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Noah clears his throat awkwardly and smiles at me. “Aria and Brad work together,” he tells me, breaking the silence. “They work for a small firm that mostly dabbles in communication software. It’s nothing like yours, of course, but it’s the same field, I think.”
I stare at Aria, my heart tightening at her haunted expression. I don’t know what’s going on, but her sadness is clearly tied to her job, and it looks as though Brad is rubbing salt in an open wound.
“You can,” I say, and Aria looks up at me, her gaze questioning. “You can get into Aequitas.”
She blinks, her cheeks reddening just a little. I’ve caught her off-guard. I can tell by the way her eyes widen, the way her lips open, as though she wants to say something, but doesn’t know what.
“You have an engineering degree, no?”
She nods slowly. “I specialized in software engineering.” Her gaze lingers, yet I can’t read that look in her eyes. Is it admiration? For a split-second I wonder if I inspired her to follow my path, but then I shake my head and smile. Of course not.
“You will always be welcome at my firm, Aria.”
She looks down at her plate, her cheeks turning crimson. She looks like she doesn’t know what to say, and I love that expression she’s wearing. Aria is rarely at a loss for words, but I’ve got her speechless. Over something so simple too. She should’ve known there’s always space for her by my side.
Noah sits up excitedly and grins. “That’s a great idea,” he tells her. “You should consider it. There isn’t a better company to work for, especially in your field.”
Brad nods. “I agree,” he says, his eyes on me. “I’d absolutely love to work for you,” he tells me. “Do you have a business card? Maybe we can chat sometime next week.”
I lift my wine glass to my lips and take a sip before placing it back down on the table, trying my best to suppress my irritation. “Not you.”
Brad blinks in confusion, while Noah bites back a smile. “I apologize for his abrasiveness,” Noah says, not sounding apologetic at all. “He means that his invitation only extends to Aria.”
I shake my head. Noah has always done this, translating my handful of words into full sentences. I never understood why — it’s not like I’m ever unclear. I just don’t see the point in wasting my words where they’ll remain unheard.
Aria glances at me, and the way she looks at me makes my heart feel strange. Her eyes are filled with so much hope, as though working for me actually means something to her. I wonder if she’s ever applied…fuck. What if she did and her application got rejected? I should’ve created an alert for her name.
Noah clears his throat and straightens in his seat. “Let’s cut the cake,” he says, smiling. “I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”
His eyes drift to the photos on top of the fireplace, and I expected him to rise and choose a photo of his parents to place on the table with us. Aria and Noah have made it a tradition to include their parents on special occasions. They’ve done it for years, so I’m surprised when Noah tears his gaze away from the photos. He glances at Brad and then picks up the cake knife.
“Wait a minute,” I say, rising to my feet. I walk over to the fireplace and grab one of the photo frames, carrying it back to the table carefully. Noah looks up at me with gratitude in his eyes, and I can’t help but wonder if he’d have ignored their standing tradition because of Brad. Surely not?
Aria’s eyes meet mine, and I can’t quite decipher her expression. It looks a lot like helplessness blended together with gratitude. She rises to her feet to sing happy birthday to Noah, and I sit back to look at her. Her voice still renders me speechless. It’s as sweet and beautiful as she is.
I drag my eyes away and stare at the cake she made for Noah. It’s obvious she put a lot of thought into this year’s design, and I fight the tinge of jealousy I feel. To have someone care about you that much… to have someone hand make you a birthday cake, what would that be like?
My eyes fall to Brad, and I tense involuntarily. He’d better appreciate Aria, he’d better treat her like the queen she is. I’ve taken men far more powerful than him down, and I won’t hesitate to ruin him if he ever hurts her. For his sake, I hope he never does.
4
Aria
“He’s even more intense than I expected him to be. I’ve read so many articles about him, and youknowI idolize the guy, yet you never thought to mention that you know him personally?” Brad says, his words tumbling out in rapid succession. “He’s quiet but domineering, and he’s even taller and broader than he looks in photos. Where does he even find the time to work out? Don’t you find that all successful people are like that? They prioritize their health in ways we don’t.”
He hasn’t stopped talking about Grayson since last night, and I should probably find it cute, but it just makes me uncomfortable. I’m not entirely certain why, but it does.
In part, it might be because I’m a little protective of Gray, and I know Brad wants to make use of my connection to him. I’ve always treated Gray the same way I treat Noah, and neither one of them seems to realize just how amazing they are. Noah continuously gets approached for free medical advice and treatments, when he barely has time to sleep as it is. Gray, on the other hand, is always hounded for his money and his connections. I don’t want to become another person who does that to him when I should be on his side.
Noah and Gray both look domineering, but they have hearts of gold. They don’t know how to turn down requests for help, because they both know what it’s like to be in a vulnerable position, to have nothing.
My phone buzzes, and I smile when I see a notification from the Nemesis app. I glance over at Brad, but he’s so busy obsessing over Grayson he doesn’t even realize I’m barely listening.
Ash:Did you manage to braid that beard of yours? Send pics.
I suppress a smile, amused with Ash’s continuous efforts to find out who I am. We’ve never met, but lately I’ve come to consider him a friend.
Nyx:I French braided it. It was beautiful.
