I woke up with aches in body parts that I didn't know existed. My knees hurt, and I remembered my soul leaving my body when I heard Aiden call me 'such a pretty girl on your knees'. I remembered stumbling into the apartment with Aiden's mouth on mine, struggling to make it to his room. After a long hour and several earth-shattering screams at his mercy, the kitchen table had seen enough.
We made it to the bedroom with Aiden's clothes still intact, which of course was horribly unfair. My poor green dress hadn't even made it past the threshold before the first rip had appeared. In Aiden's bed, I had come one more time with him inside me [I could write a whole poem for his skills but it would be longer than his dick, and that would be... a lot to take in. All the pun intended.], and when I was too tired to allow anything else, I got on my knees and took it like a champ.
I sat up, realizing the mess we had created last night when I noticed his underwear hanging off the headboard. Keeping the sheets over my dignity, I leaned over the bed to grab his shirt off the ground, finding it satisfactory and putting it on. The buttons were a little strange on my chest as men's shirts are, but it sufficed for getting to the bathroom and checking the damages after last night. As I brushed my teeth, I explored the trail of purple and red bruises from my ear to my neck, dipping between my breasts, and the dull ache near my hips telling me there was more to be seen there. I had just splashed my face with cold water when I heard his footsteps behind me, hands encircling my waist and pulling me closer to him.
"Good morning." He kissed the lobe of my ear, making shivers run down my spine. A girl could get used to this life.
"Morning." I turned in his grip to kiss him thoroughly. How was a woman supposed to let her man go to work if he was that good in bed? I noticed he was fully ready for his day at work, even his shoes on. I'd slept in a lot further than I had thought.
"Your coffee is ready; I'm going to be a little late in the evening. Josie will be here in an hour." He informed, keeping me close to him. At least I wasn't the only one having trouble letting go.
"You can get the paperwork home in the evening?" Aiden had his legal team prepare all the necessary contracts for our agreement, including yet another NDA which forbid us from talking about our relationship in public for another 6 months, just as I had requested it. We had agreed at $450,000 for 10% finally, after a lot of bickering and pillow throwing and name-calling, but at least Aiden hadn't washed his hands off all responsibility. He was legally bound to be working 4 hours a week on any and all business concerning Crew for the first two months, after which the terms were open for negotiating again.
He nodded, "One thing-"
"Nope, no more changes. I've spent hours and hours trying to make sure it's perfect don't even fucking change a full stop now." I groaned. He laughed but agreed, leaving me lethargic but strangely energized for the rest of the day. Before Josie could arrive, I cleaned up the most obvious signs of last night's events from the kitchen and took the sheets off Aiden's bed, crumpling them up in the laundry basket. Back in my own apartment I took a shower and realised that nothing could cover up my crime scene better than a hoodie and pyjamas. If that's what it took, then okay. I spent my day skimming through numbers and making sure things were in place, reading through pages and pages of boring stuff.
Aiden called around three in the afternoon, "Hey."
"Hi," I answered, very unsure what this call was about. He usually didn't take out time for personal calls during the day, but then... he'd never had a girlfriend when I was around.
"Can you do me a favour? There's a file at home that I need right now. I'll send Trevor to come to pick it up, it's in my study." Aiden explained the exact location of the file and disconnected the line soon after. In his study at home, there were about ten thousand fucking files. How was I supposed to find the right one? Sitting in his chair, I tried to remember the instructions I had been given. Second drawer to the left, third file. It should have been easy. I opened the drawer, running my fingers over the spines of the files to locate the one I needed. The grey folder appeared to be some sort of a sale contract, with green highlights all over in important places. I shut it, scolding my curiosity for checking things that weren't my business anymore. I was just about to close the drawer when a small piece of paper appeared to have dislodged itself from the second file, halfway out.
Might as well fix it. The file was heavier than it appeared, and I struggled to put it out, careful to keep the paper half inside. It was also a sale contract, although I recognised the company in this particular deal. It was confusing because I had not been aware that Steele Enterprises ever conducted business with Russian mafia fronts. Everyone knew the Sokolov was a crime family using their business as merely a front to explain their wealth. Several members of the family were internationally wanted criminals, and what damn business Aiden was doing with them was concerning. The more I read through the file, the more concerned I got. My understanding of these details was fuzzy, and a part of me really wished that what I was understanding from this whole list of bills wasn't true.
