But I didn’t know how to fix it. I’d already tried talking to her once, and she was so disgusted by me that she could hardly look at me. How would I persuade someone that didn’t trust me?
Crewe was in a particularly bad mood that morning. He was silent, and his shoulders were tighter than usual. He showered in less than five minutes then brushed his teeth with an irritated expression. He didn’t bother to shave, which told me he was either too stressed to remember or he just didn’t give a damn.
“Everything alright?”
Crewe looked at my reflection in the mirror as he finished securing his tie around the collar of his shirt. He didn’t dance around the topic like he used to. If something was on his mind, he didn’t beat around the brush. “Ariel is coming by to pick up her things.”
“Ooh…” Now it all made sense.
He folded down his collar then pulled on his jacket.
I didn’t feed him empty lines to make him feel better. He didn’t bullshit with me, and I didn’t bullshit with him. “Anything I can do?”
He held up his forefinger before he turned to the stand-up dresser against the wall. It reminded me of something out of a fairy tale because I’d never seen a dresser like it anywhere else. Men usually just had closets. But Crewe had so many clothes and accessories that he needed every nook and cranny. He opened the door and pulled out a black ensemble, a lacy bustier and a matching thong. “Yes. Be ready for me when I walk through that door.” He tossed the racy outfit on the bed then gave me a quick kiss before he walked out.
My mind wasn’t on the lingerie or his expectations of what I would do when he finished work. I was thinking about Ariel, the root of his sadness. I could fuck him as many times as he wanted, but that wouldn’t put him back together.
He needed both of us to be happy.
“What are you doing?” Dimitri asked when I stepped out of the front doors.
“I’m a free woman. I can do whatever I want.” I saw Ariel’s car pulled up to the steps in the gravel roundabout. A black Audi with tinted windows, it perfectly matched her infuriating personality. “I’m just waiting for Ariel.”
Dimitri narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
I couldn’t expect any of Crewe’s men ever to trust me again. “I want to convince her not to leave, that’s all.”
Dimitri continued to stand with his hands in front of his waist, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. “I’m watching you.”
I rolled my eyes and stood near her car, knowing she would leave soon. Crewe never walked his guests to the door, so I didn’t expect him to do it today. Knowing him, he would stay in his office and down a glass of scotch. He wouldn’t want to interact with anyone, not even me. So my chances of getting caught were slim unless Dimitri wanted to piss me off.
Ariel walked through the front doors minutes later, a small duffel bag over her shoulder. Her sunglasses were already on, and she wore a black dress with matching heels. For no longer having a job, she looked awfully professional.
When she noticed me, she halted in her steps. Her glasses hid her expression from view, but I pictured how threatening her eyes must have looked. She started moving again, taking the stairs until we were level with one another. “Get away from my car.”
I ignored the insult. “Ariel, I need you to stay.”
“Now you have him all to yourself, wrapped around your finger. No, you don’t need me for a damn thing.” She opened the passenger door and placed her stuff on the leather seat. She shut the door then turned back to me, her expression still grim.
“Ariel, he’s devastated. He acts like he’s fine with it, but trust me, he’s not.”
“I’m not happy about the arrangement either, but that’s how it has to be.”
“But it doesn’t have to be that way. Look, I’ll do anything to make this work. Please stay for Crewe. Don’t punish him because of me.”
“This has nothing to do with punishment,” she said coldly. “I’m an opportunist. I no longer see an opportunity here.”
“Crewe is a brilliant man. You can’t downplay that.”
“How would you know? All you ever do is suck his cock and manipulate him.”
I narrowed my eyes, feeling my skin prickle at the insult. “I love him. And you know that, Ariel.”
I couldn’t see her eyes, but I imagined she just rolled them.
“Meet me halfway here, Ariel. What can I do to get you to stay?”
“Disappear. I already told you that.”
“Well, that’s the one thing I can’t do. Anything else?”
“Nope.”
“Ariel,” I said through gritted teeth. “I wouldn’t be putting this much effort in if I didn’t love Crewe so much. I could just turn my head the other way so you’ll leave. It’s not like I like you or you like me. I’m only doing this for him. So that right there should be enough to make you consider everything.”
She took off her glasses and hooked them on the front of her blouse. With a cold and calculating expression, she stared me down like an enemy about to attack. “I’ll make a deal with you, London. You want to prove yourself to me? Here’s your chance.”
I held my breath, hoping she wouldn’t ask for anything ridiculous.
“You can stay with him until this relationship runs its course. But Crewe needs to marry someone else, someone royal, and you’re going to make sure that happens. You need to give me your word that you’ll never marry him, that you’ll encourage him to find someone else, and if he asks you to marry him, you’ll say no.”
My heart stopped beating, not from adrenaline, but from depression.
“Give me your word, and we have a deal.”
I could spend a year with him, maybe longer. But now our relationship had a deadline. I could love him every night for now, but one day, I’d have to give him up. I’d have to step aside and watch him spend the rest of his life with someone else. I didn’t realize how much I wanted to grow old with him until the option was taken away from me.
“London?” she pressed.
Could I really do that? I asked Crewe to trust me. By doing this, I was lying to him. But I didn’t want him to lose Ariel. Maybe Crewe and I would never get married anyway. Maybe our relationship would grow old and stale. Anything could happen. This was the only compromise I could think of that allowed Crewe to have both of us. “Okay…”
“Yes?” Ariel asked.
“Yeah. I give you my word.”
She couldn’t keep the surprise from flooding her features. “Maybe you do really love him.”
“Of course, I do.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the front door.
“When are you going to talk to him?”
“It’d be too obvious if I did it now. I’ll wait a few days.” She turned away and walked to the driver’s door like our conversation was finished.
“Okay.”
“If you ever tell Crewe we had this conversation, I’ll deny it.”
“Have a good night, Ariel.” I walked away before she got into the car and shut the door. I heard the door shut and the engine start as I walked up to the front doors.
Dimitri watched me like a hawk. “What was that about?”
“Just wanted to say goodbye.”
I spent the afternoon reflecting on my conversation with Ariel.