That Night

★Exempted From The Chapters★

Kyle took a closer look at the bangle again and was surprised to see the same bangle he hand knitted and gifted to his pregnant friend years ago in Ariana's palm.

"How did you get..." Kyle paused to think for a while. "Don't tell me you're...Dylan is..." He couldn't even form a sensible statement from the excitement he felt as Ariana just shaked her head in approval of Kyle's incomplete statements.

"I thought I would never see you again. And the baby too." He said joyously.

"I thought so too. I didn't even know your name back then. I even told my son about you. I only stopped putting on that bangle when I-I...started self-loathing..." She gushed in bewilderment until Kyle shut her up with a thoughtful kiss. She melted into his kiss as he leaned towards her while she relaxed on the couch, pulled him closer and wrapped her hands around his manly shoulders. He looked closer at her face as if he wanted to look at her long and hard to compensate for all the time they'd spent apart.

The heat from his body so close to hers made her feel lascivious and could smell his body giving off a cranberry scent. His body felt warm as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt and traced her hands down his burly chest.

Slowly the pace of the kiss became faster and filled with so much lust as they craved each other's arousing touch. Their minds were clouded with desires and longing to be closer and closer so he lifted her from the couch and had her legs wrapped around her as he walked into his room.

A FEW MONTHS BACK

TULE SPRINGS, LAS VEGAS

Ariana Lee danced across the clubhouse filled with different kinds of personalities dancing to the rhythm of the music being played. Her gaze skipped over a group of clubbers sniffing some white substance (hard drugs) as they danced. Having been familiar with them, she danced towards them and collected a few stuff to sniff herself. She was rapidly intoxicated as she was under the influence of the mood-altering drug she had just taken. She continued to dance, notwithstanding the effect the drug was having on her. A few of her clubmates who were also intoxicated by the drugs surrounded her on the dance floor, doing all kinds of crazy dance steps that perfectly suited the kind of booming music they were listening to. They danced throughout the night and by 2 am, Ariana and a few of her clubmates decided to walk back home since they were too high to drive home.

The jiggling sound of Ariana's cellphone woke her up from her deep sleep. She picked the call and the scolding she received almost made her drop her phone.

"Ariana, this is already past noon, and as a part-time staff member, you are still not at work. Don't bother coming again because you are FIRED." The woman scolded and without waiting for Ariana's response, she ended the call.

Ariana was unmoved by the woman's threat. She dropped her phone on the bed, yawning she said, "Oh God, my head hurts like crazy, I can't believe I took those yesterday like some retard addict."

She sluggishly stood up from her bed and rubbing her hands roughly on her face, she went into the restroom to freshen up. After almost an hour of being in the restroom, she came out with a towel wrapped around her waist down to her knee cap, with water dripping down her body as a result of the bath she took. She walked past her calendar, halted, and walked back to confirm what she had just seen.

"I need to get to work.....oh shoot, I just got fired. I'm finally doomed, and in the next ten days I am going to be homeless if I don't pay my rent." She exclaimed. "I need to go look for a new job, but before that, I need to put some sense into that woman.." She said and immediately got dressed in search of a job.

Ariana walked into the Garies Mall with her face tightened like she was going for a fight. She tapped a woman who was busy picking out goods for a customer.

"I already told you that you are fired, so what the hell are you doing here?" The woman asked.

"I know, I only came to give you your part of the scolding. Come to think of it, you only exploited me because I was in need of money. Which other mall pays their part-time staff $20 per week. It's not like I wasn't brave enough to tell you this before but I only respected you because you were my boss. To hell with you and your mall. I have no time to waste on you any longer, I need to look for a new job." She scolded her boss, causing a ruckus at the mall. She left the woman dumbfounded as she was too embarrassed to talk back to her.

Ariana roamed around the whole Tule Springs in search of a new job but none seemed to be available until she came across a café on the ground floor of The Kings Holding Enterprise. She walked into the café and inquired about the notice which was pasted outside.

