Reed's Reckoning (35 page)

“I can’t believe you remembered.” Ari says.

“Of course I remembered.”

“That’s possibly the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for me.” I can tell she is getting emotional so I go to her.

I lean down over her chair and kiss her forehead quickly before grabbing her chin and catching her gaze. “Nothing I wouldn’t do for you. We’ll do a small ceremony and then a huge party at the Ritz Carlton. The arrangements are already in place. Tomorrow we’ll get an invitation list together.”

She nods and surprises me by throwing her arms around my neck and pulling me all the way down on her. She peppers kisses all over my face, squealing . Sophie and Davis jump around sharing in the excitement.

I notice she is not wearing her ring. “Baby, where the hell is your ring?”

“I left it in the house because I didn’t want to get it dirty.”

“I’ll let it slide today, but never, ever take that ring off your finger. Until I can get you down the aisle and make it legal, that ring is the one guarantee I have you’re going to marry me.”

“Reed, nothing will stop me from marrying you.”

I don’t care there is a beach full of people and everyone can see. I capture her mouth with mine and kiss her deeply until there are whistles around us.

Stay strong Ari! This is your decision. I try my best not to cry as I pack up my office. Only my assistant and Phillip know what is going on so people have been stopping by all morning to question me. At first my co-workers congratulate me but then move to the subject of why I’m cleaning out my office. I’ve been vague but stuck to the story that I will be working remotely for a while.

“You ready, Ari?” Phillip asks from my doorway nervously.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

I follow him to the conference room where Mr. Moore and his associate are waiting for us. When he sees me, he stands and glares.

“Phillip, what the hell is this woman doing here? I told you last Friday how I felt about her and what she has done to my daughter.”

“Mr. Moore, Arianna will only be here a few minutes.”

Phillip motions for me to sit down. I stare at the two men across the table and pray I can get my answers and get out of here.

“Mr. Moore, why did you bring your portfolio to our bank?” I ask politely.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” He answers snidely.

“There are many options, and it seems like a huge coincidence that you would bring millions of dollars to the one bank I work at, especially since you live two hours away. I would like to know what made you choose us.”

“Not that it’s any of your business but I did it as a favor to Alex. She mentioned her friend Sarah was climbing her way up the financial ladder and since I had some money I could get my hands on, I brought it here. Obviously I had no idea who you were and now that I know, my money and me are leaving.”

I look at Phillip and he is pale but urges me with a slight nod to continue.

“Mr. Moore, as of today I will be on a leave of absence from the bank for personal reasons. I will turn in all my bank materials and will be removed from the IT system so there is no way I have access to any accounts or activity. Phillip and I met and discussed the conflict of interest I have being actively employed until you can remove your money. Unfortunately, we made some financial investments that are locked in for ninety days so while you can walk away with a majority of your initial sum, there is still money floating. Lucky for you, I am damn good at my job and made some decisions that have worked out quite well. You will most likely see a twenty-five percent return on your investment at the end of the ninety days.”

His eyes grow wide and even though he hates me, he loves the idea of making that kind of money.

“While I love my job, your business has also put me at risk in my career. Your daughter falsely led you here and I suspect it was to ruin my reputation. Sarah was never climbing the financial ladder you believed. She was being blackmailed by Alex to alter my reports. Eventually, I would have been fired.”

“How dare you accuse Alex of anything? Haven’t you done enough damage?” he hisses as his face turns red.

“Mr. Moore—”

“No! You listen to me. We have known the Matthews family a long time. Alex and Cara were always close. When Reed and Alex started seeing each other, she had never been happier. I know they were only friends in college but after all these years, when their relationship finally blossomed into something real and lifelong, you show up with a kid conveniently. We all know Reed Matthews is a stand-up guy. He would never shy away from his responsibilities as a father. But for you to threaten to take his child away is despicable. How could you make him choose between her and his own flesh and blood? She is so depressed, she left town to hide from the humiliation.”

Whoa! What the fuck?

“Is that what she told you? Is that what you believe?” I look at Phillip who has opened his mouth to interrupt but give him a glare to shut up.

“Mr. Moore, with all due respect, you need to get Alex some help. Not one word of what just came out of your mouth is true except Alex and Cara being close. There has never been a relationship between Alex and Reed Matthews. Haven’t you ever wondered why you never saw him? As your daughter’s boyfriend, weren’t you at least curious about him?”

“She explained how busy he is but we’ve seen tons of pictures of them together at events. Reed got us a box for the upcoming season.”

This man is as delusional as his daughter. “No, he didn’t. Alex has made this up in her mind. Reed and I are engaged.” I wave my hand at him and he pales. “And we are not getting married out of obligation. We are getting married because we fell in love years ago in college. And just a heads up, Alex knew Reed had a son before he did. She has been lying to you and herself for years.”

I get up to leave and squeeze Phillips shoulder. Every man in the room has their eyes on me.

“Goodbye and good luck to you all. And Mr. Moore, we are putting a restraining order on Alex for our entire family. Let’s pray she stays away or you’ll be using some of that money I made you to bail her out of jail.”

I leave the room without another word and go to my office. There’s a pang in my stomach when I pass Sarah’s now empty desk. Phillip and I did some research and discovered she was the one who changed the numbers on my client reports earlier this summer. He fired her this morning.

