad I don’t share a bathroom with you,” I say taking a seat at the kitchen counter.
“Right now, I wish I didn’t,” Toby mumbles. I laugh. “Now there’s a sight we haven’t seen all week. It’s good to see.”
“It feels good,” I reply. “Do you want a hand with breakfast?”
Toby shakes his head. “No, but thanks for the offer. So what are you going to do today?”
“I’m just going to stay home,” I reply.
“And bake?” Jake asks hopefully.
“Nope,” I reply.
“Damn. Then let me guess—you’re going to read all day?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Wrong again.”
“Dude you love reading and baking,” he says.
“I know but I can’t do either of those things without thinking about Simon and Charlotte. Because…” I pause. Oh shit! Here come the tears.
“We know Ari, you enjoyed doing those things with them. Jake is teasing aren’t you Jake?” Toby says flicking a glance to Jake. He doesn’t want me to start crying again.
“Yeah, I’m teasing, just do whatever you want, so long as it doesn’t involve touching my stuff we’re good,” he chuckles.
I swallow the lump that’s formed in my throat, suddenly I’m not hungry for whatever Toby has cooked. “I think I’ll just make a coffee and go back up to my room.”
“A, I was kidding, you don’t have to leave because I was being a dick,” Jake says.
I look at him. “I know. I thought I was going so well this morning and now this… I can’t stop crying and I miss them so much.”
Jake comes over wrapping his arms around me. “We know. I kinda miss reading to Charlotte too. I can’t stand seeing you like this anymore. You know you still haven’t told me what’s happened?”
“It doesn’t matter, J, you’re not going to kick his ass. I just need you to support me right now,” I reply.
“I’m here for you always,” he squeezes me.
“Me too, Aria,” Toby says. “Breakfast is served, I made French toast.”
“Yum,” Jake says. “Come on Aria stay here and eat with us.” He puts some French toast onto a plate for me and holds it out to me. I have to admit it does look good.
“Alright I’ll eat but no more talk of Simon and Charlotte,” I say.
“Agreed,” he replies. We sit down at the dining table to eat and Toby looks at me. I can see the concern in his face and it’s like he knows more than he’s letting on. He’s been unusually calm and placid about this whole thing, even going so far as to tell Jake not to go kick Simon’s ass. I should corner him and make him tell me all he knows, but he’ll never tell me. It seems all the men in my life are determined to keep secrets from me.
Simon
“I want Ari,” Charlotte wails as I lay her down on the couch. “Where is she?”
“I know princess, but right now Ari is mad at Daddy,” I say tucking her favourite Disney princess blanket around her.
“Why?” she sniffles.
“Because I said some things to her that upset her,” I tell her.
“Say sowwy, then she’d come home and cuddle me,” she pleads. Her lips tremble, blue eyes staring at me filling with tears as they beg me to give her what she wants. Only this time, I can’t.
“I wish it was that simple.” I do, I really do.
“I’m sick, I need Ari to read stories,” she says.
“I can read them to you,” I say hopefully.
“You don’t read like Ari,” she huffs folding her arms across her chest scowling at me. I burst into laughter which only makes her madder and makes me think of Aria. My chest tightens as I think of her. God! I miss her.
“Tell you what. How about you pick a movie and we will watch it together,” I suggest.
She thinks for a moment, “Rapunzel.”
I’m surprised by her answer, usually she wants Beauty and the Beast. “Not Belle?”
She shakes her head, “Not without Ari.” I turn around and put Rapunzel on the TV and tuck her in again, making sure she has a bucket beside her before I settle myself down on the couch beside her to read a report. Struggling to get into it, I give up and lay down to watc
h the movie. Truth is I haven’t been able to concentrate at work or at home all week. I’ve been like a zombie.
Since Aria left the office all hell has broken loose. I’ve fired three temps all because they simply weren’t Aria. I’ve had to run my own schedule, and worst of all I simply miss having Aria around. Our banter in the mornings, her getting me coffee when I demand it and the way she’d give me sexy smiles or kisses at lunchtime to get me through the long and boring meetings I was in for in the afternoons.
