AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry.” I hesitate in the doorway. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after your first day back at work.”
“It’s okay, Cash.” There’s that smile again. “Come in. I’m glad you woke me up. I’ve been wanting to hear about your day.”
Ari pats the mattress beside her. “Sit. Tell me about your meeting with Brett.” She pauses and a little line forms between her brows. “I mean, if you want to. It’s a family thing; maybe you don’t want to talk about it.”
I pull off my jacket and tie, laying them at the end of the bed. Sitting down next to her, our legs brushing, I give Ari’s face a quick inspection. Scratches healing, features mostly relaxed, still dark smudges under her eyes. Not great, but could be worse.
“Tell me about your day, first.” Taking her wrist in my hands, I start unwrapping the bandage, ready to check if the swelling is going down. “How about your pain? And school? Was everyone nice? Helpful? Was it too tiring?”
“It was… prettygood.” There’s a slight pause, and I cock my head at her.
“Better than I expected,” Ari amends. “Everyone was very nice. But all my students wanted to know what happened, and I couldn’t exactly tell them the whole story. What could I say—here’s a cautionary tale, don’t go on a date with a stranger you meet online without doing a Google deep dive first?”
Ari gives me a self-effacing smile, shame flickering in her eyes. “Hey,” I tell her, putting a hand on her leg for emphasis. “You did nothing wrong. Remember that. And if any of your students do know what happened—the entire story—they will be so impressed to hear how you saved yourself.”
“I guess.” There’s a short pause, and her lips curve up. “I guess teenagers might think jumping from a moving caris cool. But I don’t want to give them any ideas.”
“Probably not.” I grin at her. “So what about the pain?”
“Not terrible, but not great, either,” she admits. “It mighthave been a good idea to wait until next week.”
I press my lips together to keep from sayingI told you so.
“Yes, I know.” Ari watches as I re-bandage her wrist. “So I took a pill when I got home. That’s why I fell asleep.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to get some more sleep?”
Ari nods. “I’m sure. I want to have dinner with you, hear about your day, and I have to call my mom at some point.”
“Does she know what happened?” Last I knew, Ari hadn’t told her mom anything yet.
Sighing, she says, “No. Not yet. I wanted to wait until she wouldn’t feel obligated to fly here from Arizona. Flights are crazy expensive, especially last minute. And even though she’s remarried now, she and Paul are still on a budget.”
“I could help—” I start, but Ari waves me off.
“It’s fine, Cash. I’m okay, I’m here with you; there’s nothing my mom could do other than stress me out worrying. Now.” Her expression gets stern as she looks at me. “What about yourday?”
“Well, I met with Brett. And I kind of told him off. At least about some of it.”
“Good!” Ari threads her fingers through mine, squeezing. “I’m glad. He needs to understand how much—” Her mouth snaps shut. “Anyway. I’m glad. So what else?”
“I agreed to let him come work at Chatham. But only as an editorial assistant. He needs to prove himself. Prove that he’s sincere about working there.”
“That’s a good idea. He needs to learn about the company.” She pauses, and then adds fiercely, “And appreciate how much workyou’ve put into it.”
How does Ari get it, but not my own brother?
Sighing, I say, “I don’t know if he’ll ever understand. He wasn’t there to see how much my grandfather loved the company. How crushed he was that my dad wasn’t going to take over for him. That was always the plan, and then…”
“Does Brett have any idea that it wasn’t your first choice to run the company, either? That you had to give upyourdream to keep the company going? To keep it in the family?”
“I don’t know how he would. He was never around enough to know what I was interested in. Not after our parents died.”
“But Cash.” Ari frowns, her jaw going hard. “It was always your dream to become a doctor. That’s what you said. That even when you were little, you had those doctor kits, and every Halloween—”
Whydid I tell Ari that I dressed up like a doctor every Halloween from five to fifteen?
“It’s okay.” She looks so affronted on my part, I could hug her for it. “Really, Ari. I was disappointed back then, but I’m happy with my choice now. I get to keep the company going, and I get to help people by being a paramedic. It all worked out.”
