SWEETHEART • MJ [ORIGINAL]

Seventeen.

MICHAEL'S PRODUCTION TEAM was over at his penthouse and Ariah was still there. It had only been a few days over a week, but the girl wasn't overstaying her welcome.

"Riles!" Lionel greeted Ariah as soon as he walked into the penthouse. "Whatchu' doin' here, girl?"

"I'm just hanging out with Michael." Ariah giggled. "He's the best."

"Your father told me you've been here longer than you should be." Quincy mentioned and Ariah rose a brow. "Why's that?"

"Q, leave her alone!" Michael called from the corner of the room, glaring over at him. "Sweetheart, you don't have to answer any of his questions."

Ariah chuckled before coming to give Quincy and Lionel a hug. Then, the girl went over to Michael. "Are you going to play my favorite?" She whispered in his ear, causing him to smile back at her.

"Elvis?"

"No, silly." Ariah winked at Michael. "You."

"Absolutely not." The entertainer quickly shot that down, stifling the biggest smile. "I'll play Elvis though. You can choose the album." Watching Ariah sort through his albums, Michael found himself in awe of how beautiful the girl was. He shook those thoughts off and subtly excused himself from the social scene that had just begun in his living room.

Michael walked into the kitchen and went over to his phone in the wall, planning to call the McCartney residence. He hoped to speak with Linda because Paul always gave him a hard time when it came to Ariah. He was out of luck because Paul's deep voice answered the phone, "McCartney residence."

"Paul." Michael simply said, followed by a soft sigh. He wanted this conversation to go as smoothly and quickly as possible.

"Bring my daughter home." Paul spoke firmly, immediately recognizing Michael's voice on the other line. "Now."

"She'll come home when she's ready." Michael told Paul what he already knew. "I really need to speak with Linda."

"You're not fond of her, too.." Paul nervously began to suspect about Michael, but his suspicions weren't too serious. "Are you?"

"Extremely fond of your wife, Macca." Michael sarcastically replied. "Extremely."

"Welp, she's not home, so ha." The former Beatle said. "What can I do for you?"

"I need your help."

"Mm, you have my daughter," Michael bit his lip at Paul's words, but ended up smiling widely. "What more could you need now?"

"I want to cook dinner for Ariah tonight." As soon as Michael said that, Paul began to laugh hysterically. "What's her favorite meal?"

"You don't cook, son."

"She's a sweetheart and I want to do this for her." Michael admitted. "So, please. Answer my question?"

"The girl will eat anything." Michael just shook his head. He didn't like the vague answers that he was getting. "Even if she did have a favorite dish, why would I tell you?"

"Um," Michael started to chuckle. "You like me, Macca."

"That's funny."