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But Vanessa refused to drop the subject. “We never should have started this affair. What were we thinking? What are you gonna tell him?”
“That his kid’s acting out and trying to hurt you. She made up a fictitious story and got rid of her phone to make it sound more believable. It’s the typical case of ‘I hate the stepmom, so I’m gonna disrupt marital harmony and make her disappear.’ And that’s the same excuse you need to use. Tell him the brat’s deliberately trying to destroy your marriage.”
Vanessa took a deep breath. “Okay, I can do this.” She pulled down the visor to fix her makeup in the mirror and said, “Did you interact with Noah at all today?”
“I told him I was heading out to lunch before I came over. I know this guy who owns a restaurant downtown. When I tell him tojump, he says, ‘how high?’ He’ll vouch for me. I’m not worried.”
Vanessa shut the visor.
“Don’t stress,” he reassured her. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”
“What if she gets that boy involved?”
“Please.” Amir scoffed. “Is Noah actually gonna believe him? The kid is best friends with his rebel daughter. Besides, he already told me he doesn’t like him.” He calmly took a sip of his coffee and set it back in the cup holder. “Noah decides based on facts. He’s a lawyer; he needs proof. Innocent until proven guilty, remember? The brat has no proof. It’s her word against yours.”
Vanessa marinated in misery.
“You’re gonna get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that,” Amir teased.
“Shoot!” she gasped, turning down the mirrored visor. “I got injections last week, too!”
“All the more reason to stay cool as a cucumber.”
“I don’t want to go in for another visit until next month.” She stretched the skin across her forehead and felt satisfied when no age lines appeared. Fixing her cleavage, Vanessa opened thepassenger door and looked back at her lover. “Don’t contact me until I reach out, okay?”
He turned the key in the ignition. “Done.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ARIA
An hour had passed since I had entered Noah’s office when he finally appeared. He was reading a document as he approached the glass door and didn’t notice me. I stayed quiet and waited for his eyes to find mine. Dressed in a navy-blue pinstriped suit and silver tie, he looked so sexy. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in this office who was guilty of fantasizing about him. Noah placed his briefcase on the desk and paused when he looked up and saw me sitting on the sofa.
“Aria?”
There it was: my anxiety kicking in.
“What are you doing here?” He smiled, surprised to see me. Too bad I had to be the bearer of bad news.
Hopefully, he won’t shoot the messenger.
“Is everything okay?” He looked concerned, opening his briefcase. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“Yes.” I wished I could hug him. “Do you have time to talk?”
He pulled out some files and sat at his desk. “Yes, I do. What’s up?”
This was such a bad idea,I regretfully thought.I should not be bringing family drama to his workplace. Abort mission!
“I, um…” I fidgeted with my fingers. “I wanted to interview you for my careers class.”
White lies…
“So,”—he shot me a quizzical stare—“you ditched school to come all the way here to do it? Come on, Aria, out with it. And this time, the truth.”
I lowered my head and muttered, “I don’t think you want to know right now. I made a mistake coming here.”
Way to go Miss Smarty-pants! It took you nearly an hour to figure that out?
