What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,98

loud again, fuck their deal, Ari was gonna throw his ass out a window.

“This conversation crossed the line into distasteful a long time ago,” he stated. “Valentine is off limits, and that's final.”

“Ooohhh, Mr. Sensitive,” Evans laughed. “Is that her rule? Or yours?”

“Mine are the only ones that matter. Are we done here?”

“You're much more interesting than I thought you'd be,” Evans kept chuckling as he stood up. “After everything I'd heard about you, I was picturing a Daddy's Boy with a stick up his ass. I think we're going to get along great, Ari.”

“As long as you help this deal go through and you stay away from Valentine, we'll get along fine. Close the door behind you.”

He waited for a couple minutes after Evans left, busying himself with putting some files in a drawer and organizing his schedule. Then when he was sure no one would bother him, Ari dropped his head into his hands.

“Fuck,” he hissed.

He was so angry. At himself, for not being better prepared for this situation. At Evans, for thinking he could poach Valentine. At his father, for setting him up for a life full of pressure. And mostly at Valentine, for being so captivating. For being sexy. For being sweet. For looking at him like she was falling in love with him. For making him think that maybe, just maybe, he could fall for her, too.

If he wasn't very, very careful, she would ruin everything for him. Destroy his entire world and reduce it to rubble. And when all the dust settled, all that would be left would be him and her.

Though really ... would that be so bad?

He shook his head. Thinking thoughts like that were dangerous. Ari had just turned thirty that year, starting over would be too hard. He'd become accustomed to a certain way of life, and he wasn't willing to give it up, not for Valentine. Not for anybody. No matter how good they made him feel in the dark of night.

All he had to do was ride out this phase. Her giving him that sense of control he was missing in his life, it was new and exciting, and he was confusing it for affection. He'd get over it soon enough. His father wasn't too far from retirement age, only five more years, then Ari would be in charge of the firm. He'd have all the control he could ever want. He could marry a social peer and become a senator, or just stay a confirmed bachelor and become the most successful lawyer in the state of Illinois.

None of those plans included a down-on-her-luck club escort he'd paid to fuck him.

None of them involved Valentine.

19

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since Ari had extended his “contract” with her and DelVecchio. Another thirteen thousand dollars was handed over to the club – five-thousand two hundred of it going directly into Valentine's pocket.

Another two weeks was spent living mainly for the nights. Watching for his entrance at the club. Waiting in his apartment for his appearance.

There were days, too, though. A matinee one time, and a mid-day boat ride another. Lots of drives into the countryside, and he even let her take the wheel one time. She wasn't very familiar with driving stick, though, and almost sent them into a lamp post. She'd never seen Ari so angry before, and she hadn't been able to stop laughing. It had all ended with her crammed between the front seats, falling halfway into the almost non-existent backseat while he crouched over her, fucking her hard and fast.

Good times.

Not that every moment had been enjoyable, of course. She still felt uncomfortable with the monetary aspect of their relationship. She was still not a part of his life. She was still living a double life. A secret life.

In effect, she was still hiding in his closet.

And those weren't the only issues. Harper was growing more difficult by the day. Her pursuit of Ari hadn't lessened at all – he told Valentine about one day when the blonde had actually shown up at his work place. She'd been wearing only a trench coat, a pair of heels, and nothing else. She'd only left after he'd threatened to call security.

She'd also become an even bigger bitch than normal. She snapped at her friends and bullied her less fortunate classmates. She and Val spent their Tuesday and Thursday study dates together in virtual silence, Harper just reviewing everything Val had done at the end and nodding her