3. Ariel Cambridge
Chapter three
Ariel Cambridge
I sit back down in the chair across from Brock. He frowns at me. Does he think that’s supposed to intimidate me? He looks like a sad golden retriever puppy with his messy blond hair and big brown eyes.
“What are you doing?” he asks in a gruff tone.
I grab my food off the desk. “Finishing my meal before it gets too cold.”
It’s already lukewarm, but thankfully it’s still delicious. I would have been even more irritated with him if he had ruined my meal with his stubbornness.
“Fine, but after that you have to leave. I have a lot of work to do.” He sits down in his leather wingback chair, then drags the container of lasagna toward him.
“I’m not stopping you from working right now.” I gesture to his desk with my fork. “Go ahead.”
His expression is unamused. “You’re a distraction.”
“If you can’t work with distractions around, I’m amazed you’ve made it this far.”
“Just be quiet and eat,” he grouses.
I give him a look. “You should know better than to tell me what to do, Carolina. We’ve known each other too long for you to make such a fatal mistake.”
He carves off a fourth of his lasagna and consumes it in one large, angry bite. Do men have some secret ability where they can unhinge their jaw? I’ve met quite a few serpent-like guys, so it wouldn’t surprise me.
Without replying, he moves the bag aside and starts perusing the papers on his desk.
I twirl pasta around my fork.
“You used to be more fun,” I say, because messing with him means he won’t be so entrenched in work…plus it’s entertaining.
“And you used to be less annoying, but here we are.”
I grab a roll from the take-out bag and throw it at his forehead. It hits the mark and bounces off before landing on the desk near his food.
“Don’t be rude,” I say when he scowls at me.
“How is what I said rude but what you said not?”
“All I was saying is that while you’ve always been exceptionally vexing, you used to know how to have fun. When’s the last time you did anything that didn’t involve work?”
He picks the roll up and tears it in half. The old Brock would have thrown it back, or made some kind of game where we had to shoot it into a trash can. There would be a ridiculous bet involved, and we’d end up laughing way too much over something so silly.
“The fun you’re talking about was while we were in school. I know you don’t know what it’s like to be an adult.” He holds up half the roll as evidence. “But I had to grow up in order to run this business.”
“You’re avoiding my question,” I state before taking a bite of my food.
“And you’re giving me a headache.”
He’s infuriating. How can he not see how he’s running his life into the ground?
“Fine, I’ll leave you alone.” I stand up and put my food back in the bag. “But you’ll be hearing from me soon.”
“Ominous,” he says drily.
“Make sure you answer if I call or text,” I warn him. “Or else my next call is to Sutton.”
“Whatever.”
I roll my eyes. Something I’m sure I’ll be doing a lot of in the future.
It’s clear he’s overworked, and it’s turning him into a sullen teenager.
But I’ll fix that. Somehow. My movie night will have to turn into a brainstorming session on how to keep a stubborn idiot from ending up in the hospital again.
“Try not to spend the night here, okay?” I say as I pick up the bag, leaving behind the bread for him.
“I don’t sleep here,” he replies, but his defensive tone has me thinking otherwise.
My eyes land on the couch nearby. There’s a blanket strewn over the back, along with a few pillows tucked against the corners. I pick up one of the cushions to confirm my suspicion. There’s metal that will fold out into the base of a bed.
“Is that why you bought a futon? To not sleep on it?” I ask him with a raised brow.
He ignores me.
“Look, I know you hate me right now, but you should take a second and think about your life, Brock. Is this what you want to look back on?”
He doesn’t say anything. His gaze stays glued on the document in front of him. I lift up a hand in exasperation and let it fall back to my side. It’s been a long night. I need cheesecake and sleep before I deal with his attitude.
I turn around to walk out of his office. His voice has me stopping in the doorway.
“I don’t hate you,” he says quietly. “You drive me crazy, but I couldn’t hate you, Duke.”
A small smile stretches my lips in spite of how difficult he’s been. “Nice to know.”
I glance over my shoulder at him. He looks much older than he should with the dark circles under his eyes and the lines around his downturned mouth. Sympathy pokes at my big, dumb, caring heart.
“I don’t hate you either, Carolina,” I whisper back.
A ghost of a smile pulls at his lips, but he doesn’t say anything in response.
I watch him for a moment longer, then head out the door.
The closer I get to my car, the more I begin to regret the deal we made.
It was one of my more impulsive decisions, that’s for sure.
But when I looked into Brock’s tired eyes, something stopped me from sharing his secret.
I despise the thought of lying to my best friend.
I’m tempted to call Sutton and tell her everything.
The only thing stopping me is that I gave my word.
Growing up, my dad put a strong emphasis on not making promises you didn’t intend on keeping.
I still remember when I got distracted hanging out with Sutton and forgot to stop by the store on the way home to get milk like I told him I would.
He told me that while getting milk is a small promise, breaking it paved the way for easily severing bigger ones in the future.
I took that lesson to heart, which means I can’t go back on the deal with Brock unless he does first.
I get in my car and pull out my phone. A text from Sutton glares up at me in the darkness.
Sutton: How is he?
My head tips back against the headrest. There are so many words I could say to answer that question.
Ariel: He’s insufferable, as per usual. I don’t think you need to worry too much. He ate, and seemed like he was on his way out when I left.
I cringe as I type the last part. Brock is nowhere near leaving. I shouldn’t have said anything. At the same time, I know she would keep worrying if I didn’t. A half truth might be a whole lie, but it makes me feel better about what I’m doing all the same.
Sutton: Okay, thanks for going by there. Hopefully you showing up knocked some sense into him.
I laugh at the notion.
Ariel: His head is too thick for that, but I did try. I threw a bread roll at him.
Sutton: See, this is why we’re friends.
Sutton: Seriously, though, thank you. You’re the best friend a girl could ever ask for.
My stomach drops. A sour taste coats my mouth. She says the same thing about Brock. He’s the best brother a girl could ask for . I’m sure she wouldn’t say that if she knew we were both lying to her.
Ariel: I don’t know about that.
Sutton: Well, I do! Love you, Ari 3
I sigh. My whole body feels heavy from the weight of secrets. This is going to be even more difficult than I thought.
Ariel: Love you too, S 3
I really hope I’m not making a huge mistake.