Since I can’t take any of my equipment or files, my only box is a few personal belongings. I grab it and turn off the light to my office. In my mind, I know I will never come back here. I’m briefly overwhelmed with sadness, but it passes. I’m starting a new chapter in my life today.

“Dari—do it again!” Davis yells.

Our bodyguard’s name is Darius but Davis nicknamed him. He’s not aware of why this man is always with us but he has taken a liking to him. Currently Darius is throwing him in the pool from the side as he splashes around in his floatties.

We’ve been living with Reed for two weeks and it has been interesting. After I left my job and packed a few suitcases, Davis and I followed Reed home. We met our new bodyguard, as well as Katy’s that evening. I requested to meet him first because I wanted to go over her medical history and need for independence with him.

Surprisingly, Katy didn’t argue when she met him the next day. His name is Grange, which strikes me as odd, but he fits the name. He is a gorgeously built man that is ex-army and seems to have the patience of a saint. Since I’m living here, he took my house and can watch out for Katy all of the time. He has called numerous times complaining of her social life and grabby friends but laughs through the conversation. I enjoy hearing from him because I miss her like crazy.

Our bodyguard however, never complains. He and Davis are thick as thieves and when Reed gets home at night after practicing, watching tapes, and working out, Darius sticks around for dinner. I would think he would be tired of us, but he seems to enjoy our company.

No one has heard from Alex Moore; she has gone silent. I’ve been to a few player events and the wives have been sympathetic. Reed and I have tried to cushion our lives around good, trustworthy friends, but I’m still uneasy in the public.

Since we are having the quickest wedding in history, I was able to find invites online and have them overnighted. I had separate invites made for the reception, and since not having time to coordinate an actual address list, they were mostly hand delivered.

I’m lost in thought trying to figure out what to do when the back door opens. Darius goes on alert immediately and pulls his gun shouting for the visitor to “STOP!”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I move to get Davis without turning to see who is here. There’s more shouting but I think only of getting to my little boy. When I reach him, I yank his soaking wet body to mine and run to the cabana.

“Miss Ari?” Darius’s voice chills me and I turn around. The shock must register on my face because he stays on high alert.

“Jesus Christ, Arianna, do something. He’s got a gun pointed at me.” Cara pleads looking pale. “I’d never hurt you.”

“Cara what are you doing here? Reed’s not home and generally people schedule a visit. How’d you even get in?”

“I’m his sister; I have a permanent name on the guest list at the guard gate.”

“Well you need to leave and work out a time with him to meet; preferably when you don’t scare the hell out of us with your unannounced arrival.” Davis is looking between the two of us with confusion.

“I came to see you. Now can you please tell this man to lower his gun?”

I nod my head at Darius and he steps back, putting the gun in his holster. His posture takes on a protective mode and he stares at me waiting to see what to do next.

“It’s okay, at least I think it’s okay.” I tell him and set Davis on the ground.

“Cara, I don’t really know why you are here. I can’t imagine what you need to talk to me about.”

“Please, Arianna, please talk to me. You’re my only hope. He’s my brother and I love him. I’m begging you to help me.”

Her using my formal name is a little uncomfortable, but she doesn’t get the right to use my nickname. I glare at her with indifference until I see the tears brimming in her eyes. The same eyes as Reed and our son, it’s the crystal blue’s that break my resolve.

“I’ll give you five minutes. Dari, will you walk Davis down to the dock?”

“Not comfortable with that Miss Ari. My job is to protect the two of you.”

“Okay, well, can you keep Davis occupied while I talk to Cara on the back porch?”

He agrees, and comes to get Davis to play in the yard. I walk to the porch and motion for Cara to sit down.

“Thank you. You have no reason to be nice to me but you’re the only way I get my brother back.”

“I’m not sure about that, Cara; he’s a grown man and makes his own decisions. What exactly do you want?”

“I want him to talk to me. I want him to forgive me. I need for things to go back to normal.”

“You know, Cara, I don’t think that will ever happen. Maybe a ways down the road, but he is really upset at your decisions.”

“Can’t you understand why I did what I did? I was manipulated too! And for some reason, I’m made out to be the villain! It’s not fair!”

“Let’s start with why you think this is about you? In that last few sentences you used the word ‘I’ four times. You still don’t get it. This isn’t about fair. This is about hurt and anger. Have you ever apologized? I mean a real, solid, heartfelt apology—the kind that leaves no room for misunderstanding. And before you answer, I know everything. Reed and Amy shared with me the way you justified your actions. I also know about your confession and your visit to the house that night. What I have never heard in any of our conversations is a real ‘I’m sorry.’”

“Of course, I’m sorry! My only brother is getting married and I’m not even invited. I have a nephew that I’ve never even met. All I see when I look at my mom is disappointment. It’s killing me. I was stupid and had no idea what I was doing at the time. I thought it was the right thing.”

“Enough! You wouldn’t know the right thing if it hit you in the head. I will live with the fact that you didn’t think I was good enough for Reed for the rest of my life. I will live with you almost destroying me. I will live with scars that Reed tries to heal every day!” I yell in her face and her bottom lip starts to tremble.