Chapter 19
Chapter 19
“My goodness, Pierce. You’re looking dashing. You’re giving off some serious James Bond 007 vibes. I would ask who you’re trying to impress, but I have a feeling I already know,” Patrick teased.
“Ari told me to wear gold for some reason, so I did. Is there a theme tonight? Because if there is, you’re not meeting the dress code.”
“Not to my knowledge, but I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”
“Is the car here yet?” Pierce nervously asked.
“I think the driver would’ve rung the doorbell if that were the case. Calm down. You seem antsy. Are you having separation anxiety from your little girlfriend?”
“Hardly,” Pierce lied, ensuring that not a single strand of hair was out of place.
Pierce hadn’t seen Arianna yesterday because he didn’t want to overwhelm her with his presence, and he didn’t want to distract her from her job. He was tempted to show up bright and early in the morning, drag her to the spa suite, and feast on her for breakfast, but he changed his mind.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Pierce huffed, shooing Patrick out of the bathroom.
“But, you desperately want her to be.”
“I don’t know, Pat. It’s too soon to have that conversation with her, and she may not want to label whatever we have. Arianna may want to have a fling, have her fun, and move on.”
“Look, I’m not gonna lie and say that you shouldn’t think like that because that’s exactly how I would feel in your situation. However, that kind of negative thinking could also lead to self–sabotaging, and then you’ll screw everything up. You would have no one to blame but yourself. Has Arianna given you any indication that she was only interested in you as a fling?”
Pierce thought long and hard and could confidently say that hadn’t happened. “No.”
“Exactly. Let’s look at the facts. For the most part, women would tell you out the gate to not get attached. In fact, Arianna did that with Jesse. This girl went out of her way to request your divorce decree and called your divorce attorney for confirmation. If that’s not saying, “I’m taking this seriously,” then I don’t know what is.”
“I don’t know, Pat. I’m so much older than her. What if something happens to me soon? That would be devastating for her, and it’s irresponsible to seek out something permanent.”
“You’re still in your head, Pierce. You’re pretty healthy for your age. I’d give you at least twenty more years, minimum. Life can be cruel, and we never know when our time might be up. Who’s to say she hooks up with Jesse, and God forbid he dies in a car crash? Stop living in the future and live in the now. Shit, maybe you’ll finally get that kid you’ve always wanted.”
“Let’s steer away from that dangerous topic,” Pierce warned.
“All I’m saying is that I’m a single child as well, and I don’t have any nieces or nephews, so I depend on you.”
“Keep it up, and you’ll be walking to the club.”
“Alright, I’ll stop. Quick question: is PDA allowed on club premises?”
“We haven’t discussed that either, but common sense tells us not to mix business with pleasure.”
“Yeah, that might be for the best, I wouldn’t want the poor girl getting fired. Since you brought up dying, you need to change your will stat if you haven’t already. It would be a shame to leave this Earth and Stella got everything.”
“Shit, I knew I forgot something. I’ll call my lawyer on Monday, and I’ll also schedule a doctor’s appointment and request a cognitive exam. The last thing I would want is for her to try to deem me incompetent when I updated my will.”
14.20 Wed, 11 Jun (2
Chapter 19
“Seriously, I’d rather your fortune go to the Carole Baskin Big Cat Foundation than Stella.”
“Now that’s saying something,” Pierce agreed,
Thirty minutes later, Pierce and Patrick arrived at the club. Patrick let out a low whistle at the sight of the overflowing parking lot. If there were 500 chab members, it was safe to say that they were all in attendance for Friday Night Bingo.
“How much are you planning on spending tonight?” Patrick asked.
“Hard to say. It would certainly depend on what’s being offered.”
“What if one of the prizes is a date with Arianna?”
“That would be messed up on so many levels, and I would have to shut that shit down.”
“Not trying to be insensitive because it’s clear that I’ve struck a chord, but why?”
“Pat, you’re telling me you don’t see anything wrong with auctioning off a Black girl to a room full of elitist White males?”