"Yes, we need a part-time waitress as one of our staff is currently not available." The Chief Barista of the café said.

"I would love to apply for the position," Ariana said, handing out her resume.

The Barista collected the resume from her and told her that they would get back to her before the next day.

KINGS PALACE, SUMMERLIN NORTH.

Kings Palace is the highest building in the whole of Summerlin North with fifty floors and a penthouse at the top. The ground floor(The Lobby) of the building included a security post office and also a meeting area for the residents and non-resident of the building with a very large fountain situated at the middle of it which sometimes served as a site of attraction or tourism for residents of the building. Only high-profile dignitaries could live in the building because of its outrageous rental price. In this building, the level of your social status also determines the floor you live on. That is; the richer you are, the higher the floor you can purchase and live in, while the owner of the building owns the penthouse.

Kyle Kings, a resident and also the owner of the Kings Palace, walked into the building after a tiresome meeting at work. He was greeted by some of the residents who were on the ground floor by the time he arrived and he had to respond with a handshake even though he was tired to look modest and humble. Immediately he entered the elevator, he stretched out his hands and his personal secretary immediately added a hand sanitizer to his palm and also gave him a small towel to wipe it off.

As the elevator stopped in front of his penthouse, he stepped in and paused to give a thorough look at the house before going in. He lightly scrubbed the doors with his hands and sneezed hard because of the little dirt he found on the door.

"Inform the cleaning lady that she's fired and get me a vacuum cleaner," Kyle said and immediately removed his tie and folded his long sleeves in preparation to clean his house to his taste. Lucas Jones, who was his personal secretary quickly obliged to avoid infuriating him further.

After a thorough cleaning of his house, he finally decided to rest but before then he had to ask his PA about his schedule the following day.

"You would be having a meeting with the board members by noon and after that a Dinner with the CEO of PE Holdings by 5 pm," Lucas explained.

"Cancel the Dinner, my sister is coming over tomorrow," Kyle said.

"Okay Sir, but do you know how long you've been postponing your meeting with her now?" Lucas wondered.

"Do you want to meet with her in my stead?" Kyle asked.

"Why would I? Lucas scoffed. "Wanna eat with me before I leave, I already ordered something," Lucas suggested.

"Why don't you get a girlfriend to eat with? Do I look hungry to you?" Kyle said.

"I would take it that you don't want to eat now and have the food delivered later," Lucas said as he walked towards the door. "See you tomorrow, and don't keep me waiting." He said as he walked out of the penthouse and into the elevator.

"Look who's talking." Kyle scoffed. He went into his room and took his bath before finally heading to bed.

TULE SPRINGS

Ariana got home very late and tired because of the stress she faced during the day. She flung her bag on her bed and after eating a whole box of Pizza, she changed her dress and went straight to bed.

The next morning, as she was preparing her breakfast in the kitchen, her phone rang and she ran to pick it up immediately.

"Is this Ariana Lee?" The caller asked.

"Yes Sir." She replied.

"Ok then, I'm Paul, a waiter from the Kings Café, and I was asked to inform you that you can start work by today." The caller explained.

"Ok, thank you, sir. I will make sure to be there on time." She replied and immediately she ended the call, she stopped her cooking and went back to her room to get prepared for work.

On arriving at the café, the Chief Barista called her into her office to have a private chat with her.

"As you already know you are only a part-timer and once our staff is back you might be discarded..." The Barista was still talking when she was rudely interrupted by Ariana.

"I don't have a problem with that." She said,

"Oh Ok, but you have to be careful so as not to land us in trouble because the CEO of this company is way too hygienic and doesn't allow the acceptance of any staff without a thorough medical examination." She continued.

"I sure will be very careful, so how much am I going to be paid?" She asked.

"$600 a month, $140 per week, and $20 per day." The Barista explained.

"Wow, that's great compared to my former pay. So can I start working now?" She asked.

