C15, PT. 5

“I’m sorry, Minnie.”

She wasn’t interested in Ariana’s apology for not giving Roth a chance. She locked her emotions down and returned to the former topic. “How are you going to handle this?”

“I’ll call my counselor and schedule an appointment.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“It will.”

Ariana reached into her purse and pulled out an unmarked pill bottle. Even as a myriad of emotions raced over her face, she resolutely put the bottle in Jasmine’s hand.

“Are you going to have withdrawals?”

Ariana cast an embarrassed look at Mo and Johan, who sat as they always did, in utter silence. A dark flush made Ariana look like she had bad sunburn.

“I’ll be fine,” Ariana said, twisting her fingers together in her lap.

“Is there anything I can do?” She slipped the bottle in her purse and noticed the instant it was out of sight, Ariana relaxed.

“No, you’ve done more than I deserve. You shouldn’t have to deal with this. This isn’t your burden to bear.”

“It shouldn’t be yours, either. Your doctor didn’t have to put you on OxyContin. There are alternatives.”

Ariana stared at her for a long moment before she murmured, “Roth’s thorough, isn’t he?”

“Dad couldn’t defeat him. What does that tell you?”

Ariana’s fingers trembled as she smoothed her hand over her coat. “What will he do if I can’t…?”

She grabbed her sister’s hand and squeezed, willing her sister to hear her. “You don’t need to think about that. You’re going to get past this.”

Ariana’s glacial blue eyes were bleak.

“You will,” she said, infusing her tone with steel. Ariana had to get past this. She had no choice. “OxyContin is at the forefront of an epidemic you and millions of others didn’t ask to be a part of.”

“Others go on it and don’t get addicted like me,” Ariana said in a subdued tone.

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

“I…” Ariana began, but stopped when the car slowed.

As Mo opened the door, Ariana prepared to slip out and looked back. There was so much naked emotion on her face, Jasmine reached out, but Ariana held up her hand so she wouldn’t touch her. Ariana took a deep breath. Despair, worry, and embarrassment were covered up by a benign social mask. Ariana took Mo’s hand and gracefully exited the vehicle before she glided toward Hennessy Headquarters with her head high.

Jasmine looked at the building across the street. Even as Johan prepared to pull away from the curb, she thrust her door open.

“Jasmine!”

Mo’s shout didn’t stop her as she stepped out of the vehicle into traffic, blind to anything but her single-minded need to cross the street as quickly as possible. Horns blared. One taxi whizzed by with inches to spare before Johan grabbed her arm and tried to haul her back to the safety of the car.

“I need to talk to him,” she shouted to be heard over the street noise.

Johan didn’t argue, but held up his hand to the oncoming cars as he and one of the men from her second security team jogged across four lanes of traffic.

“What’s gotten into you? He isn’t going to be happy about this,” Johan said darkly.

He didn’t release his hold on her even though they were on the sidewalk and heading into Roth’s office building.

“Don’t put it in your report,” she advised as she jabbed the elevator button.

“We’re not the only ones who write reports. Every guard does his own, so any inconsistencies will be noticed.”

“He’ll understand,” she said as she dragged him into the elevator.

“I doubt it,” he muttered as he boxed her into the back corner while the other guard positioned himself to her left so no one had direct access to her.

Although the ride took less than a minute, it seemed like an eternity. Her hands clenched and unclenched in front of her as her inner turmoil mounted with every passing second. When the doors opened on Roth’s floor, she pushed past her guards and heard Johan sigh when she shrugged him off. She was acting a little nuts, but her need to see her husband overrode all else. Her talk with her sister set off a volatile mix of emotion that sent her seeking the only person who could reassure her that everything was going to be okay.

“Mrs. Roth,” one of the receptionists said, in a tone that was clearly surprised.

“Hi,” she said, not bothering with pleasantries as she rounded the desk. She looked a little more presentable than she had the last time she visited the office, but she cared one hundred times less.

“Are you looking for Mr. Roth?” the woman called after her as she started down the hallway.

“Yes.”

“He isn’t here.”

She swung around so abruptly that Johan barely avoided running into her. He stepped aside so she could make eye contact with the receptionist.

“Is he out to lunch or…?” She stopped when the receptionist’s eyes widened. “What?”

“He’s traveling.”

She cocked her head, sure she hadn’t heard right. “I’m sorry?”

The woman looked ill at ease and actually took a step back as if she regretted opening her mouth at all. “He flew out this morning. He’s in Los Angeles, California.”

Her mind went blank with shock. “Was this a last-minute trip?”

The receptionist held up her hands. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Roth, I wouldn’t know…”

“Of course.” She glanced around and realized that quite a few people had come to stand in their office doorways to listen to the commotion. She was acting like a lunatic. She composed herself and approached the receptionist with a smile. “Sorry for interrupting. Thank you for letting me know where he is. I’ll give him a call.”

“You’re welcome,” the receptionist said, but couldn’t hide her discomfiture.

When she was standing in front of the elevator, she asked quietly, “Did you know he left the city?”

“Mo spoke to him this morning. He didn’t relay that information to me,” Johan replied.

Roth called to tell her about Ariana, but didn’t bother to mention that he was out of the state. Why?

Johan was on the phone when they reached the lobby. She didn’t wait for instructions, but walked through the front doors and out onto the sidewalk.

“Jasmine.”

She ignored him and wrapped her arms around herself as she marched into the unforgiving weather. Once again, she wasn’t dressed properly. She had no hat, scarf, or gloves. Within a block, her face was numb. Two additional men from her security team hopped out of the SUV and spread out to corral her like she was a wild animal. Interestingly, they didn’t try to stop her. She ignored the festive windows displays that people traveled from all over the world to see, and navigated through excited shoppers loaded down with bags full of presents. By the time she walked into another building, she felt like an icicle. As she shuffled to the elevator, Johan finally grabbed her arm as he took in the grand lobby.

“Where are you going?”

“To see Lyle,” she said and couldn’t resist adding, “Unless he’s out of town, too.”

His gaze came back to her. He eyed her for a moment before he released her. “Do you want me to call him?”

“No.” She would call Roth later when she was alone and not so emotional. She felt abandoned. She shouldn’t because he hadn’t left the country, just the state, but… Why hadn’t he asked her to go with him? Sarai came to the penthouse yesterday with Cazandra to see how her office was coming along. His personal assistant who knew his schedule inside out hadn’t said a damn thing. Maybe he was just there for a few hours and would be back so quickly that he hadn’t felt the need to mention it? She would have been none the wiser if Ariana hadn’t decided to meet with her dealer.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she stepped into the elevator that would take her to see the only person who had never let her down.

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Confessions. Please do not share or distribute.

Copyright © 2024 Mia Knight. All Rights Reserved.