37. Ariyan
ARIYAN
With classic carols playing in the background, I walked the halls from the hotel restaurant back to my office. Not a fan of bold colors, I chose to decorate the hotel with thousands of white roses, golden lights, and the most immaculate handcrafted Christmas decorations I had shipped from Germany.
I might have gone overboard, considering this hotel was nothing but a decoy.
Still, when Eduardo first handed me the keys, he said I had an unlimited budget to turn this brothel slash money-laundering business into the most believable facade one had ever seen.
So, if for one night, the scent of a thousand roses mixed with the holiday smell of pine trees could overcome the stench of the underworld, who was I to hold back?
“Merry Christmas, Ariyan,” said the front desk clerk as I reached the lobby, where one of our Christmas trees was.
Turning away from the tree, which I had personally supervised the construction of, I greeted her with a warm smile that hurt my jaw.
Her cheeks flushed slightly redder, and I doubted it had anything to do with the makeup she’d applied more than usual today. To her, I was her charming manager. If only she knew that she was blushing in the presence of a once whore, now turned killer.
You’ll die an ugly, lonely death, just like the rest of us.
If my own mother had seen right through me, it was only a matter of time before the rest of them would, too.
“Merry Christmas, Ms. Clark,” I said to her, the words leaving a foul taste in my mouth.
“The hotel looks lovely,” she said while running her fingers through her blonde hair.
As she did, I noticed her long, red manicured nails.
Mother had red nails the day she died.
In fact, even when her skin had already turned stiff and gray, her nails were still bright red, as if she’d just painted them.
“Do you have any plans for the holiday?” Ms. Clark asked, invading my memory. “I-if not, there’s a Christmas festival—”
“I’ll be working all weekend.” I flashed her another forced smile. “But I hope you’ll enjoy your time at the festival.”
Ignoring the vivid disappointment on her face, I excused myself and went straight to my office.
At last, some peace and quiet.
And while I had to start sending invitations to our next party, the thought alone felt like something had stuck in my throat, so I skipped my desk and instead went over to the leather couch, where I lay down.
Placing one hand on my forehead and the other on my lower abdomen, I closed my eyes.
Too many unnecessary thoughts were occupying my mind, from her stiff skin to her red nails and the horrible smell of decomposition mixed with rotten peaches.
I scrunched up my nose because even now, I still smelled it, the reek of death.
It made my stomach coil, and I squeezed my eyes harder, only to see those little white maggots crawling out of everywhere.
I hoped working would keep me too busy to remember, but I guess no amount of work would ever be enough.
You’ll die an ugly, lonely death, just like the rest of—
A knock on my door made me open my eyes, and I quickly sat up.
A second later, the door burst open, and in walked Mr. Rivas, his eyes meeting mine in an instant.
“Were you resting?” he asked, thick brows pulling together and full lips curling into his familiar crooked smile that showed off his one dimple.
How annoying.
“I was just lying down for a moment.”
“Why? You sick or somethin’?”
“No.”
“Want me to get you some water?”
“No need.”
“But if you feel bad—”
“Just shut up,” I grunted while getting up.
Thankfully, he did. But what annoyed me even more than his existence at the moment were the carols coming from outside.
“Would you close the door?”
His brows rose, and it seemed like he’d gotten the wrong idea.
“Someone recovered quickly.”
What a buffoon.
“Oh, for God’s sake.” I rubbed my temples.
“Don’t worry, boss. You don’t need to ask twice.” He switched the lock. “I’m all but willing to follow orders.”
“Save me from your words. I wanted the door closed because of the music coming from the hallway, only you’re an even bigger disturbance.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he cut in, walking toward my desk. “Just admit you wanted some alone time with me.” He winked, and so help me God, it took everything in me not to shoot him in the face.
After sitting down in my chair, I eyed him. Unfortunately, he looked good tonight, with his wild hair pulled into a half bun and his name tag on the right side for a change, meaning I couldn’t scold him. Still, that didn’t explain why he was currently here, wasting the air in my office.
