Page 73 of Broken Pieces
I kiss her forehead in gratitude. This woman just gets me, and just always wants to help. It feels good to know I have someone I can trust. “That honestly would be great.”
“No problem,” she says before going back to watching her movie.
I muster all the courage I have and ask, “How do you know Alex?”
No point in beating around the bush.
She takes the TV remote and stops the movie as she tells me the story about how they met in college, and how he taught her the ins and outs of the business and much more.
“We are close friends. Well, we were. Until we had lunch a few months ago…” She glances at me. “On the day the paintings got stolen, actually. We needed the help, and Alex had the connections we needed, but I hadn’t told him I was working for you and when I did he didnothandle it well at all.” She sighs. “It escalated quickly. He basically called me a charity case and now here we are.”
“Me and Alex go way back. It’s not a good story, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say he already told you his side.”
She nods without saying anything.
“Figures,” I say humorlessly.
She grabs my hand. “He didn’t say much, really. Only that he worked for your father and when he passed, you inherited the business and fired him.”
I nod. “Did he tell you why, though?”
She shakes her head.
“Me and my father hadn’t had the best relationship. He treated Alex more like his son than he ever did me. Not that I minded, anyway. When my father passed, I truly believed he was going to leave the business to Alex, but he didn’t. Alex did not handle that well and just started this stupid vendetta against me.” I shake my head, trying to simmer down the anger that is boiling within me at the reminder.
I continue, “He started making connections in the industry, trying to get ahead of me. He just made a competition between us in his head and couldn’t get over the fact that I inherited the business and that I started making decisions he hated, decisions that were helping the gallery move forward.”
Her brows furrow. “If you would have told me that before, I would have told you that it doesn’t sound like him, at all. But now, I’m notso sure.”
“The thing is, he started making the wrong connections. Dangerous ones. I truly tried to make it work between us, but he was out to destroy the business. I had to make a decision for the good ofmycompany, so I fired him.” I shrug.
She nods, but her face remains enigmatic. “Thank you for telling me.”
My leg starts bouncing, and before I lose the courage, I ask, “Do you believe me?”
I sound so fucking vulnerable I want to kick myself in the ass.
For once in my life, there’s a sliver of hope that she’ll believe me, because I have no reason to lie to her. Knowing Alex, he’s probably been trying to get in her head, but I just hope that she’s smarter than that.
I know she’s smarter than that.
“Damian, of course,” she says softly, placing her hand on my bouncing leg, making me stop. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“He’s been your friend for years, Aria,” I mutter.
She shakes her head. “I don’t think the person he was portraying was the real one. The Alex I encountered today was completely different. I have no reason to believe a person like that.”
I let out a sigh of relief, my shoulders relaxing.
She squeezes my hand. “You must be beat. You should go to bed.”
“I’m too wired to go to bed. I’m gonna go take a shower and come back. Maybe we can order takeout?”
“God,yes, I’m starving.” She laughs.
I nod, getting up and walking to my room, and getting in the shower quickly. The stream of hot water drips on my shoulders, the warmth bringing much-needed relief after all the tension from today. Closing my eyes and resting my forehead against the cold tiles, I let out a sigh of relief, grateful that she believed me. The last thing I want is for our relationship to become strained, especially over someone like Alex.
Aria has become such an important person in my very gray life. I don’t ever want to let go. It may sound selfish of me, but I’ll gladly be labeled as a selfish bastard if it means I get to keep her in my life forever. The light she has brought into my life is one that has taught me that having hope is more of a possibility with each passing day.
