Chapter 7 Griffin
Griffin
Aria’s eyes glint in the lights, matching the sparkle on her gown, but Griffin looks away. Now is not the time for admiring her beauty. He’s about to be thrust into the spotlight and out of his comfort zone again.
Aria reaches out and squeezes his forearm. They lock eyes, and she winks. “Trust me, this crowd is child’s play. Just smile and it’ll be over before we know it.”
Griffin gulps. Didn’t Mike promise him that the engagements that would be part of this setup would be easy and low-key?
Granted, he wasn’t being asked to deliver a keynote speech, but Griffin would much prefer cleaning out the cat litter boxes at the shelter than this.
Believe it or not, he’d take the pooper scooper over the tuxedo any day.
Aria accepts a microphone from the A/V tech and bursts through the small velvet curtain they’ve set up behind the stage. Griffin takes the matching microphone that’s been pressed into his hand and follows, smiling and waving. Sweat prickles at the back of his neck.
“Well, hello, fellow animal lovers!” Aria cries.
The crowd claps. “I’ve got my buddy Griffin Hayes—aka my number one fan—in the house to help me kick off this fabulous fundraising event for the most vulnerable of animals in our great city.
Truly, I could not be happier to partner with such a devoted organization. What about you, Griffin?”
He resists the urge to tug on his collar. “Oh, definitely! Thank you all for having me here and your dedication to keeping our canine and feline friends off the street.”
The crowd claps. Maybe Griffin’s starting to get the hang of this.
“Now,” Aria says as she props a fist on her hip, reminding Griffin of how she looks before she starts a song onstage—powerful.
“Before we start the video that will detail all of the wonderful ways the Chicago Animal Society is working in our communities to keep animals off the streets and get them into safe homes, I have to make one final plea.” Aria looks to Griffin in the pause. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
A smile creeps across Griffin’s face, and for a moment he forgets that he’s on a stage in front of hundreds of people. “Hmm, are you thinking that the great and well-adored Aria Wilder is about to make a pledge of generosity?”
Aria aims a finger at him and winks. “Bingo! Friends, I am prepared to match donations as high as $200,000 this evening with the help of my friend Griffin, so please be generous when getting out your checkbooks.”
The crowd claps loudly, and several of the organization leaders off to the side swell with eagerness.
Apparently Aria is ad-libbing this donation.
Griffin would be happy to split the match with her, even though she didn’t run it by him in advance.
His salary is public knowledge, so it wouldn’t be showing off to announce the amount of his donation.
“Happy to split the check, Aria,” Griffin announces with a grin.
“And what if we’re at a fancy restaurant?” Aria replies.
“I’d have to cover the whole thing.”
Aria’s eyes glint before she pulls her gaze from Griffin’s and turns to the audience. “You heard it, ladies and gentlemen. The friend you want to go out to eat with is Griffin Hayes!”
The crowd laughs and claps again. Then the emcee steps in and thanks them both for their support.
The large screen that hangs over the stage behind them leaps to life with an intro segment showing ill, injured, or homeless animals, with a voiceover reading the mission statement of the Chicago Animal Society.
The woman with the headset returns and warmly shepherds Aria and Griffin offstage. As soon as he hands off the microphone, Griffin’s shoulders drop, and he wipes the beading sweat from his forehead.
“I really owe you one,” he says to a cool and collected Aria at his side.
“You were great out there! I don’t know what all your fussing is about.” She turns and throws him a playful look.
It only helps pull Griffin back to reality, and he follows Aria back through the halls to their room.
“So, is this it?” Griffin asks. “This is our whole deal tonight?”
Aria pops the door open and strides into the room. “Yup! They told us they’d keep it short and sweet for us. I mean, we both know that clip of us is going to be online in the next hour. Unless you want to stop by the lobby for a puppy?”
“Only if it’s living at your place.”
“Kitten?”
“I’m already Aria Wilder’s number one fan. Add a kitten and I lose all street cred in the locker room.” Griffin leans in close, catches a hint of floral perfume, and whispers, “Unless we keep it our little secret.”
When Griffin pulls back, Aria is grinning mischievously. “What’s another secret?”
“So you agree to shared custody?”
Aria laughs. “We only just met. Isn’t that too much?”
Griffin shrugs. “It’s nothing between friends.”
“Fair enough.” The words come out of Aria like a slow exhale, and her eyes scan the room. “Fair enough.”
