Chris had more sense than that.
But why?
Why her?
And she caught them in flagrante delicto. She couldn’t un-see what she’d just seen. Not even if she scrubbed her eyes and brain with steel wool.
After the numbness dissipated, a fury engulfed her whole. This time, she wished a grand piano would fall on the two of them and squish them flat.
How could she do this to her? Well, this was Sabrina and she was a piece of shit to begin with. But Chris, how could he?
She and Chris had been together since… forever. Why couldn’t he muster a shred of decency and break their relationship off instead of going around her back and boning their boss?
Oh, Jesus Almighty, Arielle wanted to puke.
“I thought you’d gone home already, Arielle. Were you able to serve Frank Darbo?” Sabrina asked like nothing was going on. She made herself decent while sporting a vicious smirk. Like the bitch she was, she was proud of what she had done and now she was gauging Arielle’s reaction. Sabrina seemed to expect her to blow up. To curse.
To completely break down and cry.
No.
Arielle wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Not in this lifetime. Forcing her expression into a stoic mask she reserved for trials, she handed the folders to Sabrina, but when her boss reached out to grab them, Arielle flung them on the desk.
“Are you kidding me with this? What the hell is going on?” Arielle cut her attention to the cheating bastard Chris and skewered him with her ultra-withering gaze. “I hope you bother to wear a condom when you dip your wick in questionable pussy, Chris. She’s been around. Your dick might fall off.”
Sabrina snorted derisively. “That’s classy.”
Chris, who had always managed to look slick and untouchable, was now completely deflated. “Wait Arielle, I can explain...”
“Really, what’s left to explain? It’s not like your dick could wander into her by itself, could it? Freaking unbelievable.” Arielle turned around and left. She held her head high as she walked stiffly toward the reception corridor. She blinked back her tears. No, she wouldn’t cry. He wasn’t worth her tears. No way. Her hands were shaking badly when she was in the elevator. She wanted to punch the wall. Kick something. Scream at the top of her lungs. Just when she cleared out a hurdle, another one snuck up on her and tripped her, sending her face-down into the ground.
Chris and Sabrina. How long had they been at each other?
And how stupid was she for not seeing the signs?
Arielle flagged a taxi to go home; she didn’t feel like taking the subway tonight. She was afraid she was going to break down and cry and make a spectacle of herself in front of a train full of strangers. She didn’t even feel like she’d be up to going into the office tomorrow. She wanted to curl up in her bed and never step outside again. Maybe she should call Trent to cancel the ice cream excursion. She groped in her coat pocket for her phone and she realized she didn’t have it. Damn. Did she forget it again at her desk? Too late now. She was already in the taxi and didn’t feel like going back in there.
The cab driver tried to engage her in some kind of polite conversation, but she only half-listened. Her mind was in disarray. Her heart broken.
In a taxi, the ride home usually only took ten to fifteen minutes. But this time, it took her longer because, for some reason, the police had blocked off the area. Only ambulances and fire trucks zipped down the lane, forcing other drivers to yield and wait.
Up ahead, white-gray smoke clouded the darkened sky.
“There seems to be a fire in one of the buildings up ahead. We’ll have to take a side street, and I’ll have to drop you off an avenue up,” said the taxi driver.
Arielle startled from her thoughts. She peered from the window and saw a building a block away was engulfed in smoke. Fear seized her. Don’t tell me that’s Water Garden, the building where she lived. She opened her purse, grabbed a twenty, and gave it to the driver. “I’ll get out here, thanks.” She climbed out of the taxi and continued the walk home on foot. Her heart sank with each step she took. The closer she was, the more her dread drifted into a full-blown nightmare. Please God, don’t let it be true, she chanted over and over.
Her prayer had gone unanswered. Her apartment building was on fire.
No, no, no.
Police had put up a barricade on the street to keep onlookers at bay. She squeezed through the people who were just watching the fire, some of whom were recording the incident on their smart phones.
Her knees weakened. She didn’t want to believe it. As the reality set in, panic seized her body and squeezed her to the point she couldn’t breathe.
Good god, everything she owned had gone up in flames.
She couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t have happened to her. This was a joke.
Yeah, a joke. When this all over, she’d be waking up from a nightmare and every awful thing that had happened today would only have been a dream.
Before she realized what she was doing, she tumbled down to the pavement and began sobbing. A police officer came to her side and asked if she needed any help. He took her to a paramedic by the ambulance.
“I live in 4B. Is there anything I can save from my apartment?” she asked between her sobs.
“It’s too late now. Too dangerous,” said the cop. He took her name and contact information and told her to sit still as he was going to send someone to take her statement.
“How did it happen?” she asked.
“We’re still trying to determine the cause of the fire, ma’am. We’ll let you know as soon as we have the information.”
The paramedic asked her if she wanted a warm blanket, but she refused. She didn’t want a freaking warm blanket. She wanted her apartment back. Everything she owned was in there. The memory of the place. It was the home she grew up. Her parents’ memories. Cherished mementoes. Family photos. Books. Her mother’s knickknacks. She never thought that when she left for work that morning, she’d lose everything.
