Page 16 of Dearest Protector
All she needed was a break to pull things together.
She’d been chasing her tail financially for months because of her accident, and once that stopped, she would have the chance to assess her other options.
She sighed as she ran her fingers through her blonde curls nervously. “This position sounds too good to be true. Honestly, I’d prefer something with a wide range of duties that wouldn’t put me in an office all day. But…why me? There are a ton of people who’d love to have a job like this one.”
I couldn’t exactly tell her that I’d been obsessed with her well-being for months now, long before she’d moved back to Florida.
It was clear to me now that she didn’t even remember me.
Truthfully, her lack of memory probably gave me an advantage right now.
Christ!I knew it was crazy for me to think about a woman I never talked to, but I had.Every. Damn. Day.
I’d wanted to know how she was doing in New York. How things had turned out for her.
I’d realized not long ago that there had been so many misunderstandings on my part involving Ariel, and I regretted every single one of them.
To be honest, I hated myself.
However, fate had tossed me a second chance to make things right with Ariel, and I was a guy who rarely screwed things up the first time. I sure as hell wasn’t doing it a second time.
I needed her to take this job.
I wanted to help her get her life back together.
Not a single thing that had happened to her washerfault.
“This is a job where I’d have to trust someone with keys to my home and with private information. You’re my stepsister’s best friend. You’ve known her since childhood, and you’ve been a good friend to her when she needed you the most, Ariel. That’s a good enough recommendation for me.”
She nodded slowly. “I guess a guy like you would need someone he could trust. I’m so glad that Katie’s finally happy. She has a fantastic job with Blackwood, which was her dream company to work for, and she’s crazy about Ian.”
I was as thrilled about that as Ariel was for many reasons.
Selfishly, I wanted my older brother to be happy after everything he’d been through, but I’d come to care about Katie like a younger sister, too.
I wanted both of them to be happy.
The fact that they’d fallen in love and were ecstatictogetherwas the best possible outcome for the two of them in my opinion.
I lifted a brow. “Then I guess it’s your turn to find your own happiness, right?”
Fuck knew she deserved it after everything she’d been through.
She definitely didn’t need to worry about her best friend anymore.
My brother would die before he let Katie know another moment of heartache.
Ariel shook her head, her expression thoughtful. “Katie busted her ass for a college education. My situation is a lot different. I may have worked hard for my ballet career, but there was no backup plan for me. I never imagined I’d lose my ability to dance at this age.”
“You’re done withthatcareer, Ariel. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do something else. There’s more to you than just a dancer.”
She shrugged. “If there is, I don’t know that woman. I ate, breathed, and slept dancing. There was nothing else for me. Right now, I’m just trying to survive. I’m a little nervous that I won’t be able to make you happy in this position. I honestly don’t have much more than some computer skills.”
“I think we can figure things out as we go along.” I decided to be as truthful as I could when I added, “Most of my time for the last several years has been spent at the Blackwood headquarters. Without Ian around physically as my co-CEO, I was overwhelmed the majority of the time. I tried to do everything alone in the executive offices, hoping he’d recover and start being my partner. The company has thrived because Ian and I brainstormed together, and because he’s come so far with the robotics, but my personal life is highly disorganized because being at Blackwood took up most of my time. I built my waterfront home a few years ago because the right property came up for sale. It’s furnished, but since I spend very little time there except to sleep, it doesn’t exactly feel like home. Someone comes in to clean once a week, but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. It just hasn’t been a priority for me.”
Her eyes brightened. “I’m definitely an organizer. I always had my schedule planned down to the minute, but I got everything done. I can help with whatever you need to make the place your home. I can run any errands you need, too.”
“You don’t mind that this is basically a domestic position for now?” I asked, knowing Ariel deserved better, but not sure what else I could do at this point.