Aria walks to the bar, retrieves her clutch and her scarf, which she tucks into the crook of her arm.
“You heading out?” Griffin asks.
Aria passes by him to exit, but she stops to pat his upper arm. Despite the bulk of muscle that covers it, the touch of her hand draws Griffin’s attention magnetically. “I travel far too much for a pet, so it seems it’s time. But the cats are really tempting.”
Griffin turns and follows behind Aria, feeling clumsy compared to her grace. “Don’t we have to check out with someone or anything?” he asks.
“Your green is showing, newbie. There’s no cooldown or massages here, no locker room chat. It’s in and out. Check off the job, then onto the next.”
Aria pushes out of the back doors into the chilly night, and Griffin catches the door and walks out behind her.
“I need to text my driver,” Aria says, her breath turning white in the cold air. She takes her phone from the clutch, then very quickly groans.
“Everything okay?” Griffin asks, genuine concern flexing in him.
Aria sighs. “My driver got sick. Food poisoning, he thinks. He said he could send his other—”
“Come with me,” Griffin says.
“Oh, I couldn’t. Where do you even live? I’m out in the boonies.” Aria begins to type rapidly.
“It’s no problem, and I’m not going to leave you here to wait alone. Not with all those dangerous animal lovers inside. Who knows, they might ply you with two kittens at gunpoint.”
Aria laughs, and when she tosses her head back, Griffin realizes he hasn’t seen her do that before. The times he’s seen her laugh onstage, she never wore this real happiness. It’s like a glimpse into the rest of her—the woman who’s hiding behind the Aria Wilder brand.
Aria’s eyes flick left then right as if she’s thinking.
“We’ll go to your house first, drop you off, and it’s farewell until our next engagement. No weird stuff,” Griffin says.
“You’re being so nice.”
“I try to be a decent guy.”
Aria blinks long and slow. “Okay, fine. And thank you. I genuinely appreciate it, because rolling the dice with new drivers—or god forbid a rideshare—is risky. Me traveling alone is a genuinely unsafe option.”
“I imagine,” Griffin says. He’s already taking his phone from his pocket, knowing his driver is idling around the block. He sends a quick text. “Vic is just around the corner.”
“I owe you one.”
“Let’s just say we’re even after you saved my butt out there.”
Aria folds her arms tight across her chest, shivering slightly.
Griffin wonders if he should offer his coat.
Usually he would in a situation like this, but after insisting on the ride, would it be too much?
This is a PR operation, and the last thing he wants is Aria thinking he’s hitting on her in the context of a professional arrangement.
Sure, they do get along pretty well. He genuinely enjoys her company.
And yes, there’s that small issue of the long-standing crush on his end, but that wouldn’t have anything to do with it.
Maybe it would be the right thing to do to offer his jacket.
A friend would offer, and them acting like friends is part of this.
“Would—”
The beam of headlights shining into Griffin’s eyes interrupts him.
“Oh, is that Vic?” Aria points.
“Should be,” Griffin says.
“Sorry, what were you going to say?” Aria turns back to Griffin.
“Nothing. Nothing important.”
As the car pulls up, Griffin reaches around Aria and opens the door.
She hops back as if surprised by the gesture, and Griffin internally kicks himself.
Maybe he is leaning too hard into being kind.
Maybe he needs to relax. Once Aria is in, Griffin closes the door and rounds to the other side of the car.
He climbs in and tells Vic, “Let’s drop her off first, and then take me to the condo, please. I appreciate you being flexible.”
“Yes, thank you so much!” Aria rattles off her address and thanks Vic a second time. She looks over to Griffin and offers him the warmest smile, one that presses her eyes into a delighted squint. “And thank you for being so generous. You know this isn’t a for-pay gig, right?”
“Oh, it isn’t? In that case, it’s $200 for the ride.”
Aria swats at his thigh, and Griffin feels electricity run through him.
“I bet you’d waive the fee for a friend.”
He gulps, willing away the fireworks that are ricocheting through his middle. Willing away the rising attraction. “For you? Of course.”
Griffin turns to look out the window, and inside he’s telling himself off.
It’s not that he shouldn’t be enjoying his time with Aria; it’s the obvious swelling of what was once a crush becoming a genuine attraction.
She’s now a real-life woman—one who is even more interesting than the public version he’d already grown a soft spot for.
Stay in the friend zone. Friend zone only.
Griffin was sure that Aria did not sign up for this arrangement looking for a date.