"Ah yeah, but you have to always put this on during working hours." She said, handing her a uniform which includes a brown colored mini skirt and top with two pairs of gloves.

"Do I need gloves?" She asked.

"It's very necessary because that's what the CEO ordered." The Barista explained.

"Oh, Ok.....ma." She said and quickly went into the female changing room to change her clothes even though she didn't like the idea of wearing a glove.

She was asked to serve a few people present at the café to test her working skill and she passed perfectly. The Barista was impressed by her performance and she commended her for it.

After a few hours of working, the Barista received a call from the CEO's office to bring some coffee for them. The Barista ordered two other staff members including Ariana to deliver the coffee.

They went to the top floor of the building where the meeting was taking place. They began to arrange the coffee in front of each staff member and as Ariana placed Kyle's coffee in front of him, he noticed that she wasn't wearing a hand glove.

"Where the hell is yo......." Kyle wasn't able to complete his statement because as he tried to move Ariana's hand away from his coffee, she mistakenly poured it on him.

Kyle screamed, scaring her and every other person in the room.

He quickly rushed to his office bathroom which was on the next floor since he detest using public restrooms and removed the shirt he was wearing. Lucas quickly provided him with spare clothes which were always available at his office.

After changing his clothes, he sat in his office and ordered everyone working at the Cafeteria to come to his office, and as soon as possible, they all came including Ariana.

"Where is that bitch who just tried to kill me?" He lashed at them.

Everyone turned to look at Ariana who was hiding at the back and was forced to come out to the front.

"So who sent you?" Kyle asked.

"Ummm.....I don't understand what you are saying, sir......I" Ariana stuttered.

"Oh, so you are trying to say that I don't know how to talk right?" Kyle asked angrily, interrupting her.

"No sir, that's not what I meant, I......" Ariana was still talking when Kyle rudely interrupted her.

"Oh, you mean I am a liar now right?" He asked.

Ariana was infuriated by Kyle's continuous rude interruption.

"Can you just shut up and let me make one good sentence?" Ariana fired at him before she realized she wasn't supposed to be rude to her boss.

"Ok then. You are FIRED." Kyle lashed at her.

"Wait...what? How can I be fired? This is just my first da....y." She'd already completed her statement before she realized that she would be putting the Barista in trouble.

"Oh really? Who's in charge here?" Kyle asked everyone there.

"Sir, I am the one." The Chief Barista replied.

"Where's her medical records and resumes?" He asked.

"Sir Ummm...I asked...." Ariana tried to defend the Barista but was rudely shut up by Kyle.

"I wasn't talking to you bitch." Kyle scolded.

"Sir, she's just a part-timer so we thought it wasn't necessary to go through such troubles since she'd be........" The Barista was still talking when Kyle rudely interrupted as usual.

"So, you now make the rules here right, no problem......You're also FIRED." Kyle scolded.

"Sir please I..." The Barista begged but it fell on deaf ears as Kyle asked the security to walk them out of his office. This act infuriated Ariana, making her bent on expressing her feelings since she was already fired.

"Who do you even think you are, huh? Do you think just sitting up here makes you on top of the world? Come to think of it, you made that coffee pour on you and now you are making us take the fall for your carelessness? Are you that selfish and stupid? To hell with you and your job, I am out of here." Ariana fired at him.

"How dare you talk t......." Kyle tried scolding her but Ariana already walked out on him. He felt humiliated since this was his first time getting scolded. He was so infuriated by Ariana's approach at him but what infuriated him the most was the fact that he couldn't lash back at her the way he wanted.

Ariana on the other hand though sad that she lost the job she just got because of her rude boss, she was happy she was able to talk back to him the way she wanted. She stopped by a restaurant down the lane to get something to eat. She sat at the table by the window and ordered Tamago burgers and a cup of iced Americano.

She whined about her frustrating life as she ate. She was almost done eating when her phone rang.

"Oh God, it's Hector. Video call by this time, I am sure Dylan must want to speak with me." She said before slowly picking up the call.

