“Well, first of all, we need an office,” I explain.
“I have an office plus five bedrooms,” she snaps.
“The office by the entrance is mine,” I inform her. “You need an office too.”
“Excuse me, this is my house,” she protests.
“Yes, but you’re going to share that small space with me.”
“You’re kidding?” she crosses her arms. “We need boundaries. If I let you work here, what’s next?”
“If you’re going to be spending most of the day in Aldry’s, how is this going to affect you?”
“You have an office at The Lodge,” she reminds me.
“I work next to Pierce who is yelling all day and Vance, Beacon or Mills drop by whenever they are bored,” I complain. “No one cares if I’m on a call or busy.”
“So, it is like you’re working with five men who are just like you,” she concludes folding her arms across her chest in annoyance. “Well, now you understand how hard it is to work with you around. More reason to tell you that you’re not using my office. The next thing I know, the six Aldridges are going to be parading around the house.”
“Listen, it’s just the office. I promise not to disrupt you.”
She laughs and I smile because her laugh means everything to me. “Like I’ll believe that. Why go through the hassle of purchasing a house? You could’ve rented.”
“Since I own the houses, I can do whatever I want like installing ramps, special railings, and whatever your mom needs,” I explain as we walk upstairs. “The extra rooms are for your guests. Your parents have three bedrooms, but Blaire said that at least one of them will be converted into a therapy room.”
When we enter the master suite, she stares at the hole between the room and the bedroom next door.
She frowns. “What are you doing?”
“Building you a closet. That makes it a four bedroom home. See not as big as you thought,” I explain. “We’re trying to set it up the way you have it in New York.”
“I could live in the suite at The Lodge.”
“You said you wanted a house,” I remind her.
She looks at me her lips parted. Her cheeks darken and then she crosses her arms asking, “What if I want a pool?”
“Check the backyard and tell me where you want it,” I answer, hoping that she is bluffing.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you nice sometimes and others you’re the biggest asshole?”
The reasons are endless, but I say, “Moving here is an inconvenience for you, I’m trying to make up for it.”
She gives me that disapproving look that makes me feel less than an inch tall and keeps walking around her bedroom. She takes pictures, measurements, and notes. Once we are out, she asks, “When you say I’m in charge of Aldry’s Sweets, what does that mean?”
“It’s just as we do with any special project. You do everything at your discretion and come to me just when you need help.”
“If I change the name?”
“As long as you think it’s the right course of action, I don’t have a problem with it.”
“What if it interferes with your father’s stipulations?”
“Pierce is in charge of the legal department. If you have any questions, he’s the man with the answers.”
“If I stop the construction of the new building.”
“It was your idea to create a separate unit that will hold the corporate offices and to expand the production area,” I answer almost as fast as she’s asking the questions. I’m not sure I’m liking this interrogation, but I humor her. I won’t take the bait because if we start fighting I’ll have a hard time not fucking her.
“What if I made a mistake?”
“You had a good reason. Why the change of heart?”
“Oh, I’m just throwing hypothetical scenarios. The new installations are the right move to make sure Aldry’s transcends into the new century.”
“Are you testing me, Ms. Aragon?”
“It’s like buying a new computer,” she says. “I want to learn how it works and the capabilities before I purchase it.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that this isn’t a trial. The place is already yours. Don’t test me; I hate that.”
“I hate you and yet—”
“Don’t say it,” I stop her. “You want to leave? I’ll pay you a million dollars right now. Your contract with Merkel is over.”
She shakes her head. “You said it well before, this is bigger than your father’s wishes or my mother’s illness. For me, it’s about the people who depend on the factory. Maybe a little about the Aldridge spawn and my best friends.”
Not about me. Never about me. It’s obviously my fault for being an asshole, but how do I change that?
Then, she gives me a stern glare. “Never, ever treat me like your high society dates. I don’t need you to pay me to disappear.”
“That was never my intention, Sophie,” I apologize.
“By the way, your fiancée’s lawyer called. I gave him Pierce’s number. Is she coming to live with you?”
Well, that explains why they called my brother and not Fitzhenry Everhart.
“She’s not my fiancée,” I clarify.
“That’s what the lawyer said, and well, we know that she’s your future wife, so it’s really semantics. Pre-fiancée, fiancée…who cares?” she says with disdain.
We enter inside of what’s going to be her office. The room isn’t as big as the master suite, but it is big enough to have a long wall to wall built-in bookcase, a small nook for her to read, and space for her desk.
The way her face illuminates is priceless. This is what I live for, what I’ve been living for since I met her. It’s not about the money I invested to get this room ready, but the fact that she has a library and an office in one.
“I didn’t pack my books,” she says staring at the bookcases.
“Get someone to ship them,” I instruct. “About—”
As I’m about to clarify more of what’s happening with Martina, Easton steps into the room. “I heard you were here. I have a few questions about the other house. Do you have time?”
We both agree to go to the other place, and I make a note to discuss Martina with her later. I placed a call to Fitz earlier. Hopefully, he’ll have that dissolved in no time.
Henry
When we arrive at the Aragon’s place, I leave since Santiago and her father take over the conversation. I hope to catch up with Sophia later during dinner. I make my way to The Lodge to pick up my laptop before heading home. When I arrive at the Aldridge Mansion, the guys are in the kitchen area.
“Where is everyone?” I ask, but what I really want to know about is Sophia.
Beacon looks around and then back at me. “Everyone is here.”
I glare at him and say, “Blaire, Leyla, and Sophia are invisible now?”
“Aww, our Henry tried to crack a joke,” he responds.