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“She almost sounds kinda cool. Your mom must go crazy with your new wife around. The new Mrs. Radcliff…mingling with the homeless and addicts.”
Your wife. It still felt strange hearing it.
“That’s the worst part of it all. I have to keep them apart as much as I can. It’s a ticking time bomb on top of the usual ticking time bomb my mom is. Thankfully she left to go boating with friends, but she just came back, and I can smell war in the air. Something big is going down soon.”
“Damn… What the hell was your grandpa thinking?”
Benjamin said nothing, his eyes on the thumbprint he had left on the smooth glass. “He wasn’t thinking at all,” he muttered, his focus still on the glass as everything else blurred out. They sat in silence, the rain pattering against the windows, accompanied by low rumbles. He saw Roger sit up and glance in his direction.
“Nah. Doesn’t sound like Elijah Radcliff to me.”
“What?” Ben looked up; his brows raised high.
“I mean, that man was a genius. Brilliant. He built an empire from dirt and dust. He didn’t do anything without running it from every angle possible.”
Ben thought about this for a second. What Roger said was true, and yet it was obvious that his grandpa must have lost his marbles when he wrote his will. Gone nuts—from genius to insane. He was about to ask Roger to elaborate on those strange remarks a bit more, when their conversation was interrupted by light footsteps coming from the living room. Both men shifted their gaze in that direction. Benjamin almost dropped his drink when he saw who it was.
“I understand you guys want to do a bit of bro talks and stuff, but I am getting bored in there,” Sarah said exposing her immaculate white teeth. She looked stunning, as always. Her long dark hair was put up into a bun and she was wearing a crème, short summer dress with sleek leather boots. Coming from one of New York’s oldest and richest families, she was considered aristocracy in Manhattan. Benjamin had an on and off casual relationship with her, one he had not perused in a few months as Sarah had started to ask for serious dates—something he could not give her, which he was very clear about from the beginning.
“Sarah. What a surprise to see you here,” he said tuning to Roger with pursed lips. Roger innocently shrugged his shoulders.
“Well you aren’t answering my calls… if that is even still your number?” Her voice had a scolding, arrogant tone to it. No doubt, this was a woman whose looks and wealth had gotten her accustomed to getting everything she wanted. Everything but Benjamin, which in her eyes probably only made him more interesting.Is this what Ava thinks of me?
“I’m sorry, Sarah. But I was a bit busy with funerals and weddings lately.”
She walked up to him and took his glass from him to drink from it. Benjamin was okay with that as he still had to drive anyways and was done with drinking.
“Oh, come on now. I’ve seen the girl in the papers. Your grandfather could have done a better job at picking someone to tame you.” She pressed her body against his, her soft breast pushing against him. Her eyes glittered as she ran her hand through his hair and down his muscular chest. An icy feeling instantly spread through his stomach.Guilt?He rose and stepped back, gently removing Sarah’s hand from him.
“I gotta go,” he said turning to Roger, who just stared at him, his eyes narrowed, his mind working hard at something.
“Oh boy,” Roger mumbled to himself all the sudden as he shook his head. “Come on my friend, I’ll walk you out,” he added as he strode back to the front door, drink still in hand.
“Call me,” they heard Sarah yell after them. Both ignored her.
“I’ll see you around,” Benjamin said to Roger stepping out into the rain as he held his coat over his head for cover. Rain was angrily bouncing off to both sides, some drops still attacking him on his head.
“Yeah, I’ll call you for another drink soon.” Benjamin nodded and rushed off when Roger called out after him.
“And Benjamin…”
He stopped and turned to face Roger once more, rain streaking down his handsome face and arms.
“I didn’t know… Won’t happen again,” Roger added. Benjamin frowned. He had no idea what the hell that was supposed to mean, but that was Roger. He threw him another nod and sprinted to his car. Time to go back home to experience another awkward evening with the new Mrs. Radcliff.
The first two weeks of their arranged marriage had to be the slowest fourteen days of both their lives. They both agreed on one thing at least: the constant rain made it worse.
How do you spend evenings with someone you don’t like?Ava had asked herself this multiple times. For her it wasn’t just “someone,” but “some people.” Lucy had decided to make her hatred more obvious—more than ever. Ava hadn’t given her much thought at first, but it was clear now that she was as much of a headache as Benjamin, maybe even worse.
On the bright side, Ava told herself over and over again, an account had been opened for her and a huge deposit made. ‘Her allowance,’ the lawyer had called it, but that felt more like sugar-coating the real issue. She had a feeling that this was just the beginning. Lucy and Benjamin Radcliff had probably all kinds of secret weapons in their toolbox to make her leave before the six months are up and ultimately rob her of her father’s home and peaceful retirement.
Ava frowned, feeling a bit depressed. It didn’t help that today she had to call child protective services on one of the homeless for showing up with a little girl who was extremely underweight and analphabetic. Somehow, they had managed to slip under the radar with one another, father and daughter. The mother had died a while back and he was all the kid had. But at the same time, the streets were no place for a small girl, so Ava had no choice. The screams and cries of both of them when the girl was picked up by the police and CPS still echoed in her ears.
She sighed and stared at her plate, oblivious of the man sitting across the table.
Benjamin sat opposite from her and wondered what the hell she was thinking.Probably how to spend my inheritance once she gets it.
Roger had texted him earlier asking how things were going and Benjamin had mumbled that it was up there between “shitty” and “the worst sort of” bad. He’d asked if they could go out for drinks, but Benjamin had declined. The guilt of Sarah making a move on him was still fresh and who knows what other trouble Roger might get him into. He was a fun friend, but he was also not the kind you would let babysit your kids.