From my limited information, The Sokolov Family had been using a Native American tribe member as a medium to import a rare psychedelic into the US, with Aiden's transport line, and Aiden or one of his businesses was responsible for supplying it to some centres of distribution on the East Coast and parts of Central America. The Navajo tribe is exempt from the regular drug laws surrounding this particular drug, as they use it during religious ceremonies. Everywhere else, the psychedelic is a schedule 1 drug, making possession, ingestion or sale highly illegal.
There were three types of transaction statements in the whole folder. One of purchase from Sokolov, one for Aiden's payment for distribution and the last one for paying the face of the whole operation, a Native American man who may or may not even exist. Every transaction the Russians made with Steele; the man got $50,000. The most recent bill was dated a couple of weeks ago, the receipt locating Aiden's payment in all of this being $500,000.
I didn't want to jump to conclusions on seeing the familiar number, nor did I want to believe all of this was real, but these were real bills. Actual sales and actual receipts. I flipped through the pages, unable to stop myself. Something had to be going my way. Something had to make me feel better. My blood ran cold when I saw Aiden's note pasted on the first sheet of the file.
I knew it was as recent as one week ago because I had been the one to buy the transparent sticky notes a few days ago and introduced Aiden to their wonders. He had liked the functionality so much that he asked me to get him a few packs as well. The transparent note had drawn a circle around the $450,000 and an arrow leading below with four alphabets scribbled below in his neat handwriting.
T H E A
He truly planned on using money from a highly illegal, possibly life-ruining drug circle to create a business that was especially aiming to create a better life for the marginalised, the poor and the sick and disabled. That was fucking disgusting. My thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang and I all but shoved the file inside the drawer again. Shutting his study, I made my way out to hand over the required document to Trevor and heading back to my place in a daze.
I wanted to march over to the office and demand answers from Aiden, I needed to know why he would do something like this. Most of all, I felt betrayed and horribly used, and I needed to know why me. The more I kept thinking, the more my mind churned out questions and I had no way to make sense of anything till Aiden would come home. Josie popped in around 4.30 to ask me what I wanted for dinner, I told her to make only enough for Aiden. I wasn't going to sit at a dinner table and eat fucking chicken wings with him now. I felt sick enough in my stomach that I wasn't sure I even wanted to eat anything. I needed answers and I needed them fucking soon.
I spent the rest of the day pacing around the house, trying to shake off my nervous energy. Even though every cell in my body wanted me to march over to his stuffy office and demand answers, I knew I had a better chance of extracting any honesty from him at home. Simmering in my anger, I didn't notice when the sun had eventually set, and darkness had taken over my house and my heart.
When Aiden came knocking, I let him in, turning the lights on and dropping on the couch. He sat down next to me, taking my hand and bringing it up for a kiss. How could you?
"Did you want to order dinner? Josie said you told her not to cook for you."
"Not hungry," I mumbled, swallowing my churning fears.
"You look tired." He commented, "Have you been working the whole day?"
"Couldn't focus much in the evening." I had tried, I had tried so fucking hard to make any sense of the numbers and words in front of me, but I just couldn't. I had half a mind to throw my laptop off the table but settled for screaming into the pillow instead.
"Something on your mind?"
I nodded.
"Okay, let's see what you want to eat for dinner. I've got your contracts ready. I can read it out while you're eating and then if you sign tomorrow morning the money would be in your possession in three to four days."
"Why the delay? Are you still waiting on payment from the Sokolov?" I quipped. His face paled for a second before narrowing his eyes.
"You went through my office files?"
Fucking hell!
"Is that what you fucking care about? You're literally giving me terribly illegal money, putting me at risk of jail for life for benefitting off the smuggling of a terribly addictive drug that I would have never known if I hadn't happened to see that file and you don't seem to give a fuck!"
"Thea, you need to sit down and listen first." He loosened his tie, unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt. The fact that he seemed so relaxed was infuriating me even more, and I wanted to gouge his eyes out.
"What's your excuse?" I stayed away still.
"Sit down, Thea. Let me explain."
"Explain how you're so desperate to get richer that you're turning to crime?"
"My father started the business with them!" he roared, standing up and getting in my personal space, "And you'll be exceptionally stupid to know Steele got where it is today without having any other means to make money."
"Don't call me stupid. Are you not listening to me?" My screaming made me hoarse, voice cracking, "I am asking if you would be so fucking willing to put me in jail for this! You're Aiden Steele, you're fucking untouchable. Who gives a fuck about me?"
"I do." He quietened, "And you're not going to jail, Thea. Calm down."
"But I might!"
Aiden stiffened, getting closer and getting a grip of my arms, "Thea. You're never going to jail, okay?"