Home life has been worse; Charlotte won’t stop asking for Ari, I barely eat and when I sleep it’s usually on the couch in my office, still unable to face our bed. When I am in my room, I get in, dress and get out without looking at anything. I can’t look at all Aria’s things they only remind me of the fact that she should be here with me. I should’ve just told her the truth right from the start and not messed around; then she’d be here right now comforting Charlotte. I’m such an asshole.
“Hey,” Melissa calls behind me and I turn around to find her bringing in a casserole dish and wear a scowl.
“What’s that look for?” I ask.
“Oh I brought us a bottle of wine and not thinking I put it on top of the casserole dish while I grabbed my bag from the car only to have it roll off all over your driveway. A waste of perfectly great wine,” she says placing the dish down on the counter.
“Agreed but you know I have bottles here, right? You don’t need to bring one every time you come over,” I say.
“I know but I thought after the week you’ve had that I wanted to surprise you.” She smiles.
“Thanks Mel, I appreciate that,” I say.
“How are you?” she asks. I shrug. “That’s not an answer, I want words Simon.”
“What do you want me to say? I’m fucking miserable, this house doesn’t feel like home without her. Mel, I’m such an asshole. I should’ve been honest with her from the start, told her the truth perhaps we could work together to solve the problem,” I admit.
Mel opens her mouth only to be interrupted by our mother’s shrill voice. “Simon, are you here?” I roll my eyes at Mel and she smiles. Our mother enters the kitchen followed by a sheepish looking James. She obviously coerced him into bringing her so she could be let into my house. “Of course, I’m here, Mum, I have a sick child to look after.”
“Surely Aria could help you look after Charlotte so you could attend work,” my mother says.
“She could but we’ve decided to take a break from each other. Linda is away so it’s just me.”
“What?” my mother shrieks.
“Yeah, we had a huge fight and broke up,” I say.
“What about?” My mother asks as Mel hands me a glass of red wine.
“It doesn’t matter, Mum,” I say picking up my glass to take a sip.
“Mum can I get you a glass of wine?” James asks.
“Thank you, James,” she replies. “Well, Simon, I’m not going to say I’m sad about your breakup with Aria I knew she wasn’t right for you all along. Now, I have a few friends’ whose daughters would love to get to talk to you and they’d just adore Charlotte too. I could set you up with one of them,” she offers.
I bet they’d adore my money more than Charlotte.
“Thanks, Mum, but right now I want to focus on me and Charlotte,” I reply. My mother and Mel head over to check on Charlotte.
“Why’d you tell Mum you and Aria have broken up?” James whispers in a low voice as I glance at my mother to make sure she isn’t watching us.
“Like I said, I have a hunch as to who is behind the theft,” I reply.
“Mum might be overbearing and try to set us up with women we don’t want to be set up with, but she’d never go so far as to steal from her own sons,” he says.
“I never said it’s our mother,” I reply. I’m damn sure she’d go further if it meant getting rid of Aria from my life but since I don’t have the proof, yet I won’t accuse her of anything.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aria
“Here get this down you,” Steph says as she hands me a glass of white wine. She plonks herself down on the couch beside me, folding her legs up to the side. “How are you doing?”
“Fine,” I lie before taking a sip of my wine, hoping to hide my facial expression and the rise and fall of my chest as my breathing quickens.
She cocks her head to the side. “Bullshit, now tell me the truth.”
“Okay, I’m not fine. I miss them Steph. God! I miss them so much. The way they both snuggled into me in his huge bed at night time, or the way Charlotte would jump on us in the morning to wake us up. I miss his strong arms wrapped around me at night, comforting me, protecting me. Or the way he’d buy me a simple rose to brighten my day or I’d get home to a mixed bunch of gerberas and roses waiting for me.” Steph pouts at me as the tears begin to fall. “I probably sound really corny, but I’ve been checking my phone all the time, hoping he’s finished the investigation or that he misses me just as much as I miss him. There’s nothing. No update or anything. Did he even love me?” I sob my hands shaking with my glass in my hand.
