Chapter six

After lunch they had returned home and Claudia said she was going upstairs to change so she could go out for her evening run, which she did everyday. Sonny watched her bound up the stairs as he took a seat at his desk and awaited her return, which was within moments of her departure.

"Sonny, someone's stolen all my stuff." Claudia exclaimed and she rushed back down the stairs. "All of my things are gone." She said her nose flaring a little bit. Sonny sat silently as he bite at the inside of his cheek. "Hello did you hear what I just said I've been robbed, you better check to make sure nothing of yours is missing. How the hell did someone get in here anyway, you have guards everywhere. There are only a few people who can come and go as they please..." Claudia continued her rant as she thought about who could have taken her things, and then a thought hit her. "Like Kate, I know she's your high school sweetheart and all but if she's taken my stuff I'm so gonna kick her uppity high-classed ass."

"Calm down, you're getting all worked up over nothing," Sonny said as he began to smile, slightly amused, thinking she was cute when flustered.

"OK well it may be nothing to you, but it was my stuff and it was all I had and some of it was very important to me." She said getting more angry by his nonchalant behavior.

"I understand that but nothings been stolen, your things are all still here they've just been moved to another room." Sonny announced as he quickly avoided her eyes, looking down at the paperwork on his desk.

"Moved, you had my things moved?"

"Yeah," He answered and then said no more even though she remained silent for a few seconds to allow him time to tell her where her things had been moved to.

"Sonny, where did you move my things?" She asked with a sweet smile even though she was thoroughly irritated with him.

"I had Carlotta, the housekeeper move your things to my bedroom." He explained. "I figured, you know, you're gonna be spending most of your time there so, and I figured there's no sense in having you going back and forth between our rooms." She arched her brow as her face held an 'a-ha' expression.

"Wow, well that's very presumptuous of you."

"I'm just trying to make things more convenient for you, make you feel more comfortable."

"More convenient for me, really? Because it seems to me like this little arrangement is more about your convenience. Better to have your live in whore staying in your bedroom instead of sneaking across the hall every night." Claudia said her anger in full force, although she did know why she was so mad. She had wanted Sonny to show more interest in her on a personal level and this definitely qualified. She reasoned that she didn't like him assuming and had wanted him to 'ask'.

"Hey I never called you my live in whore, I don't think of you like that, I've explained this to you already." Sonny began to defend.

"You're damn right I'm not," She said as she stormed to the stairs. "And in the future don't touch my things without my permission, and if you want me to share your bed on a more permanent basis then just ask me, Sonny." With that said she stomped up the stairs, down the hall to Sonny's bedroom with the intention to move her things back to her bedroom.


He stood leaning against the door frame, as he watched her stomp about his room, yanking her clothes from different drawers and piling them on the bed. He could see that she was upset and he'd swear that he saw tears in her eyes, but she quickly wiped at her eyes when she noticed him in the doorway.

"I'm sorry," He finally spoke to her. "I should have asked you if you wanted to share my room." She didn't reply but kept removing her things from the drawers. "The last thing I intended was to make you feel like a whore, because I don't think of you like that."

"I know that our first encounter left you with a certain ideal about me," she began but never faltering in her actions.

"I already told you I don't think of you like that anymore, Claudia."

"I know, I'm just saying I can understand why you may have thought that about me, due to my actions, but Sonny I not a whore, contrary to what my father says or how I may act sometime I'm not a whore. I admit I have used sex as a tool to get what I want, and I'm not proud of that but hey it is what it is."

"I know you're not a whore. You're my wife, we're partners professionally and I just thought we could try to be partners personally, which is what you wanted from day one right?" She simply nodded her head as she stopped near the bed and finally faced him. "So I'm willing to give this a go, it's already official so..."

"Sonny what are you saying that you want to try to have a real marriage?" She asked genuinely surprised. He bit his cheek as he shrugged and rolled his eyes a bit in response. "But you don't love me and I don't love you." She added in a lower tone and dropped her head a bit avoiding his gaze.

"Well a lot of people get married for reasons other than love, and I know for a fact that in in a marriage of convenience love can come, I 'hated' Carly when we first got married."

"Don't compare our married with yours and Carly's, I think we jinxed enough."

"I'm just saying, what I'm trying to say is, I don't hate you anymore." Sonny said with a smile and Claudia laughed out right.

"Aw honey you say the most romantic things," She said teasingly and batted her lashes at him.

"You...you're not gonna make this easy for me are you?"

"Hell no," She replied with a pleased smile as she turned and plopped atop the bed and crossed her legs and her arms across her chest.

"Claudia,"

"Yes," She replied meekly as she stared at him head on.

"I would like to try to make our marriage work. I would like for it to be more than just a business arrangement," Sonny said shaking his head. He could see she was enjoying making him squirm, but he couldn't help but to smile at her regardless. "Will you please share the marital bed with me."

"Yes," She said quickly in a perky tone as she hopped from the bed and began moving her things back to the drawers. "Since you 'asked' so nicely." Sonny closed his eyes and shook his head a bit as he smiled and moved into the room and started to help her put her things away.