She had nothing now. Quite literally.
No home. No possessions. No boyfriend. Nothing.
Maybe she shouldn’t have woken up this morning. She should have just stayed in bed after she dried the bathroom floor. Never in her life had she been so overcome with such hopelessness. The dam of emotions in her chest finally broke as she cried hard, completely ignoring her surroundings.
Someone gently shook her shoulder. “Arielle, what’s going on? Are you all right?” asked a familiar voice.
It wasn’t one of her neighbors or her landlord.
It was Trent.
Arielle was so happy to see him, she rattled off everything awful that had happened since she last saw him, which was actually barely an hour ago. Trent managed to hide his shock, and instead, hugged and comforted her. He told her everything would be okay.
After a while, another police officer came and took her statement. While she was giving him her information, Trent walked away for a minute and came back with a bottle of cold water. He also gave her some tissues to wipe her tears. Arielle drank the water as she pondered what she should do next. She came up blank, so instead, she asked Trent what he was doing in her neighborhood.
“You forgot your phone in the car, so I stopped by to your office and some guy in there told me your address since he couldn’t reach you,” said Trent.
“Who told you my address?
“Chris I think?”
Chris.
“I’m so sorry about… all of this. Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?”
Arielle had an aunt in the Bronx who she rarely spoke with. Their interactions were limited to the exchange of Christmas cards when her mother was still alive. Plus, she was a cat lady and a hoarder, so her apartment wasn’t primed for guests. She had twelve cats and three dogs at last count and there was no room for Arielle to crash for the night.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll just stay at a motel tonight.” She ha
d enough left on her credit card for a two week stay before she would max it out. She could sleep in her office if she had to until she figured something out.
Trent looked concerned. “You don’t have any friends or family?”
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
“Nonsense. Why don’t you crash at my place, at least for tonight?”
She looked at him, hesitant to accept his offer. She didn’t know him that well. They’d just met that morning.
“Listen, I’ve been staying at my mom’s place temporarily since I came home from Iraq. I’ve just rented an apartment and will be moving in there at the end of this week. My mom’s apartment has four bedrooms and she’s rarely home. You could stay there for the night instead of going to a hotel. You’ve been through a lot today. Let me help you.”
“I… I don’t know.”
“It’ll be fine. I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I think you’re staying in some shady motel. No funny business, I promise. You have my word.”
Slowly, she nodded. “I… um, I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Don’t sweat it. It’s not a big deal. Anybody would do the same if they were in my position.” He handed her the phone back.
She peeled herself from the sidewalk and Trent escorted her to where he parked the car.
“Is John home already?” she asked.
“No. He went back to the party because he had some stuff to do.”
Trent drove them his mother’s place. It turned out she lived in a swanky apartment building between Park Avenue and Lexington that Arielle had seen featured on a TV show about Manhattan real estate. She had guessed that Trent came from money, but she didn’t expect him to be this wealthy. She started feeling awkward, wondering if accepting his generosity was a good idea. The last thing she wanted to do was socialize with anyone like Sabrina. Sabrina never let her forget where she came from. Arielle was only a janitor’s daughter who Mr. Hoffman had allowed to rise above her station.
Arielle was still in awe of the building as Trent unlocked the front door of his mother’s apartment, which was on the top floor. The lights were off when they got inside, and it seemed to be empty.
Trends showed her directly to the guest room so she could get some sleep. He gave her a stack of towels, a bathrobe, and a pair of his mom’s fluffy slippers. “These are new,” he explained about the slippers. “She never wore them. I figured you’d like to take a hot bath and relax right now. I’ll leave you to it. I’ll make you some tea once you get out of the bath. Maybe you want some Tylenol P.M. too? It might help you sleep. Everything else can wait until the morning.”
She accepted the towels with gratitude. “Tylenol sounds good. I don’t know how to thank you, Trent.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help. Isn’t there an old Chinese proverb that if you save a person’s life, you’re responsible for that person from that moment onward or something like that? I think we met by fate, so I’m here for you whenever you need me.”
She wanted to say “thank you,” but instead she had to focus on holding back her tears again.
~~~
Arielle felt considerably better when she woke up the next morning. Her heart felt lighter, because she didn’t feel quite so alone. She had a friend and a shoulder to cry on. Since she had nothing but the clothes on her back, Trent loaned her some clothes from his brother’s fiancée. Apparently, she was the same size as Vanessa. Trent’s mom was a tall, slim lady. Her clothes wouldn’t fit Arielle, Trent explained.
Arielle met Trent’s mother at the breakfast table. Her name was Savannah and she was a really beautiful woman. She was in her mid-fifties, sported short silver hair and had a youthful appearance. She was also warm and chatty. Arielle knew now where Trent and his brother got their good looks.
“How are you feeling, sweetie?” Savannah hugged and patted Arielle’s back. “How are you holding up? Trent told me all what happened to you. Please don’t be mad at him; I forced him to spill your story. Don’t worry about anything from now on, okay? You can stay here as long as you like. I’ll promise things will start looking up soon.”
