Page 16 of Carnal Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #1)
Ariel
W alking away from Sadie was like ripping off a limb.
My entire body throbbed with pain and rejection.
I thought for sure that she’d see the love in my grand gesture and appreciate that I’d made things nicer for the women who came to the shelter after her.
I thought she’d appreciate that I was using my money to make things better for those who had less than me. But I was wrong.
I understood on some level that she had issues with rich people who were assholes.
So did I. The sad fact was that most billionaires lived lavishly extravagant lives without a thought about people who were less fortunate.
That’s why my friends and I had joined a group of socially minded billionaires and pledged to give away most of our money before we died, including donating a minimum of twenty-five percent of our earnings to charity every year.
Sadie’s Space was in addition to my other giving. Something just for Sadie.
My phone beeped with a text. For a second I hoped it was Sadie, but it was just Theo.
I was still a little bit mad at him for fucking things up with Sadie.
My assistant had a big mouth, even though I knew he hadn’t meant any harm by what he’d said to Sadie.
Then again, his teasing wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t kept things from her in the first place.
Theo: How did it go?
Ariel: My gesture was performative. Just another way I throw my money around.
Theo: Damn, that’s harsh. The shelter looks great. The place was a shithole before you got involved. It’s amazing what you can do with a million bucks.
Ariel: Yeah. I’m heading home for the night to eat my feelings.
Theo: Okay boss, keep your chin up. Let me know if you need anything.
I powered off my phone and headed home, feeling a strong urge to cry. I guess I wasn’t surprised when I found Maeve and Grace sitting on my couch when I got back to the condo. No doubt Theo had blabbed to them as soon as he found out that Sadie had rejected me. Again.
“We brought alcohol, chips, and chocolate,” Maeve announced as soon as I entered the room, confirming my suspicions.
“No ice cream?”
I was just teasing her, given that I still had at least six containers of Sadie’s ice cream in the freezer. The thought made me want to cry.
“Please, do you think we’re amateurs?” Maeve asked. “We brought vanilla bean from that place you like so we can make Whiskey Floats.”
“Great, let me put on my pajamas.”
I came back a few minutes later to find my coffee table covered with a variety of snacks, and three large tumblers of icy cold goodness. I grabbed one as I fell onto the couch, sighing happily as I tasted the mixture of Coke, whiskey, and vanilla ice cream.
“Fuck, this is just what I needed.”
My friends sat quietly, waiting for me to give them the details. But I needed a distraction first.
“What’s up with you two?” I asked. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Because you’ve been moping about fucking things up with Sadie,” Maeve reminded me with her usual tact.
I waved at them, gesturing for them to talk. They knew me well enough to know I couldn’t spill my guts until the alcohol hit my bloodstream. Grace started first.
“My parents want me to partner with Nicole Lowenthal on a development deal.”
For reasons that Maeve and I didn’t understand, Grace continued to work part-time at her parents’ development company in addition to her work with AGM.
Her parents specialized in residential projects, so it wasn’t really a conflict of interest since we didn’t compete with them.
But there was more than enough work at AGM to keep her busy.
My eyes widened. “Your archenemy since grade school Nicole?” I asked. “Why?”
“Our parents have decided that our company partnering with Nicole’s is the only way to get the Grant Park College deal,” she said.
“She was at the joint board meeting with her parents, although I could tell Nicole didn’t know about the partnership idea until I did.
She was clearly blindsided by our parents’ edict, the same as I was. ”
Grant Park College was an abandoned school campus that the city wanted to turn into a new neighborhood that included everything from affordable housing to condos, along with businesses and community amenities. Every large housing developer in the country was vying for the deal.
“Damn. Are you going to do it?”
Grace leaned back against the cushions and took a huge sip of her drink.
“Nicole and I are meeting next week to discuss it.”
“Better bring your body armor,” Maeve said drily, no doubt remembering all the battles those two had back when we were in school.
“What about you Maeve?” I asked, taking another gulp of my drink. “What’s new?”
“Absolutely nothing. Now quit stalling and tell us everything that happened with Sadie.”
My friends had gotten to know Sadie when she was living here, and they seemed to really like her. Grace and Maeve listened intently while I told them about my meeting with Sadie and our tour of the remodeled shelter.
“What are you going to do now?” Maeve asked, shoving some Cheetos into her mouth. It left an orange ring around her lips.
“Nothing,” I said. “I promised her that I’d leave her alone, so I guess I’ll leave her alone and let her live her life.”
“I guess I understand her feeling weird about your money,” Maeve started. “And frankly I’d feel weird about dating someone super poor…”
She held up her hand as Grace and I started to protest.
“Not because I think I’m better than them or something, just that our lifestyles are so different, it feels like the money would always be an issue somehow. It’s like if you dated someone whose native language wasn’t English, there’s always going to be at least some minor misunderstandings.”
“I don’t know that I agree with that logic,” I told my friend. “But I get what you’re trying to say. The thing is, what am I supposed to do? Go live in a shack because I fell in love with someone who comes from a lower socio-economic class than me?”
Grace looked thoughtful. “Do you think this is really about the money?”
“She’s been pretty clear that it is,” I said..
I grabbed a handful of chips.
“Maybe the money is just an excuse,” Grace continued. “Maybe the real problem is that her ex held all the cards and she’s worried that with you having more money, you could easily block her out and make her be homeless again if you get tired of her, just like her ex did.”
That made a lot of sense.
“Maybe that’s part of it,” I conceded. “But it’s not like we can even talk about it. I just have to accept that it wasn’t meant to be. She doesn’t want me.”
“It isn’t like you to give up,” Grace reminded me.
“I don’t want to be the creep that doesn’t let a woman have her own agency,” I said. “As much as it kills me, I just need to let Sadie go.”
“Maybe she just needs some time,” Grace said.
I shrugged. “Or maybe I’m just destined to be alone. I should probably look into getting some cats.”