The Power of Weakness

Chapter 27

Wednesday morning Ari arrived at work an hour early as she had the previous two days. She stopped at David's cart for her tea.

"You look much better today Dear!" He smiled as he prepared her order.

"The truth can do wonders for a person David," she smiled back.

She sat on the bench and waited. She watched as various chauffeured sedans and other luxury cars pulled into the driveway, but none of them stopped. Sebastian did not walk by her today. Finally, she had to go inside. Her team had made some breakthroughs in their case and could see the light at the end of the tunnel. No more working though dinner. She felt like she and Sebastian were in a good place, at least on the unusual scale of their relationship. She wanted to text him, but she had no reference point for what behavior was clingy and unattractive, so she didn't follow through. She would have to check online for advice on that subject.

Meyer had previously warned her that he was unusually busy this week, so she was unconcerned that he didn't text her either. The day passed by in segments that either seemed to go by in a blink or drag on forever. Finally, it was five and everyone headed out on time for the first time in a while. As she was gathering her belongings, her phone dinged.

{Come to B1 and find me}

She exited the elevator and walked around the garage, looking for his green car. She heard a car horn sound, she jumped back and then turned towards it. She peered into several windshields trying to see past the reflections. She watched as a door on one of them opened up, like a butterfly wing. Sebastian got out of the curvy, orange, sports car. He stood in the space behind the driver's door and put his elbow on the roof so he could lean over and see Aribella where she stood.

"We have designated parking spots, you know. I'll be in the same place every time," he did not hide his irritation.

"I was looking for the green car you drove before," she felt the need to explain her actions.

"I have more than one car, which one I use depends on the situation. Come on, get in." He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door.

Aribella appreciated that he was a gentleman in this way, but she was particularly glad at the moment as she hadn't seen any obvious means of doing that.

"Hold onto this here." He tapped a grab spot on the interior of the door. 

Aribella awkwardly lowered herself into the seat, noting that it would be practically impossible to do if she wore tight skirts. Sebastian returned to the driver's side and watched as she buckled her seatbelt. He didn't try to kiss her like last time. He started the car and she felt the vibrations of the engine. It seemed to want to take off on its own, but Sebastian didn't leave it still for long.

"What kind of car is this?"

"McLaren GT. Do you like it?"

"Well, I don't know anything about cars, but this one seems really powerful!"

"Yeah, a bit. Do you want to drive it?" Sebastian uttered a phrase that had never been said by him in regards to his precious, high-end cars.

"Oh. No. No. I haven't driven a car since high school and that was a hand-me-down commuter car."

"Do you know when I purchased this car?"

"No."

"On Sunday." He watched her from the corner of his eye.

"Oh?"

"You have nothing more to say?" he prodded her.

"Why would I? You make your decisions for your own reasons and your life is proof that you make good decisions for good reasons."