Arielle was touched; Savannah reminded her of her own mother. Her mom was gentle, bubbly, and had been her best friend in the entire world. “Thank you for all your help, Mrs. Alexander,” said Arielle in a small voice. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t cry again.
“Please call me Savannah. Have a seat and eat breakfast with us.”
The Alexander’s employed a cook to prepare their meals. Arielle didn’t feel like eating, but she forced herself to clean her plate. God knows she needed the strength to move on and take care of the thousand things that needed to be done now that her apartment was gone.
“Did you call your office to let them know about the fire in your building?” Trent asked. “I’m sure they’d understand why you didn’t go to work today.”
“I emailed my boss and the HR person to let them know my situation. I’m taking two weeks off.” She’d turned off her phone last night and when she checked it this morning, her inbox exploded with messages. Chris left several voicemails begging her to talk to him, but she didn’t feel charitable and turned her phone back off.
“Have you heard anything about the cause of the fire?” asked Savannah.
“They said it’s still under investigation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s faulty wiring. The building was old and wasn’t being maintained properly. Every time we had a problem, the maintenance guy was nowhere to be found.”
“Did you have insurance?”
“We have renter’s insurance, but it can’t replace family photos and mementos.”
“Oh, dear. That’s unfortunate,” said Savannah. “Did you call your parents to let them know what was going on?”
She shook her head. “They passed away. Dad died five years ago and my mom just recently passed on from cancer.”
“I’m so sorry,” Savannah and Trent said at the same time.
Arielle unconsciously gripped her fork harder as she tried not to cry again. No more wallowing in self-pity. “Thank you. I’m all right.”
“Do you have any other family?” asked Savannah.
“My mom’s sister lives in the Bronx but we rarely talk. She’s rather eccentric.”
“Mom’s eccentric,” Trent said with a laugh.
“My aunt is the weird kind of eccentric. She is a hoarder and her house had been taken over by her cats to the point it was almost condemned. She really shouldn’t be living there anymore.”
“Oh, dear. That doesn’t sound good. Has anyone tried to get her some help?”
“I thought I had persuaded her to move out and get some treatment, but she backed out at the last minute.”
“I see.” Savannah had sparkling green eyes just like her sons. The matriarch of the Alexander house studied her with curious intensity. “Let’s discuss it further while we shop today. You know, I’ve been thinking you’ll need new clothing. New shoes. Bags. Oh, there’re so much to do.” Savannah looked excited all of a sudden. “Why don’t you get ready, dear, so we can start early?”
Arielle looked over at Trent for help; she didn’t quite understand what was going on. She’d just lost everything she owned. This wasn’t the time to splurge on clothes. She had to start looking for a new place and buy some basic necessities. Good thing she wasn’t an attorney anymore because all of her work suits had been destroyed in a fire.
Trent only smiled and placed his hand over hers. “Go. Mom will pick the tab. She has more money than she could possibly spend in three lifetimes. Mom always wanted a daughter to take shopping and do girly things with. Three boys didn’t exactly make that easy.”
“Ah, thank you, Mrs. Alexander, but I can’t accept such generosity. It’s too much.”
“Nonsense. It’d be my pleasure. Having boys isn’t always fun. They’re hard to shop for and they always get cranky when I make them go with me to the
stores. And since Trent is moving into his new place at the end of the week, you don’t need to look for your own apartment. His apartment in Greenwich Village has more than enough room for both of you. Maybe you two could be roommates?”
“The Village? The rent must be astronomical.”
“No rent. I bought it outright with the money in my trust fund. What don’t you go with mom to shop and later, I’ll show you my new place?” asked Trent.
She didn’t really know what to say. She’d just met Trent and yet, the Alexander’s were treating her like a longtime family friend. “I really shouldn’t...”
“But I must insist, dear. You need a new wardrobe and I’m a shopping addict. The two of us are going to have fun,” said Savannah. “Sorry to hijack your friend, Trent, but today is the girls’ day out.”
Chapter Five
Trent was a firm believer in fate and fate had a funny way of bringing two people together. If he hadn’t followed Arielle when he first saw her, she could have been seriously hurt by those two muggers. If he hadn’t gone with John to that terrible party, he wouldn’t have been able to rescue her from the chimney. And if she hadn’t forgotten her cell phone in his car, he wouldn’t have been granted an opportunity to help her in her time of need. From being robbed to losing her boyfriend and then her apartment, all within twenty-four hours? That was one hell of a string of bad luck.
Despite all of it, he thought Arielle had handled it pretty well. She was a strong woman and she endured all of it without complaint. Sure, she cried. Who wouldn’t? She was still human. But she didn’t seem to let misfortune drag her down. She already looked like she was feeling much better in the morning.
When Trent saw her later in the evening, Arielle was in a good mood. He guessed that retail therapy with his mother had been a smart way to lift her spirits. Considering she had just lost her own mother, having someone closer to her mom’s age probably brought her some comfort. Savannah and Arielle came home with bags upon bags of purchases. His mom was a fierce shopper and she was generous as she had both too much time and money on her hands. His mom had always wanted a daughter, so to make up for it, she splurged on her sons’ girlfriends. She often shopped with Quinn’s fiancée, Vanessa.
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