“Why are you here?”
“To annoy you, why else?”
What a juvenile answer, one not worthy of a response.
Clearly, my showing him a bit of patience lately led him to mistake it for affection, which explained this unwanted visit.
But then again, I was to blame for that.
Last week, when he lied about having a shift tonight, I should have told him he didn’t.
Instead, I played along. I still couldn’t say what led me to such a reckless decision, but whatever it was, enough was enough.
Without looking at him and while ignoring the sounds of his breathing, I opened my laptop. Hopefully, this excuse of a man would get the message and leave—
My brows drew together as I seized the small fox keychain he placed on the keyboard.
“Merry Christmas,” he said.
“What the hell is that?” I scoffed.
“A Christmas present.”
Confused and slightly repelled, I glared at him. “A what now?”
Undeterred by the hostility in my voice, Mr. Rivas smiled at me, and that stupid smile was nothing but warm.
This idiot.
“A Christmas present.” Reaching down, he grabbed the keychain and held it before me. “It’s cute, isn’t it?”
My eyes narrowed because why on earth would I think this cheap plastic was cute? Unlike me, Mr. Rivas seemed rather charmed as he continued toying with the keychain.
“Why would you buy such a thing?”
Finally looking away from the keychain, he stared at me. “What do you mean? It’s you.”
My whole face scrunched up. “Excuse me?”
“It’s a little fox,” he said in Spanish while shoving that damn thing in my face again.
But more importantly—
“Did you say… Zorrito?” The corner of my mouth twitched as I uttered the word, or dare I say, nickname?
But instead of owning up to his mistake and apologizing, he chuckled. The deep, guttural sound got on my nerves at the same time it made my stomach twist into a tight knot.
Furious at this reaction, which had been a recurring issue lately, I bit my lip and glared at the keychain before shoving Mr. Rivas’s hand out of my way. As a result, the damn thing fell to the floor.
“Don’t,” I hissed as he moved to pick it up.
“But—”
“I’ll toss it into the garbage later anyway.”
Hoping he’d get out of my office now, I was disappointed yet again when he invited himself to sit down in the chair across from me.
“You’re moody tonight.”
“Moody?”
“Yep.” He crossed his arms over his wide chest. “What happened? Someone forgot their name tag?”
It didn’t take one minute for him to start touching things on my desk. First a pen, then a paperweight, now—
“Don’t touch that,” I snarled, snatching the stapler from his hands. As I did, I briefly got to feel the bruised skin of his knuckles, and for a quick second, I felt guilt?
“What’s even up with that, huh? Why the obsession with those name tags?” he asked, playing with the desk lamp. “I mean, it’s such a small detail. Nobody cares for it, anyway.”
“I do,” I said, putting the things he moved back in place. “And would you please stop touching everything? I don’t know where your hands have been.”
“Come on,” he laughed. “I might have jerked off the new security guy, but I washed my hands afterwards.”
My heart paused, and I quickly looked at him, only to catch the smile on his lips.
“Relax,” he joked. “I’m kidding.”
I know. And yet, the thought still bothered me.
Beyond that, even.
But not in the right mindset to reflect on that nonsense, I looked back at my computer as I began typing a whole lot of nothing. The minutes passed while he kept sitting there, and despite not looking up from the screen, I could feel his stare digging a hole in me.
“Please go somewhere else.”
“But anywhere else is so boring,” he whined like the man-child he was. “Besides, you’re here.”
I smiled at that last part, but realizing it, I quickly bit down on my lip.
“I don’t care. You’re interrupting my work.”
“So how about I go to the club?”
“No.”
“Come on.” He slumped back in the chair. “I’ll win the fight and go straight back home—”
“I said, no.”
“Come on, Ari, please?”
Ari?
I was prepared to give him a piece of my mind when a phone rang. Not just a phone, but the one I used to contact Eduardo.
