“Quit trying to intimidate these nice medical people, Ari. You are far too petite to scare anyone.” Ari hadn’t even realized she’d growled at the nurse when the woman had stepped up to the bed.
“You raised me, Mom. I’m tougher than I look,” Ari joked as she bent down and kissed her mother’s cheek with tenderness.
They took her mom from the room and Ari slowly sank down into her chair, finally allowing the tears that had built up all weekend to fall. Her mother was tough and Ari knew she’d make it through this just fine. She was being paranoid for no good reason.
After about an hour of sitting alone in the room panicking, Ari decided she had to get up and walk around. Driving herself crazy wasn’t helping and sitting there all by herself was only fueling her paranoia. She wandered from the room and found herself in the spot she’d run into Rafe so many months ago.
It seemed like a different time. She’d grown so much in the last several months – dropping out of college, losing her family home, finally finding work and, of course – meeting Rafe. She almost wished she’d taken up his offer just so she could lean on his shoulder in this moment.
She snapped herself from those kind of thoughts immediately. Even if she had taken his offer, it wasn’t like he’d be there for her. The whole point of his kinky arrangement was to have his women at his beck and call. He wouldn’t be her boyfriend and he certainly wasn’t the type of guy to hold her hand while she worried about her mother.
Moving down the hall and finding pictures lining the beautiful tan walls pulled her thoughts in a different direction. She admired the work of the photographer, seeing beautiful images of historical homes, blooming flowers and important members of the community in different outfits, most of them volunteering at various functions.
When she got to the end, she found a picture of Rafe wearing a hardhat with a hammer in his hand and a big smile on his face. She was stunned at how human he looked without his custom suit on.
She read the words beneath; Many thanks go out to Raffaello Palazzo who donated the money for this wing to be built. He’s a dedicated member of the community and can always be counted on to lend a helping hand.
Ari rolled her eyes at the words. She was sure the picture had been nothing more than a publicity stunt. He most likely had dressed in a pair of jeans, had the paper come out and take his picture, then ran as fast as he could to his air conditioned limo.
“I’ve never been very fond of that picture. I always photograph so much better on my left side. My assistant insists that it’s her favorite image, though, and I’ve learned over the years that it’s a losing battle to argue with her.”
Ari jumped at the sound of Rafe’s voice. By the teasing quality of his tone she knew he was once again trying to rile her – she refused to bite.
“Hello, Mr. Palazzo. It seems to be an unfortunate occurrence that I continue running into you here. Hopefully this time I don’t end up needing an x-ray,” Ari said as she turned to see his eyes narrow.
“Ari, Ari, Ari. Did you not listen the last time we spoke? I warned you that you’d be punished the next time you called me by my last name.”
“As we’re in a public building, I don’t see that there’s anything you can do to me,” she smarted off, secure in the knowledge that not only were they surrounded by patients and visitors, but there were also armed staff throughout the building.
“I see that you think you’re safe, but never underestimate me, Ari. Once I decide on a course of action, nothing… and no one… can stop me,” he threatened as his hands came up on either side of her head and he boxed her against the wall.
“Normally, I’d love to prove to you how wrong you are, but today’s not the best day. I need to get back soon.”
His eyes assessed her face, and though she tried to keep a neutral expression plastered on, she knew he could see right through her. She had dark circles, edged by red from the tears earlier shed, along with another five pounds of weight loss. She looked terrible, and she knew it.
“What’s wrong?”
“None of your business.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to play games. If you don’t, then just answer my question,” he said firmly.
“Fine. It’s not like you can’t figure it out. With most people, you barely open your mouth and they’re spilling everything to you. My mom’s in surgery. It’s just been a little stressful. She had complications from her last surgery and they had to go back in. She should’ve been out of her weeks ago, but her body is fighting her every step of the way. I know she’ll be fine but I can’t stop worrying.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d tell me or not. Thank you for sharing. I’m going to help you take your mind off the surgery while we wait for information from her doctor.”
Rafe moved his hands from the wall and gripped her arm, sliding it through his. He started tugging on her, causing her to nearly trip as she tried to make a stand. Since she could either plummet to the floor or go along with him, she finally started to move. It was the lesser of two evils since she didn’t want to cause a scene and have people staring.
“I don’t need your pity or your attention. I’ve been doing just fine all morning on my own.”
“Obviously you aren’t doing fine. You’ve lost even more weight that you can’t afford to lose, your cheeks are sunken in, and you look like you haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in ages. You, more than anyone I know, should be working for me. You obviously need a keeper.”
Ari was almost grateful for his words. For a brief moment, her worry over her mother was pushed down as irritation with Rafe jumped to the forefront. She couldn’t stand how bossy he was.
“I’m taking care of myself just fine. I absolutely don’t need a keeper. As a matter of fact, I had a large breakfast this morning.”
“Liar. I bet you’ve only barely pecked your food over the last few days, and had absolutely nothing today. You’re worried about your mother and I can understand that. But, you’re being selfish, Ari. How do you think it makes her feel to see her daughter taking such poor care of herself. Your mom will need to worry about getting herself better when she comes out of surgery, not spend her time fretting about you.”
Ari took in a sharp breath at his words. He was so arrogant and rude. It really infuriated her that he was also right. The thought of food was turning her stomach. How could she eat when her mother could possibly be dying? It just seemed wrong.