bad idea

Chapter 37

Ariana's Pov

"Hey babe, I'm home!" I heard Otto call from the front door.

Work ended surprisingly early and I assumed it was because of the arguing that happened earlier. I was okay with that though, Otto said he was meeting his parents so I had the day to myself to look for the dog I wanted. Otto didn't like dogs but I figured that would all change when he met the dog that peaked my interest, Toulouse.

He joined me as I relaxed on the couch, kissing me before sliding off his coat and leaving it on the couch.

I hated when he did that. The closet was literally a few steps away, why didn't he just put it up?

"How are your grandparents?" I asked as he headed to the kitchen next, preferably getting started on dinner.

"Oh they're fine, they asked about you though."

"What did they say?"

"They asked why you weren't with me." He replied from the kitchen. "Actually, why weren't you?"

"Baby, I told you, Doug and I went out for coffee." I lied, even though Doug literally was in New York. If he knew I was getting involved with business again, it would be an argument between us for months until he would finally guilt trip me into quitting. Like he did when I told him I was deciding on getting another degree.

Working in business alone was one thing, but if he found out I was working with Kai, things would be bad for the both of us. She never really liked him and Otto never really liked her either, so I knew I was playing with fire at the moment, but he wasn't gonna find out.

"You chose coffee over my grandparents? They wanted to see you, Ari." Despite him scoffing, I knew this had to be a lie. His grandparents hated me, especially after last year. I think Otto was just scared of me having a life outside of him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think they would after last year's holiday fail," I said.

Otto sighed, stepping out of the kitchen. "My family loves you, forget about last year. You're about to be my wife Ari, they have no choice but to deal with you because I'm in love with you. So stop worrying about that, and help me with the sweet potatoes,"

I smiled, laughing. "Yes, okay. Just give me a bit? I wanna change,"

"Of course, babe," He chuckled, heading back into the chicken.

While I searched through my closet to find sweatpants and possibly an oversized shirt of mine, I received a text.

kai🤍: i need you at the office
received 8:28 pm

kai🤍: no one knows this better than you
received 8:28 pm

me: at 8pm? can't this wait until morning?
sent 8:29 pm

kai🤍: ill bring food if dinner's what you're worried about
received 8:31 pm

me: no... i just have stuff going on
sent 8:31 pm

kai🤍: see you in 20. partner.
received 8:33 pm

Lucky, this saved me from one of Otto's dinner failures. But I didn't feel like working so late at night.

Anyways, I headed downstairs, meeting my fiancé. He turned around with a small smirk on his face, "Shoes? Where are you going?"

"Frankie needed me to stop by," I lied, watching his face overwhelm with worry.

"Wait, is it an emergency? I'll join you then, just let me grab my shoes," Otto started, sliding off his oven mitts.

It was true Ryder and Frankie had been having issues lately since Frankie wanted to stay here while Ryder wanted to move to New York. They were both at different stages in life and everyone knew it would be a matter of time before they broke up.