“Don’t talk like that. Of course he loves you and I doubt he’s stopped. You two have a rare thing that not many find. It’s true and real. I have no doubt he misses you, but you need to remember that these investigations take time to complete and I’ll assume knowing Simon that he will want all the information before contacting you. He’ll want to get it right.”
“I know Steph I know that in my heart, but my brain decides to join in on another thought process, it’s horrible.” I take a large gulp of my wine.
“I say hold your head up high and remember what they say. No news is good news, right?” Steph says.
“I’m tempted to call him and ask but I don’t want to look like that stalker ex,” I reply.
“Girl, you are not an ex and your relationship with him sure as hell isn’t over. If I know Simon once this is all said and done, he’ll prove you weren’t the thief and he’ll work his ass off to get you back,” Steph says.
“You sound really confident,” I reply.
“I just don’t want your wild imagination to run away with thoughts and things that aren’t true.”
“But what if?”
“No ‘what if’s’, you stop thinking those right now!”
“I was just going to say what if I call him and tell him to stop paying me my wages,” I reply.
“He’s still paying you?” Steph asks. I nod. “Girl, if he really believed you did this he’d have fired you on the spot no questions asked. Simon seems to be the sort of man who knows what he wants and when he wants it, and I believe that when all this is done and dusted, you are going to become Mrs Simon Billington.”
“Who do you think is behind it?” I ask her.
“I dunno, but whoever it is, they sure don’t like you, and really want you gone from Simon’s life,” Steph says. Leaning back against her couch I think over what she’s just said. There’s only one person I can think of who desperately wants me gone from Simon’s life. After Christmas I don’t believe she would go so far as to steal money from Simon just to rid me from his life. Would she?
Simon
It’s been a month since I asked Tanya Spiers to dig into the financial accounts of Billington Industries and tonight she’s asked to meet with me as she’s finished her investigation.
I’m sitting in my office trying to distract myself with work but it’s becoming harder and harder to do as the clock slowly ticks towards the time of the meeting. I really hope she’s going to have the answers I’m looking for.
Pushing my chair away from my desk I stroll over to the bar in my office and pour myself a whiskey. I take a sip allowing the liquid to burn down my throat. Even this doesn’t seem like a good enough distraction. God! I wish Aria was here she’d know exactly how to distract me. I can’t think about her, not now at least. What if my gut is wrong? What if Tanya didn’t find evidence to suggest the theft was
anyone but Aria?
I take another sip of the alcohol and shake my head. I can’t think like that. My heart knows she wouldn’t do it. She’s sweet, kind, caring and never once wanted me for my money. Every time I presented her with a new gift, she tried to hand it back. She never once asked me to buy her anything, and that included books. If anything, she was spoiling Charlotte and I with books and baking. I miss her blueberry muffins.
A soft knock on my door interrupts my thoughts of Aria.
“Enter,” I call. The door opens and in walks Tanya.
“Have I come at a bad time?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No not at all.” I gesture to the bar. “Can I offer you a drink?”
“No, thank you I won’t be staying long. I’m only here to drop off your report from the investigation. To cut a long story short, I’ve discovered the money that was taken for the period of two and a half months was stopped abruptly after you hired me and hasn’t been taken since. You will be pleased however, to discover that I also found out who was taking the money, and it wasn’t your personal assistant,” Tanya says sliding two folders over to me.
Phew! I’m glad it wasn’t Aria. Which only leaves one other person?
“I’ll leave you to read over those in your own time. I’ll send through your invoice by the end of the week,” Tanya says standing up. I stand walking her out to the elevators. I shake her hand as she enters the elevator. When the doors close I walk back into my office, grab the two files she’s just given me and head home.
Charlotte is awake and on Uncle James’ knee reading a book when I arrive home.
“Daddy!” she squeals. “I missed you.” She races over to me. I place the files down on the kitchen counter in favour of lifting her into my arms. Maybe now I can give my little girl back who she wants so desperately and make myself happy again. I only hope Aria will see that I wasn’t doing anything to hurt her and she’ll take me back.
Aria