The familiar ringtone immediately made my muscles go stiff, and I held my breath as the phone kept ringing. And while I knew better than to keep Eduardo waiting, I couldn’t answer, not when Mr. Rivas was here, sitting right in front of me.
“You have two phones?” he asked while pointing at the other phone placed on the desk, one that clearly wasn’t ringing.
“I do.”
The phone kept ringing.
“Why?”
“For work.”
“Can I get your other number, too?”
“No.”
The buzzing made my whole desk rattle.
“Aren’t you going to pick up?” he asked when I pretended to read something on the computer.
“No.”
“Why not?”
The ringing stopped, and I let out a low sigh. I’d call Eduardo back as soon as possible and excuse it somehow. But first, I had to get this rascal out of my—
The phone started ringing again, making my blood freeze. Not answering his call once was bad enough, but twice? He’d send Alejandro, which was the last thing I wanted to happen.
“Looks like someone’s really looking for you—”
“You can go to the club,” I cut into his words.
“Seriously?” His whole face lit up.
“Yes. But go now before I change my mind.”
Thankfully, that worked, because the moron was up on his feet before I could even count to three. I guess he truly was keen on that fight. It was far from ideal, but I’d rather deal with the outcome of him going there alone than with that of sending Eduardo to voicemail again.
“Don’t worry, boss, I’m going to win,” he said, a big smile plastered on his lips right before he left my office. The second he was out, I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the phone.
“Ninety-three seconds.”
“Sir—”
“Do you know what I can do to you in ninety-three seconds?”
I swallowed hard. “I’m very sorry, sir.”
“I asked you a question, didn’t I?”
Fisting my hand tight, I dug my nails into my skin. “No, sir, but I can imagine.”
“Please enlighten me.”
I took a deep breath. “You could kill me, sir.”
“I could do a lot worse than that.”
My throat tightened. “I’m well aware, sir.”
“Clearly, you’re not, or else you would have picked up the first time.”
Holding the phone tighter, I closed my eyes. “It won’t happen again, sir.”
“I’m sure it won’t, as you’re not the type to disappoint me, Ariyan.”
Per usual, that name coming out of his mouth gnawed at my stomach.
“When I call, you drop everything and pick up. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve got a job for you.”
Saying he had a job for me was a nice way of telling me there was someone out there who had run out of luck.
“When is it due?”
“You’re already late.”
I held back from letting my emotions slip. “But sir, the hotel is holding its Christmas Eve party as we speak, and I’m to be in charge.”
“I’m sure they can handle your stupid party by themselves.”
As he spoke, I could hear carols coming from the other end of the line. And not only that, but voices, too, of his family.
There he was, in the midst of celebrating with his own family, while sending me off to kill someone as if it were nothing.
“Alejandro will send over the details.”
He went on talking while I stared ahead at the chair Mr. Rivas had sat on only a few minutes ago. It was odd, but somehow, I almost wished he were here again.
“And don’t worry, I’m not asking you to do it for free. The fee shall be deducted from your debt.”
He said it as if he were being so kind. Still, I had no other choice.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.”
“You could count it as your Christmas bonus.”
The muscle in my jaw tensed as I forced myself to speak. “Again, thank you so much, sir.”
He hung up without a goodbye, and I was left to sit in my chair for a few more seconds before I got up and walked over to grab my gun from the safe.
After taking it out, I hung the painting back on the wall to hide the safe and took a moment to stare at it.
Seeing the blood gushing out of Holofernes’s slit throat, my eyes moved on to Judith.
I wondered what she felt in those seconds.
Was it relief for finally getting even with her rapist, or was the weight of his blood already weighing on her conscience?
I still carried the weight of my first kill.
He deserved to die.
He deserved to die for fooling me into thinking he cared.
He deserved to die for making me believe I could be loved.
But mostly, he deserved to die for trying to kill me that day.
And yet, despite all that, my heart still ached whenever I thought of him. Not because I missed him, but for the bloodied path his death had led me into. And so I wondered if Judith had time to savor the sweet taste of revenge or if the consequences got her before she could.