Monday

I will be meeting my sisters boyfriend today and I'm afraid to meet this guy.

Over the years I have heard about the Mafia family in Los Angeles and the stuff they get up to and I never liked the idea of crossing them.

Now, I will be meeting one of them.

The front door to the house opens and I see Charlie walk in. She walks over to me. "You're not going to chicken out on me are you?"

"No, I will be there. What time do you want me to meet you?"

"1pm at the cafe across the road from Butler Industries. I know you have to go to work today and I didn't want to pull you away from your work for too long."

I hug her. "Thanks, sis. Do you want to come with me to work? You could check out the new line that the girls are going to bring out."

"Really?"

"Yes, they told me that the new line will be called Century."

A smile spreads across her face. "I like the name of the new line. Do you think that they will take designs from someone?"

I look up from the kettle. "You could ask them. Do you have some of your designs with you?"

She pulls out a folder from her handbag. "It's in here." She takes a seat at the counter. "I've seen the handbag, shoes and dress designs you've been sketching for years. I don't know why you haven't shown them."

I pour myself a coffee and I take it with me over to the chair next to hers. I put the cup on the counter. "I'm not going to use my successful friends to launch a shitty line that I know won't succeed."

She crosses her arms. "You don't know that, Ariana. Would you stop being afraid of doing things."

"I'm not afraid." My voice cracks at the end of the sentence.

"Bull! Ever since you left college you've been half the person you were supposed to be." She climbs to her feet. "I've always looked up to you, Ari. I want my big sister back the one that would take a chance."

She died a long time ago.

"I'm sorry that I can't be the person that you looked up to all those years ago, Charlie." Looking at the ground I say. "I can't keep dreaming. It's not the way the world works. You have to work hard to get what you want."

Evan walks into the room at that moment and he looks between Charlie and I. "Is everything alright?"

"No," Charlie yells. "Tell her that she needs to bring her designs to work today and that she needs to have a meeting with Yasmin and Xanthe today about our designs." She walks to the door and she turns towards me. "I'll meet you at Butler Industries at 10. You better have your big girl panties on and organise a sit down with the bosses." She walks out the door.

"What's that about."

I sigh. "She wants me to be who I was before I lost the baby." Looking at him i say. "I don't remember who she was."

Evan walks over to me and he places his hand on my face. "She was a beautiful girl that dreamt big and she was going to succeed in whatever she wanted to be. You did succeed with following your dreams of being a photographer. However, you can change you're dream and do something different." His lips presses against mine.

I wrap my arms around his neck and i deepen the kiss.

Pulling away I need time to get my breathing under control.

A smile spreads across his face. "You always leave me breathless, Ari. Whatever you want to do now I will be there for you."

"Thanks, Ev." I hug him.

My phone starts to ring and I see 'Xanthe' flash across the screen.

"I have to take take this." I tell him walking out the room.

Me: Hello?

Xanthe: Are you coming in today?

Me: Yes, I am. Why?

Xanthe: I have some photos I need to show you of the shoot you did with Evan and Charlie.

Me: Okay,

Xanthe: I will see you when you get here.

Me: Xanthe?

Xanthe: Yeah,

Me: Charlie and I would like to talk you today.

Xanthe: I can fit you on at 10:30.

Me: Great. I'll be at the office at 9.

Xanthe: Great.

I hang up the phone and walk into the kitchen.

Evan is behind the stove cooking bacon and eggs. "Do you want some?"

I shake my head. "I'll get something on the way to the office."

He waves the spatula in the air. "How many time am I going to hear that line?"

"All the time." I tell him truthfully.

"And how many times do you actually grab something to eat?"

Never, but I'm not going to tell him that.

"All the time."

He laughs. "I've been with you to the office a number of times and I haven't seen you eat anything until lunch. When you do eat it's a sandwich while you're on the go. It's like you never stop."

I need things to distract me.

"Do you know what day it is today, Evan?"

He shakes his head.

I cross my arms. "Today is the date that we met Bethany at college. She was a normal person when we met her. I don't know what caused her to change."

Evan turns the pan off and he walks over to me. Wrapping his arms around me he says. "Her father stopped calling her. She was looking forward to his calls all the time. One day they just stopped and she tried calling him and he never took her calls. That's when she realised that no one cared about her. She lost everything when her father left her."

"So, she attached herself to you."

"Something like that." He mutters.

Looking at the wall I see the time. "I need to go, Evan. I will see you after work."

"Don't forget your designs." He calls after me.

I won't.

I walk upstairs to my room and I pull out the folder that I keep everything in.

I really don't want to share my things with anyone.

If I don't I'm sure that Charlie would look through my things and claim them as her own.

When she got the money for it she would however give it to me and tell me  that people would have wanted to buy what I had to sell.

I hope that Yasmin and Xanthe won't be pissed that we want to expand their line.

Climbing onto the Audi R8 I drive to work.

***

At the office Xanthe is waiting for me in the garage. She walks over to me with her iPad. "I want to show you some cute photos that I came across of Evan and you."

She goes through the photos and stops at one that I'm looking at the camera and Evan is looking at me with a silly smile on his face.

I laugh. "I love that pic. You have to forward it to me."

She goes through more and they have me smiling and laughing.

As she finishes with the last one she turns towards me. "Are you going to tell me what Charlie and you want to see us for."

I shake my head. "I'm going to leave all the talking to my sister."

"You don't have much to say do you?"

I stop walking and look at her. "I have a lot to say, but I'm sure people don't want to hear it."

She laughs. "You're probably right."

***