Page 14 of Carnal Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #1)

Ariel

I t figured that the one time I did something out of character I’d get busted by my mother. I’d stopped listening to her opinions years ago but that didn’t stop Mom from trying to tell me how to run my life whenever she got the chance.

“ I’m sorry, ” I mouthed to Sadie before turning to greet my mother.

She was dressed in running clothes, my father at her side. Ever since Dad’s heart attack she’d been forcing him to go running with her. I guess I knew that sometimes they’d run along the lake front but in a city of over two million people, it never occurred to me that I’d run into her.

Then again, other than the social occasional events required for my job, it was pretty rare that I was anywhere but work, home, or my boat. I set my taco on the bench and stood up, Sadie doing the same.

“Hi Mom. Hi Dad.”

“Hey sweetheart,” Dad said, giving me an awkward little wave. “I’d give you a hug but I’m all sweaty.”

Dad hated sweating even more than he hated running, but my mother ruled the roost at home, and he did whatever she told him. Although in her defense, she was trying to help him get healthy.

My mother looked between me and Sadie, her eyes assessing as she looked Sadie over. I had no doubt that she’d seen the intimate position we were. Mom’s eyes fixed on Sadie’s grubby old gym shoes before she looked back at me.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend, Ariel?”

I suppressed a sigh. “Mom, Dad, this is my, uh, this is Sadie. Sadie, these are my parents, Evelyn and Diego Hernandez.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Sadie said politely. She looked nervous, her fingers playing with the hem of her shorts.

“Are you two dating or something?” Mom asked.

I grabbed Sadie’s hand and gave her a little squeeze. “Yes we are.”

Mom nodded, her face carefully blank although her tone was haughty.

“Do you work in real estate too, Sadie?”

Sadie shook her head. “No, I’m a house cleaner.”

Mom’s mask dropped along with her jaw, but a lifetime of worrying about manners and appearances meant that she caught herself quickly.

“Oh, isn’t that nice.” Her tone clearly conveyed it was anything but nice. “How did you two even meet?”

“Sadie works for me, Mom.”

Dad’s eyebrows rose to his hairline, but he didn’t say anything. Since I’d stood up to him about wanting to go into business instead of becoming a lawyer he mostly left the meddling to my mother.

“You’re dating your housekeeper ?” Mom asked incredulously. “Are you serious?”

She gave Sadie the same look she used when homeless people asked her for a dollar on the street corner. I could feel Sadie becoming smaller next to me, her shoulders hunching in.

“I’m sure you’re a very nice girl Sadie, but our family has a reputation to uphold,” Mom continued.

“Mom!” I said loudly. “That’s enough.”

“But…”

“Well it’s been great seeing you two, but we don’t want to keep you from your run,” I said pointedly. “It’d be a shame to let your heartrate drop too much.”

Mom didn’t look like she was going to budge, but Dad touched her arm. He’d always known the value of a strategic retreat.

“Come on Evelyn, you know I hate to prolong these runs.” He sent me an apologetic look over Mom’s shoulder. “Let’s hit the road before my muscles get tight.”

“Fine,” Mom replied, looking like she was trying to decide if she should argue.

I had no doubt she’d be burning up my phone as soon as she got home. I also had no doubt that I’d be hearing from my sister soon too, wanting to know what was going on. Ashley was always on my side, but she loved to hear the gossip.

“Nice to meet you Sadie,” Dad said stiffly. “Enjoy your dinner.”

Then he pulled my mother away and they jogged off. Sadie and I dropped back on the bench, our food forgotten.

“Well that was awkward,” Sadie said, looking like she wanted to throw up.

I knew that the encounter with my parents, as brief as it was, just reinforced for her that we didn’t belong together. And while it was true that we came from different worlds, I was determined to figure out a way to be with the woman I loved.

“Are you done with your food?” I asked.

Sadie nodded, avoiding eye contact. “Yeah.”

“Do you want to grab a cone from the ice cream cart?” I asked, pointing to the cart across the way.

“I’m not really hungry anymore,” she said quietly.

I knew she was really upset then. Sadie loved ice cream more than she loved breathing air. I’d never been a big fan, but now my freezer was stocked with pints of her favorite flavor.

Sadie was quiet on the ride back to the condo, rebuffing all my attempts at conversation.

