“Has anyone ever told you that you're really sexy when you're mad?” he asked.
She punched him in the arm.
“I'm not flirting with you!” she snapped, following him inside after he got the security door open. “I came here for answers.”
“I'm sure I have some for you. What's the problem now?” he asked as they got into his elevator.
Valentine pulled the crumpled up vacate notice out of her pocket and shoved it against his chest. Ari barely caught it before it fell, then unfurled it and read it over. Seemed to pause for a moment, then read it again.
“This doesn't look too good for you,” he spoke in a low voice. She opened her mouth to snap again, but the doors behind her dinged open. Ari pushed past her and moved to the center of the hall, unlocking his front door when he got to it. Now it was Valentine's turn to push past him, storming into his apartment like she had a right to.
Her bravado almost left her when she glanced around the space. He hadn't changed a thing. Of course, why would he, it had only been three weeks, but still. It was like a punch to her gut, seeing the apartment she'd grown to love so much.
Then she was shaking her head, clearing her thoughts before tossing her bike helmet and jacket onto his couch.
“It's not good for me,” she finally replied, turning to face him. “Or Bailey, or Gam-Gam. Did you do this?”
Ari's expressions shifted from guarded to confused and surprised.
“Do what?” he asked, holding up the paper. “I think if I managed your rental house, you would've noticed, Valentine.”
“No, but Aaron Sharapov, esquire, has an awful lot of connections,” she pointed out. His eyes narrowed.
“Don't call me that,” he said quickly. “And while yes, I do have a lot of connections, how would it benefit me to get you evicted from your house? I'm trying to make your life easier, Valentine.”
“Don't you think it's awfully coincidental that yesterday you were practically begging me to move into your apartment downstairs, and then today I get a notice to vacate my home?” she pointed out. He nodded his head.
“Yes, yes I do. Good thing I got that place – good rentals are a bitch to find, anymore.”
“Get fucked, Sharapov,” she snapped. “I'm not moving into your apartment, I don't care if you have me evicted.”
“I didn't do this,” he snapped back. “Your faith in me is astounding, O'Dell. All I've done for the past goddamn month is try to get back in your good graces – why would I lie about this now? You're pretty great at jumping to conclusions, you know. Pity they're always the wrong ones.”
Valentine opened her mouth to make a retort, then froze. Jumping to conclusions. Just like she'd done last time. Her conversation with Bailey flitted across her mind, and it had a dampening effect. Valentine looked at Ari, really looked at him.
He was angry, that was for sure. He was breathing hard and glaring at her, still holding the notice aloft. And he looked offended, and possibly even a little hurt.
But he didn't look like he was lying.
“What are the chances of this happening?” Valentine asked, finally lowering her voice. “What are the chances of you coming back into my life at the same time as I get evicted?”
“Small,” he agreed, taking cues from her changed demeanor and calming down, as well. “But stranger things have happened. The rental company who owns your house has probably been planning this for a while – a simple call to them would've absolved me, Val.”
She refused to show her embarrassment on her face. Instead, she let out a groan and dropped her head, staring at the floor.
“Maybe, but there hasn't been a whisper about any rebuilding or regentrification in that area. This came out of nowhere. God, it's just one bad thing after another,” she complained. “I finally wrap up all the bullshit with IDHS, and then this. When is going to end!?”
When he didn't respond, Valentine lifted her head. Ari wasn't looking at her, didn't even appear to be listening. He was reading over the fine print at the bottom of her notice. He squinted at the small lettering, then pulled out his phone and started typing something into it.
“Holy shit,” he breathed as he worked.
“What? What's going on?” Valentine asked, moving around so she was standing next to him, trying to looking at his phone.
“Your rental company – Cook Property and Rental Management.”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“It's owned by a much larger real estate corporation.”
“Okay, so?”
“And so,” he sighed, then tilted his phone screen so she could read it. “Look who's on the board of directors.”
Valentine let out a shout and grabbed his phone.
Roy Stevens Kittering.
Kittering.
“Harper!” she spat out the name like it was a swear. “Could she really do something like this!? She couldn't. Could she!? How?”
“Her dad has already paid her way into several different schools – this really isn't a leap. When did IDHS get that phone call about your grandmother?” Ari asked, taking his phone back and turning to fully face her.
“I don't know, a couple days after you and I broke up, after Gam-Gam had her – holy shit, you don't think Harper did that, too!?”
Ari's eyes drifted shut, and he let out a long, suffering sigh.
“I am so, so sorry, Valentine.”
Valentine couldn't believe it. Sure, Harper didn't like her. She did everything she could at school to make her life miserable. But there was a big leap between tripping her in class to getting her evicted and trying to get her charged with elder neglect.
She did try to hit you with her car. The bitch is clearly unhinged.
“Oh my god,” Val breathed. “Caché. She was there. Does she know I work there!? She could get Del in trouble, get everyone in trouble!”
Ari opened his eyes again.
“She doesn't know,” he shook his head. “She thought we were there together. I never told her what you did for a living, and neither do you. But you should probably warn him, just in case.”
They both retreated to opposite ends of the living room, typing away at their phones. She gave Del the heads up, then sent Bailey a series of texts, filling her in on the situation. When she was finished, it was to find that Ari was already done with his message. He'd taken off his jacket and he was kneeling on the floor, turning on his gas fireplace. She frowned, then moved across the room to stand next to him.
“She's fucking crazy,” she said, and he nodded as he stood up.
“She really fucking is,” he agreed. “I should've done something about her a long time ago. But she ... her dad ...”
Valentine connected the dots.
“Is good friends with your dad,” she guessed. He winced.
“I'm sorry.”
“It's ...” Valentine almost said it's not your fault, but really, it was just a little bit. He should've gotten a restraining order, or confronted her father, long before any of this could happen.
“You can still have the apartment,” he assured her. “For long term, or just until you can find something that can hold all three of you. Whatever you want. I won't bother you.”