“Oh, shit. Now that you say it out loud, it’s reminiscent of slavery. Yeah, that would be a major faux pas.”
“Yeah, not to mention that Ari is priceless and spoken for.”
“Okay, less than an hour ago, you didn’t even want to contemplate anything permanent with her, and now she’s spoken for?”
“I am officially courting her, so yeah, spoken for,” Pierce declared, stepping out of the Towncar once they reached the front entrance.
“Now, I see why she told you to wear gold.”
Pierce’s eyes fell on Arianna. She wore a gold form–fitting mermaid gown that dusted the polished marble floors. She was busy welcoming an elderly couple at the door to notice Pierce’s heated gaze.
Arianna kissed the couple on their cheeks and sent them on their way once she noticed that Pierce had arrived.
“Good evening, Arianna. You look stunning,” Patrick complimented, jumping in front of Pierce to greet her. “Sorry, I wanted to greet you first because t didn’t want to have to stick around for the PDA.”
“I understand. Grab a drink while you wait for Pierce. I suggest you take a peek at the prizes tonight,” Arianna suggested, pointing toward one of the TV monitors.
“Oooh, don’t mind if I do. How does payment work?”
“You may charge to your Elite SA account, pay with credit/debit card, cryptocurrency, or cash. No checks because we have had an instance or two where they’ve bounced.”
“Yikes. How embarrassing,” Patrick sympathized.
“You’re telling me. Now move along, Patrick. I think/someone’s getting a little jelly of the attention you’re getting,” Arianna expressed bet cheek kiss from him and directing him towards the monitor.
“I’m glad you said something before I had to.”
“Stop, Pierce. You’re all talk.”
“We both know that’s not true,” Pierce said, placing a delicate kiss on Arianna’s cheek. He allowed the kiss to linger and trail towards her ear.
“You look good enough to eat,” he whispered in her ear.
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Chapter 19
“You’re misbehaving,” Arianna warned, pulling away from Pierce. “Keep it up, and you might find yourself punished.*
“Sounds like the best way to end the evening.”
Arianna rolled her eyes, trying to playoff how much Pierce affected her. She licked her lips and reached for his slightly crooked black and gold paisley bow tie.
“You’re so handsome, Pierce,” Arianna praised. “You matched me perfectly,” she purred, adjusting his matching pocket square.
“You’re showing quite a bit of skin, sweetheart. Turn around and let me see the back.”
Pierce groaned when Arianna slowly turned around, feigning as if she was instructing him to view the monitors. Pierce’s eyes danced across Arianna’s backless dress that stopped just above her ass.
“Why must you do this to me, Ari?”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at.”
“Is it required for you to dress so seductively just to call Bingo?”
“No, but the tips are better. Move around, Pierce. You’re holding up my line,” Arianna gently chastised.
Pierce turned around and found there was a couple impatiently waiting to be greeted. “This isn’t over yet.”
Pierce regrettably left Arianna, grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, and joined Patrick at a screen.
“Can you believe one of the prizes is a chance for them to pay your mortgage for a year? Everybody will jump on that, myself included.”
“I’ll have to sit that one out. I don’t have a mortgage any longer. What else they got?” Pierce asked.
“There’s a trip to Aruba, a golf cart, Diamond Membership, Tesla, his and hers Rolex, gift cards, a year’s supply of wine from Vanderbilt Vineyards, and some other shit.”
“Interesting,” Pierce said, sipping the bubbly champagne.
The TV monitor suddenly flashed with a message informing the members that Bingo would commence in 30 minutes and to start making their way to the casino.
Pierce and Patrick stood in the long line of members waiting to board the elevator to the lower level. Arianna passed by Pierce and placed a folded sticky note in his hand before skipping the line and entering the elevator.
Pierce watched Arianna board the elevator before he opened the note. He quickly crumpled the note and stuck it in his pocket. The little firecracker made sure she informed him that she wasn’t wearing any panties. Pierce chuckled lowly. He definitely wasn’t going home alone tonight, and he wasn’t referring to Patrick.