“Sadie, I’m so sorry about my mom,” I said as we walked into my place. “She’s always thought she’s better than everyone else.”

“She’s right Ariel. I mean, what are we thinking? We are so mismatched it’s laughable.”

“I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” I said stubbornly.

We were interrupted by a knock on the door. Before I could go over there, Theo used his code to let himself in.

“Are you two decent?” he called. “I came to bring those contracts you need to review, boss lady.”

He swept into the living room, immediately picking up on the tension between us.

“What’s happening here?” he asked nosily. “Are you two fighting?”

“We’re not fighting,” I said impatiently. “We ran into my parents at Millenium Park and my mother was her typical snobby self when she found out that Sadie and I are dating.”

“Didn’t you tell her that you’ve been in love with Sadie here for years?” he asked.

“What?” Sadie stepped closer.

“Theo,” I said warningly.

He ignored me.

“Surely Ariel told you that she had a thing for you since the day you met?” he asked.

“We’re all just surprised it took her this long to make a move on you.

Every time we get a few drinks in her it’s all.

.,” he made his voice higher to imitate me…

“ Sadie’s so pretty. Sadie’s so perfect.

I love watching her on the Ring camera. I want to keep her forever and buy her pretty dresses and take her to the opera and. . .”

Sadie gave me a look that was a combination of devastated and betrayed.

“Theo!” I yelled.

My former friend jumped, giving me a startled look.

“What?” his voice turned defensive as he looked between us. “I thought y’all had talked about your secret obsession by now.”

“Leave,” I said coldly. “Get out of my sight.”

Theo’s face fell as he realized what he’d done.

“Oh. God, I’m so sorry. Me and my big mouth. Forget everything I said, Sadie. I was just joking.”

I could practically see Sadie planning her escape.

“Get the fuck out of my house!” I shouted at Theo. “Now!”

Theo scurried away without another word, leaving me and Sadie alone again.

“I don’t understand,” Sadie said. “Was this all some kind of game for you?”

“No, of course not,” I protested.

“You built up this fantasy of what? Rescuing the maid? I’m not your…” she paused, searching for the right thing to say, “your Eliza Doolittle or your Pretty Woman lady, whatever her name was. And you watched me on the Ring camera?” her voice rose in pitch. “Do you know how fucking creepy that is?”

“I’m so sorry Sadie. I should have told you.”

I reached for her, but she shrank back. I couldn’t blame her. When you said it out loud, my obsession with her sounded weird as hell even though it had seemed harmless at the time.

“It’s true, I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you,” I said quickly, desperate to explain. “I didn’t want to exploit our power differential and be the creepy boss hitting on the help so I stayed away from you.”

“So you watched ‘the help’ on camera?”

I winced at her tone.

“There’s no excuse for what I did, but you need to know, my feelings for you were real. They are real. I swear it,” I told her. “And maybe it was just a fantasy at the beginning, but once I spent time with you, once I got to know you, I had no doubt that I was in love with you.”

Sadie took a step back, then another step, putting some distance between us. “I need to go.”

“What?”

“I need to get out of here. This is super creepy and I knew, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted what was happening here,” she said sadly.

“I knew that something wasn’t right. I knew you probably wanted to control me and make me into your perfect doll or something, but once again I didn’t listen to my instincts. ”

“I don’t want to change or control you,” I protested. “I love you just the way you are.”

“As long as I don’t walk around in thrift store clothes in public or wear mismatched underwear.”

“That’s not fair, I never criticized your clothing,” I said firmly. “I bought you clothes because you needed them. Because I wanted you to have nice things like you deserve.”

“Just because you gave me pretty things doesn’t mean it’s not controlling.”

“People give people gifts when they’re in relationships,” I said hotly. “I give Theo shit all the time and he doesn’t get mad about it.”

“Well I guess Theo and I have different standards then.”

She stalked towards the hallway. “I need to go.”

“Where will you go?” I asked. “It’s too late to go to the shelter. At least stay here tonight, you can stay in the guest room if you want. Or let me give you money for a hotel. Theo can book you something nice.”

That was the exact wrong thing to say, judging by the little scream she let out.

“I’m leaving,” she called over her shoulder. “I can’t stay here with you.”

“Please Sadie, don’t go. Let’s just talk.”

She shook her head. “The time for talking is past. You’re going to have to find another little doll to dress up.”