The Build Up (61)

“I know that now, man. I do. And Ari. I’m sorry about that. Embarrassing you in front of your coworker. You like her, don’t you? More than a friend or coworker. I could tell.”

I looked over at Ari’s office door, which was closed. “Ari is amazing, inside, and out. We work well together. We have a lot in common and she makes me laugh. I’m not her man, but all I want to do is make her happy. Weird, right?”

Todd stared at me in disbelief. “Wow. I’ve never heard you talk about a woman like that. So, I take it the no dating coworkers thing is off the table.”

I took a deep breath and scratched my beard. “That’s the thing. This is new for me. I’m not a person who goes against their principles but what have principles gotten me? Nothing. I want what you and Kim have. What Mom and Senior had. Hell, what Mom and Des have. I think I can have that with Ari. The only thing is...”

“You work together,” said Todd, scratching his head. “Yeah, that’s probably tough.”

“Right. She doesn’t want a relationship and I don’t want to date in secret. Ari doesn’t deserve that. She’s had some shady dealings with a dude she’s worked with in the past. If an asshole like Greer found out about us, who knows what he’ll do. This could put our project at risk. I don’t think us dating is a big deal, but Ari is the first woman to last this long in our firm. I don’t want them to think I took advantage of a situation. I don’t want this to be an HR nightmare. But I love Ari...”

I love Ari.

I sat there frozen. It was the first time I had said it out loud to someone.

Todd smiled, then nodded. “If you love her, y’all will figure it out. Ari seems like an exceptional woman, truly. She’s smart. She’s pretty. And I won’t lie, she makes a mean caramel pound cake.”

With a slight grin, I walked over to Todd, who stood up. He hugged me, hard and long. I held on to him tightly, my grip firm. I hadn’t hugged him in forever. Today, we both needed it.

“I love you, Big Bro,” said Todd. “And again, I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” I said. “But you need to make it up to Ari.”

“I will. I might need your help though.”

I nodded, smiling. “I got your back.”

A couple of hours later, Ari knocked at my door. She folded her arms and stood in front of my desk. “Please tell your brother I said thank you. I’m assuming you told him that stargazer lilies were my favorite.”

I walked toward her. Her hair was down and coily, pulled back with a simple black band. I placed my hands to my side, resisting the urge to run my fingers through her hair. “Yeah, I didn’t want another Harrison man making the same mistake twice with the flower thing.”

Ari smiled and sat at the table. “Wow, you Harrison men are smooth. How is your brother, by the way?”

I pulled out a chair and joined Ari. “I’m not sure. I think he’s better. Thanks for asking.” I put my hand on top of hers. “I appreciate that.”

Ari smiled as she eased her hand away from mine. “No problem. We’re friends. So...”

I chewed the inside of my lip, thinking about what I’d just told Todd. “Right. Friends.”

Friends didn’t kiss like we had. Friends certainly didn’t fuck like we had. If I thought about that any longer, I’d probably break out into hives from the stress of it all.

Instead, I hooked a thumb over my shoulder, motioning toward my computer. “Let me show you what I’ve been working on. I think you’re going to dig it.”



Chapter Twenty-Three


Ari


Saturday morning, I pulled up to a little Inman Park bungalow, which had been converted into a fitness studio for Atlanta’s newest fitness crazy, Soul Pilates. It was just Pilates set to R&B music, but Bella insisted that we try it. I parked on a dodgy-looking side street to wait for Bella and cautiously rolled down the windows to feel the warm breeze. The running joke about Atlanta is, if you want a change in weather, wait fifteen minutes. It had been nearly freezing Thanksgiving night and now, weeks before Christmas, it was in the 70s. For a minute, I thought back to how cold it was Thanksgiving night at the baseball stadium. And how kissing Porter warmed every part of me. I probably shouldn’t have kissed him. But in the moment, it seemed like the appropriate response. He’d broken into a major league stadium for me, for goodness’ sakes.

I watched all the women walk into the studio, some barely wearing anything more than their designer workout clothes. I recognized a few reality stars, famous housewives of other celebs, B-list celebrities and social-media influencers. How on earth had Bella scored us entry into this exclusive exercise session? What the hell was I doing here? I wanted to turn and eat a warm croissant at the French bakery I passed on the way over.

In my driver’s side mirror, I saw Bella parking her obnoxiously large SUV on the opposite side of the street and putting on a pair of Dior shades, her hair up in a super tight bun. She ran up to my car door, more than enthusiastic for so early in the morning.

“Are you ready to sweat your man problems away?” she asked with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag. Bella opened the car door for me to get out. “Can’t have man problems, Bella, if I don’t have a man,” I retorted.