"Hey Hector, how are you doing?" She asked.

"Am fine and you?" Hector asked.

"Am good, what's up?" Ariana asked.

"Dylan wants to speak with you," Hector said, giving way for a ten-year-old Dylan to speak with his mom.

"Hola Mom." He said.

"Hey Dylan, how are you doing?" Ariana asked.

"Am fine and you?" Dylan asked.

"I'm good. How's school?" Ariana asked.

"Boring of course. Mom, when are you going to reconcile with Granny and come see me?" Dylan asked.

"Hmmm....Dylan, Mummy can't come right......." Ariana was trying to explain when her son interrupted her.

"Mom, if you don't come before my next birthday, I promise I will never see you again. I will tell Dad to take me very far and I would never call you again. And I would also tell everyone on my birthday that I don't have a mom." Dylan said and without waiting for his mom's response ended the call.

Ariana was heartbroken and hurt by his son's words. Even though she missed him, she wasn't ready to reconcile with her parents. Forget about being emotionally ready she wasn't even financially ready.

"Oh, God! How much can I even save up in just one and a half months before his next birthday? I'm not even employed as we speak and I might as well be homeless soon." She muttered to herself.

As she continued whining, a lady who had been overhearing her conversation all this while walked up to her.

"Hey, Gorgeous." The lady said.

"Hey! How can I help you?" Ariana asked politely

"You look stubborn, spoiled, and very young to be a mom." The lady said.

"And you look rich and old for you to still be without children," Ariana replied.

"Exactly what I'm talking about, stubborn and fierce." The lady said. "And you are also right, I have two lovely kids, though many people tell me that I look younger than my age portrays, maybe they were just hyping me." She continued.

"What do you want from me?" Ariana asked, this time more impatiently.

"Am Valeria and you?" Valeria asked, taking a seat in front of Ariana.

"I didn't say you could sit." Ariana queried.

"I have a job offer that could make you enough money in the next one month and also secure you a place to stay during that time," Valeria said.

"Were you eavesdropping on me?" Ariana asked as she was already getting angry.

"Come on, I just happen to be sitting behind you and you weren't at all secretive about your speech," Valeria explained.

Ariana remained mute not knowing what to say.

"Hey, I am only here to help. We can help each other, you know." Valeria continued.

"What kind of job offer are we talking about here?" Davina asked.

"A live-in housekeeper," Valeria exclaimed.

"What? Do I look that cheap?" Ariana queried.

"You are so impatient, you should ask for the pay first," Valerie said.

"How big could the pay b......"

"$100 per day." Valerie interrupted.

"Huh..... that's...."

"Not enough? Let's make it $200." Valerie said.

"Calm down, that's too much," Davina replied.

"So are you in?" Valeria asked.

She was still awaiting Ariana's response when her husband Mr. Carlos Rodriguez walked up to them with their two kids.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Valeria asked.

"Your kids were taking turns using the toilet," Carlos said.

"Who's she?" He asked.

"Oh, isn't she pretty?" Valeria asked.

"Yeah, she is but that doesn't answer my question," Carlos replied.

"Hy, I am Ariana Lee." She greeted.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Carlos Rodriguez by name," Carlos replied, giving her a handshake.

"Oh, you finally mentioned your name." Valeria wondered.

"Sweetheart, I was looking for a Live-in housekeeper for K." She whispered to her husband.

"He's so not going to like this idea," Carlos said.

"But he'd have to accept it anyway." Valerie.

"Mummy, let's go home." Valeria's children nagged.

"Yeah, we should," Valerie said. "Call me when you finally make a decision but make sure it's before tomorrow, or the offer goes away." She said, handing her card to Ariana who was still wondering whether to accept the offer or not.

After Valeria and her family left, Ariana sat there for a while before she decided to go back home, still holding Valeria's card tightly.

When she got home, she couldn't eat anything as she was still pondering over her encounter with Valeria.