I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off, "If you're ever in any legal trouble, I will turn the justice system upside down to keep you safe. You are so fucking important to me, Thea. You're not going to be in trouble because of my work."
"You can't promise that."
"I can. And if this is getting you so worked up, I'll divert those funds elsewhere and give you the money that comes from other businesses, okay?"
"So, you're still having no concerns about a drug-"
"Thea, it's not your business, stay out of it."
"How?! Do you know how many lives my brother loses to drug overdose every single day? Do you have any idea how many people get addicted and ruin their lives?"
"Do you have any idea how expensive this is, Thea? The lives you're talking about, these people wouldn't be able to afford even being in the same damn room as what I'm dealing with! This is for every hedonistic bastard on East Coast and who should be six feet under anyways."
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No." he said frankly, "I don't expect you to understand. But if your problem was self-preservation, then you can sleep soundly because I'll be keeping you out of it."
"Sleep soundly?" I scoffed, still angry. I had no clue what I wanted to do with all this energy buzzing in me, I needed to break something. At least I understood why Aiden broke his TV when he was emotionally distraught. But understanding this... it was hard. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to understand in the first place. I broke out of his grip and he let me go, heading straight to my room and climbing under the covers. I was tired and wired up at the same time, and while I needed to do something I also needed to feel numb. This was confusing and pissing me off further, leaving me in a worse state than before.
I stared out of the window, wondering how at this time, last night, we were pulling and grabbing at each other like we couldn't physically seem to get close enough. More than once we had made eye contact that seemed to sizzle through me, and God, when he was inside me... I had never felt so connected to a person. We were literally the definition of locked up together. When he'd finally let go himself, he'd kissed me like he was worshipping me, and I had almost cried at how good it all was.
And here we were.
I couldn't stand him, nor could I fall asleep without him.
My hunger might also have something to do with it and now that the anger had been drained out of my body, I could focus on everything else I had been feeling. Thirst was the first problem I wanted to fix, so I headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I stopped dead in my tracks in the hallway, seeing the lights still on and Aiden still in the same clothes he'd come in, sitting but asleep. I clenched my fists. I hated that the choice wasn't hard to make at all. Forgoing the kitchen, I walked over to him, gently shaking him awake, "Aiden?"
He woke up with a start, rubbing his eyes.
"Let's get you in bed, come on." I helped his drowsy state get up, leaning heavily on me and put him in bed, taking his belt and pants off. I undid the buttons of his shirt, but he was out like a light and I didn't see how I could take it off without waking him up. God, he must have had a long day at work. He was snoring too, a first.
I hurried back out to get water and turn off all the lights in the house. Ensuring that the house was properly locked, I came back and slid in the sheets, hating my body for being more at peace with him around.
I woke up before Aiden, being haunted by unwanted scenarios and very sickening dreams throughout the night. When the sun had started rising again, I was staring at his back, littered with scars of my affections last night. He must have taken the shirt off in the middle of the night. Like last night, I had no desire to get out of bed even so I stayed put, staring blankly ahead and trying to wrap my head around everything.
"Are you awake?" His voice was raspy, telling me he was barely out of his sleep.
"Hm."
"How do you feel now?"
"Tired," I said honestly. Hollow, numb, strange, forgiving. The last one surprised me too.
"Get more sleep then. You've slept terribly the whole night." He turned around to face me, and the genuine sincerity in his brown eyes made me reconsider all my rage.
"I think I will." We fell back into silence.
"I solved your problem," he said finally, "I had to make a few calls and everything last night but I solved it."
"What's your solution?"
"Since you're never going to trust my money or anything I do anymore, it doesn't make for a good investment opportunity for me." He said carefully, "So I called someone who would be willing to invest on the same terms as me, and I know for a fact that he isn't involved in anything you would be wary of."
"And?"
"And you can drop by anytime to his office and get the paperwork signed. I'll have my name dropped from this deal completely. Unless you want me to endorse it publicly. Which I can do for a small fee."
Despite myself, I cracked up, "What fee can I possibly give to a man who has it all?"
"Forgiveness?" He asked, the hope in his eyes brightening up like the sun.
"Eventually," I said, offering my hand in the space between us, which he immediately took and intertwined our fingers. His hopes, burning in his eyes had been eclipsed, but only so slightly. He was determined, and when Aiden Steele determines to do something, he absolutely achieves it, no matter what.
I love leaving you on cliffhangers xD Only 24 hours to go, I guess since we're running on a tight schedule. Let me know what you think about Aiden and whether this can be forgiven?
Who could be the secret investor?
I can't believe the story is ending so soon ð¥²