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Max
He’ll never admit he likes her.
Me
Foyer in ten minutes.
Max
Avoidance… Nathan’s greatest strength.
Cole
Stronger than his volley at Saturday morning’s tennis match last weekend.
Me
Fuck.
Me
Off.
Eli
How long can we keep this up until he breaks?
Max
Months.
Years more like.
Assholes.
I close my messaging app then open my email on my computer.
Desperate to discover everything about Arianna, I open Janice’s email and read Arianna’s résumé in detail for the millionth time.
Meets deadlines, ensures compliance, confidential, adaptable… All the usual suspects are listed, but what I didn’t expect to read under extra-curricular activities is that she volunteers at a charity called The Connecting Kids Foundation, helping children to overcome grief, specifically those dealing with trauma and the loss of a parent.
Does she have first-hand knowledge of that?
I hope not.
If she has, I feel deep empathy for the pain she must have gone through. No one deserves that.
Even though my father is no longer the man he used to be, I’m lucky that my parents are still here, and I can’t imagine what she must have gone through if she did lose one as a kid.
Suddenly wanting to know everything about Arianna and to protect her, my chest tightens with the need to get to her faster. Iclose my computer down, grab my jacket, and storm toward the elevator.
Whatever has happened to her in her life, I want to make her feel better.
Arianna Donovan.
The strong tempting woman who, at fifteen years my junior, is much too young for me, but if I don’t see her again tonight to make sure she’s okay, I might lose my shit.
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