Page 87 of Dearest Protector

Ben

“She sent me a goddamn check, like I was some kind of obligation that she had to pay off,” I told Ian as we sat in my office at headquarters. “She even calculated the rent she would have had to pay for the condo, and she included the salary I paid her as my assistant. There was no personal note. Just a statement of what she was paying, the key to the condo, and the fucking check.”

Yeah, I was pissed off, but honestly,thathad hurt.

Like I wanted or needed her money?

Ian shrugged. “Maybe she just wanted to pay you back. Honestly, it’s kind of sweet.”

I glared at him. “There’s nothing sweet about her telling me fuck off with a check.”

“You have no idea what she was trying to tell you. She was nice enough at Kate’s graduation,” he reminded me.

Yeah, she was nice enough to me—if she was a stranger who was meeting me for the first time.

She wasn’t.

“She hates me,” I said in an emotion-roughened voice. “And she was distant at Katie’s graduation. Well, to me anyway. She said a handful of words that she’d say to a stranger.”

“Ben, give her some time. Do you think she’s not struggling with this whole thing, too?” Ian questioned.

“I have no idea,” I said honestly. “She’s not exactly telling me how she feels.”

“I don’t think she sent you that check to hurt you. Ariel isn’t spiteful or deliberately hurtful,” Ian pointed out.

My shoulders slumped. “You’re right. She’s not. Maybe it’s just driving me insane because I have no idea what’s on her mind right now.”

“Maybe you should just call her and ask her,” he suggested.

“I can’t do that,” I said as every muscle in my body tensed. “I promised to give her some space. And I certainly can’t stop by her place since I have no idea where she lives anymore.”

I’d simply gotten the key to the condo with that damn check.

She’d moved, but I had no idea where she’d gone.

Fuck!It wasn’t like I hadn’t been tempted to call her.

Every. Single. Goddamn. Day.

“Katie knows,” Ian informed me. “She’s at Ariel’s new apartment right now.”

“I have no right to ask,” I said hoarsely. “But just tell me that she doesn’t live anywhere near the place she had before she came to work for me.”

“Okay,” Ian drawled. “She lives nowhere near the downtown area, and it’s a good neighborhood. It’s about a block from where the condo is. She’s making very decent money now, and her business opportunities are enormous. She has no reason to go back to a place like that. Take a breath. She’s okay.”

My body relaxed a little. “Thank fuck!”

I’d told myself that it was none of my business where she chose to live, but I’d thought about it ever since I’d gotten that check and knew that she’d moved.

“So, about how long are you going to be able to wait?” Ian asked.

“As long as it takes for her to forget about the fact that I lied to her,” I shot back.

Ian shot me a sympathetic look. “I don’t envy you, brother. Been there myself.”

I had to let Ariel come to me, whether I liked it or not.

I’dfucked up, and I was going to have to live with the fact that she needed space.

---