"She must be crazily rich to pay a housekeeper that kind of money." She wondered.

"Whatever, I didn't ask her for it, she decided to bless me with it so I got no other choice than to accept it because I am in dire need of it." Ariana finally decided and immediately she picked up her phone and called Valeria to inform her about her decision.

"I will text you the address. So make sure to come early tomorrow, and you should come with everything you'd be needing for the duration of your stay." Valeria said.

After the call ended, Ariana went into her room and started arranging the few stuff she'd be needing. She also packed the rest of her belongings and kept them with her neighbors since her rent would be expiring in eight days.

KINGS PALACE, SUMMERLIN.

Throughout the rest of the day, Kyle remained angry and transferred his aggression to anyone who mistakenly got on his bad book. He decided to go back home early as his chest was still in pain from the burn that was caused to him by the hot coffee. He couldn't wait to get home before he angrily at the p tore his shirt off his body as he felt like unbuttoning them would be time-wasting. He had to pretend all through the day that he was okay to not humiliate himself further.

"Hey, why would you do that......oh God what happened to your chest?" His sister exclaimed.

"Oh sis, you're already here?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, what happened to you?" She asked worriedly.

"Oh, I think someone sent a bitch to kill me today but thank goodness she didn't succeed." He said.

"What? How did that happen?" She asked, even more, worried now.

"Hey Valeria, you worry too much, you should already know Kyle always exaggerates things," Carlos said as he came out of one of the rooms in the penthouse.

"But take a look at his chest. Kyle, tell me exactly what happened." Valeria requested and Kyle narrated the whole ordeal to his sister. He didn't fail to express his hate for Ariana but was sure to omit the part where she insulted the hell out of him.

"I told you he was exaggerating, now you see," Carlos said.

"Does that person wanna give you another scare. Please this scar is more than enough, I don't want you getting another scare again." Valeria said, touching an old scar on Kyle's body, which made him sad.

Valeria was much more worried about his brother's condition than what he said, so she brought out the first aid box and started applying ointment to his burns.

"Ouch.... be gentle, it hurts." Kyle lamented.

"You should be grateful she's doing it, if I were the one you would already be crying by now." Carlos mocked.

"That's why I didn't ask for your help. Where are my nephews?" Kyle asked.

"They are already sleeping," Valeria replied.

"Oh that reminds me, Kyle, I got you....a.....live-in housekeeper," Valeria said.

"WHAT? WHEN DID I REQUEST FOR THAT." Kyle fired at his sister.

"Come on K, you can't keep living in this mighty place all alone. If I weren't here today, who would have dressed your wound? And don't mention Lucas, Jason, or Miguel." Valeria asked.

"Who then did you expect me to mention, they are the only ones I have aside from myself and you," Kyle complained.

"But they don't live with you, neither do we. Look K, this lady is very nice, you know you once told me I have good eyes for people. Just trust me on this one." Valeria urged.

"You know I can't share my house with anyone except you, so how do you expect me to live with a total stranger?" Kyle asked.

"You have to learn it K, you can't continue like this. She's moving in tomorrow and that's final except you don't want to see me here again." Valeria threatened.

"I can't believe you are doing this," Kyle said and angrily walked out on his sister who was feeling fulfilled with her plans.

"Val, don't you think you are pushing him too much, Don't make things worse for him please," Carlos advised.

"I'm just worried about what Doctor Hawkins said. What if he continues like this, it won't end well for him and if we don't try to change him now, it might never be possible." Valeria said.

"But you still have to take things easy," Carlos said.

"Sure I will," Valeria replied.

"Lest I forget sweetheart, I got a call from the movers that our house is ready," Carlos said.

"That's great news dear, when can we leave?" Valeria asked.

"We could go by tomorrow if it's okay with you," Carlos suggested.

"Sure, sure....... Afterall Ariana is coming tomorrow, I don't want us to make her feel uncomfortable," Valeria said. She and her husband went back to their room as it was already past bedtime.