Page 142 of Naughty Nelle

CHAPTER 21

Ari

When I got back to my empty apartment, I was buzzed. Drunk with my princess, Sarah Greene. I was glad I’d gone over to her place to make amends, and that vibrator sure went over big. In more ways than one. I already missed her and there was a big part of me (no pun intended) that wished she would call me on my cell phone. She was the only woman I’d given it to aside from my mother, my sister, and my top female executives.

After I dropped my weekender bag off in my bedroom, I headed to the kitchen to grab a beer and fix myself a quick bite to eat. I’d barely eaten all day. On my way, the intercom buzzed. It was the doorman, letting me know that my sister and Ben were on their way up. I wasn’t expecting them back so soon. Maybe they left the Hamptons early or didn’t have a problem with traffic.

When the elevator door parted, Ben came flying out and I swung him in the air.

“Hey, bud! Did you have a good trip back?”

“Yeah. Aunt Gwen stopped at a Dairy Queen and bought me ice cream!”

“Cool.” My eyes met Gwen’s. “Thanks for bringing him back.”

“No, problem.” She propped up Ben’s roller bag on the marble floor. “He slept most of the way home.”

Her voice was as cold as ice, her face tight. Whatever barrier Sarah had created between us was in full force. My twin sister was not one to step down and neither was I. We were two peas from the same stubborn pod.

I toyed with the idea of telling her that I’d just come from Sarah’s place just to piss her off. It was strange how the dynamics between us were the same as when we were kids, but she didn’t give me a chance.

“Ari, I’ve got to go. I have an early day in court tomorrow.”

She eyed me suspiciously, perhaps distrustful of the sparkle in my eyes.

“Please think about what we talked about last night. She’s no good for you. If you don’t end it, I will.”

Her cold, threatening tone sent a chill down my spine.

“What’s Aunt Gwen talking about,” asked Ben, still in my arms.

I put him down. “Nothing you need to know about.” I gave him an affectionate pat on his bottom. “Why don’t you go to your room, put your clothes away, and get into your pajamas and we’ll make macaroni and cheese together.”

“Yay!” shouted Ben, grabbing his suitcase and scooting down the long hall.

Gwen’s frosty eyes stayed locked on me. “He deserves better. Goodnight, Ari.”

With that, she turned on her heel, letting herself out and leaving me simmering.

I’ll confess. I was good at a lot of things, but cooking wasn’t one of them. My idea of cooking was microwaving a package of frozen mac ’n cheese, but I was lucky because this was one of Ben’s favorite things to eat.

Sitting at the kitchen island counter facing each other, we devoured our tubs of the super orangey, soupy stuff, which I’m sure was made with fake cheese and had tons of bad additives. But it was so fucking good.

“Daddy,” said Ben, scraping the bottom of his tin with his fork, “did Aunt Gwen tell you about what happened at the pool yesterday?”

My stomach twisting, I set down my fork. “No, tell me.”

Five minutes later, I’d heard the whole goddamn story straight from the horse’s mouth. No details spared. While in ordinary circumstances, this life or death encounter would have gutted me—there was nothing more sacred to me than my son’s life—his explicit narrative sent hot rage shooting through my veins.

Fucking Gwen. She had lied to me about Sarah sitting there idly just as I thought. Ben had gotten a cramp while swimming in the deep end and his close-by bodyguard Vadim, who watched him like a hawk, had instantly come to his rescue. My princess was a witness to Vadim’s quick reflexes as was Gwen.

Simmering, I dismissed Ben from the table, telling him to go watch TV and that I’d bring him Twinkies and ice cream. A new Power Rangers episode would likely be playing on Nick. He couldn’t have been happier.

As I cleaned up, my rage morphed into fear. I had to win Sarah before Gwen got to her. As soon as the last utensil was in the dishwasher, I made a call.

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