There was no reason for her to feel the melancholy that had settled over her, but she couldn’t seem to shake it. Rafe’s torture had been affective. If she was in a relationship with him, she wouldn’t want to defy him – wouldn’t want that build-up of pleasure to be for nothing.
As Mario pulled onto the street, Ari fought her tears. She wouldn’t cry in front of Rafe’s employee. Mario was obviously loyal to him and would report back that Ari had fallen apart. She would be home soon and then she could cry, though she didn’t see what good it would do her.
Thankfully, Mario kept quiet, even gave her enough respect not to look at her in the rearview mirror. She like Rafe’s driver and normally would’ve tried to break the silence, ask him how his day was, but Ari couldn’t speak. If one word slipped from her mouth she knew she’d become a blubbering mess.
She managed to make it all the way home without a breakdown, then dealt with the insistence of Mario walking her to the door. She got inside without the key giving her too much trouble, then calmly walked to her bed. Only when she knew it was safe to do so, did she allow her knees to buckle and her heart to break.
Somewhere along this journey, she’d developed feelings for Rafe. She wouldn’t say she was in love with him, but she’d grown to anticipate his arrival, look forward to their sparring matches, and desire his touch. She’d been stupid enough to begin falling for a man who made it more than clear he wasn’t available for anything but what he wanted.
It wasn’t enough for her. She would lose herself in him if she kept seeing him. She would give herself this one morning to cry over Raffaello Palazzo, then she’d make sure to avoid him no matter what it took. If she slept with him again, she wouldn’t recover. If she kept seeing him, she’d end up ha**ng s*x with him.
Sleep finally removed her from her misery, and when Ari woke up in the late afternoon she had a firm resolve to listen to herself. She’d just have to take it one step, and one day, at a time for now.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rafe slammed down the phone as he stood. She’d disconnected her phone. He’d given her a week to cool off before he’d began calling again. She ignored his calls, messages, and emails.
He was finished giving her time. She could do this the easy way or the hard way, but the bottom line was that she would be his by tomorrow. He was finished waiting.
“Cancel my meetings,” Rafe announced to his stunned assistant as he walked past her and straight through the offices to the elevators.
He was supposed to meet with a congressman in an hour. He didn’t care. There was nothing more important on his agenda than getting his life back in order. He knew he had a problem – he was just choosing to ignore it. For some strange reason, Arianna Harlow had gotten under his skin. He refused to acknowledge the feelings for her growing increasingly fast within his heart – still trying to delude himself that it was about sex and only sex.
He wanted her all the time, night and day, but what angered him was he missed their daily interactions. His time with her in the hospital had been… surprisingly pleasant. He’d looked forward to hearing the sound of her laughter, seeing her victorious smile when she bested him at a game of poker, and the way she always had a kind word to say to the staff treating her.
There was so much more to Ari than he’d seen with any woman he’d been in a mutually pleasurable relationship with. He pushed that aside. She desired him – that’s all either of them needed to make this arrangement work.
Rafe called his driver on his way down the elevator, then glanced at his watch. It looked like he was going to have a meeting with Ari at her place of employment. The thought made him smile. She wouldn’t be able to fight him since she didn’t like public scenes.
The drive didn’t take long, and soon he was standing outside the front doors. Rafe didn’t hesitate as he walked inside.
“Mr. Palazzo, it’s great to see you,” the guard said as he jumped from his desk.
“Thank you, Dean. Don’t announce me. This is a personal visit.”
“Yes, sir,” the man replied with a confused frown. Rafe wasn’t known to simply drop in at his places. He didn’t like to be kept waiting, so it was much smarter for him to let the management staff know of his arrival so they were there to greet him.
He headed straight for the elevator and pushed the button for Ari’s floor. Anticipation mounted as it moved upward. When the doors opened, he stepped out and looked around at the efficient staff. The manager was running a tight ship. Rafe was pleased.
He turned a corner and spotted Ari at her desk – his gut instantly clenching. It had been a little over a week since their last encounter. He wasn’t thrilled by the fact that he’d missed her. He’d go two weeks, sometimes a month, without seeing one of his mistresses when he was traveling. It had never bothered him before.
It must only be because their relationship wasn’t official – still left up in the air. He didn’t like the waiting – the uncertainty.
“Ari.” He said nothing else as she stiffened before slowly lifting her head. He could see she’d rather be anywhere else at that moment than trapped into a conversation with him with her co-workers within hearing range.
“Mr. Palazzo, what are you doing here?” she asked between clenched teeth.
“We have unfinished business. Since you’ve refused to answer my calls, you’ve left me no choice but to seek you out.”
“There is no unfinished business. We’ve said all there is to be said. Now, I’m at work, so I’ll kindly ask you to leave. This is highly unprofessional,” she scolded.
Damn, he really did like her fire – loved the fact that she wasn’t afraid of him. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t break her, it just meant that it would take much longer for him to grow bored with their relationship.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her from the chair, not saying anything else as he led her to an empty conference room. Rafe had no doubt that the only reason she was coming along without a fight is her fear of causing a scene. It worked for him in this moment.
Once inside with the door shut, she turned to him with fire in her eyes.
“Seriously, who in the hell do you think you are? This is where I work. If you think I’ll sign your damn contract if you get me fired, you’re wrong.”
“I have a trip tomorrow and I want you to go with me so I don’t have time to wait for you to figure things out. I’ve come to expedite the situation.”