Page 193 of Embriagado

“My uncle really has too much faith in you,” he snarled before walking into the office, not waiting for an invitation.

Unable to control my rage, I stared ahead, ready to follow this dickhead, when Ariyan placed his hand on my chest.

“Ari—”

“It’s okay, Santiago.” He gave me a barely there smile.

“But this guy⁠—”

“Don’t worry about it.”

My blood boiled, but holding Ari’s stare, I tried silencing the voices telling me to break that motherfucker’s head.

“What are you doing over there? Get your gay ass in here. I got some shit to talk to you about,” Alejandro called from inside the office.

I glanced up, my pulse pounding in my ears with rage as anger pressed against my ribs, threatening to break free like a starved beast. But then, Ariyan moved his hand to my cheek, forcing me to look at him again.

“It’s okay,” he said, voice gentle. I’d never heard him use that tone before, and fuck, it calmed me down like benzos. “I’ll be done with him shortly, and then we’ll talk, alright?”

Still under his spell, I pressed my lips together and nodded. As if to reward me, Ariyan smiled at me one last time, then went into the office and closed the door behind him. Only the second he was out of my sight, all that rage came back, and I turned around and pressed my head against the wall, eyes closed. Trying to calm myself down with breathing, I inhaled slowly before exhaling the air. I felt so powerless, being out here while Ari was inside a room with such a man. Who was that Alejandro anyway? I’d never seen him before, but Ari sure had. My heart stopped, and I paused, hands pressed against the wall—was he the man Ari was in debt to? I turned to look at the closed door, the voice in my head telling me to break it down.

It’s okay, Santiago.

As if hit by a breeze of fresh air, I closed my eyes and reminded myself that Ari was beyond capable of taking care of himself. He wasn’t some weak lamb in need of my protection, but a force to be reckoned with. A clever fox who’d survived in this world without any help thus far, and so, I ground my jaw and forced myself to stay put. It was hard, but after about twenty minutes, the door to his office finally opened. The first to walk out was Alejandro, looking as full of himself as he did when he first came here. Thankfully, he didn’t spare me a word and instead walked away. In any case, I couldn’t care less about him or about what he had to say, and I walked right into Ari’s office.

“Is that the guy you’re in debt to?”

Ari sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose while waving his other hand at me.

“At the very least, first close the door, then ask such a question.”

Eager to hear his answer, I moved fast, locking the door and then stepping further into the office.

“So?”

“So, what?”

“Is that the fucker?”

He chuckled, and his response danced on my already too-high nerves.

“What’s funny?”

Pushing back from the desk, he got up and walked toward me. “You.”

He stopped right before me, a smile on his lips.

“Me?”

“Yes. You, you silly goose.” He held his palm to my cheek.

I leaned into his touch, too tempted to close my eyes and fully submit to him.

“Do you think I cannot handle myself, Mr. Rivas?”

I shook my head. “No… It’s just that man. He’s vile.”

“He is.”