Chapter 4

ASHER

We’re lying there, our breaths in sync, and she’s perfectly still. It’s not something I’m used to—staying with a woman after we’ve had sex. But Emma, she’s different today.

I don’t want to ruin the good impression I’ve made. I can’t help but feel a bit smug, knowing I’ve made her climax twice already.

To add a little more salt to the wound, I say the next words.

“Do you need me to fetch one of your toys?” I ask, rolling onto my back to give her some space and let her move from my embrace.

She’s quiet, lying next to me, staring at the ceiling.

“I’ll take your silence as a no. You did a good job, Ash…” I tease.

Her girlish giggle fills the room as she takes a deep breath and turns to me.

“If you need someone to stroke your ego, I can play along. Yes, Asher. You did a good job. Is that what you want to hear?” she asks.

“As long as you’re not leaving here planning to pleasure yourself with one of those toys, I’ll be content,” I tell her.

She giggles again as I sit up. If we were in my room, I’d reach for a joint from my bedside drawer, but I don’t have any here.

“What time is it?” she asks, suddenly frantic—tumbling out of bed in a rush to find her clothes.

I watch, amused by her sudden urgency.

Checking my watch, I tell her it’s three forty in the afternoon.

She sighs, groaning as she struggles to pull her tight dress over her body. Damn, it’s skin-tight.

I’m aroused again just watching her. If she wasn’t in such a hurry, I might have pulled her back into bed.

Instead, I stand and find my boxers among the pile of clothes on the floor.

“Do you need a ride somewhere?” I ask.

“Do you really want to join me in the elevator upstairs?” she asks, her voice a loud whisper as she finds her heels.

She slips them on while sitting on the corner chair, and my heart skips a beat. It’s not often a woman surprises me.

But she just did.

“You played me…” I say, my voice filled with an emotion I can’t identify. “Damn, I never told you my name was Asher,” I mutter, more to myself than to her, realizing she’s used my name more than once.

“No, you didn’t. But I figured it out when I realized you look a lot like the man I was supposed to meet ten minutes ago.”

“He doesn’t appreciate tardiness, sweetheart.” I raise an eyebrow.

“I’ll take my chances. This is a big opportunity for me.”

“Mm-hmm.” I agree, but I don’t tell her that.

My father probably won’t hire her because she’s late, and she’ll have to go downstairs to get permission to go up…

~Unless you take her, as she asked.~

I shake my head, laughing to myself. Might as well end her potential deal with a bang.

I stand abruptly, heading to my room to find a pair of jeans. I pull them on and walk through the apartment to open the door she’s standing in front of.

“Come on, don’t tell me chivalry is dead in our generation.”

She follows me, rolling her eyes as I stride down the hallway to the elevators. It’s already on our floor, lucky for her, so we step right in, and I punch in the code for the club upstairs.

It’s not open until later, but my fathers hold their meetings on the top floor of this hotel.

The ride up doesn’t take long since my floor isn’t far below. The doors open slowly as Emma speaks.

“Thanks, you know for…”

“The amazing sex?” I ask.

“Yeah…” she trails off, my father’s voice filtering into the elevator like venom in my veins.

“Asher?” Zach asks.

“Your three-thirty appointment is here; enjoy…her,” I mutter, pushing her out of the elevator before pressing the button for my floor again.

I’m practically serving Emma up on a silver platter to the wolves. The wolves in question are my dads, Zach and Tyler, who are glaring at me, not her, as the doors shut behind her.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t my brightest moment, but if Emma’s ready to hop into bed with someone right before a meeting, then she’s not worth a dime to our business. ~Our.~

It’s a weird thought, especially since I’m not exactly a fan of what goes on in the upper levels of this building.

In fact, I can’t even force myself to step out of the elevator whenever I ride up there. Not when I know that my mom was hurt by someone who frequents my dad’s favorite business. That’s a hard truth to swallow.

We shouldn’t know about Mom’s past. Not unless she wants to share, but people love to gossip, right?

Kids at school dug up old articles, and I had no choice but to read them to stay informed. How could I defend my family without knowing the facts that are being thrown around for the whole school to judge?

And believe me, I am fucking disgusted by some of the shit I read, especially the coverage of the court case when my mom was just a teenager herself and the ordeal she and Zach endured.

How the fuck she manages to step foot upstairs is beyond my understanding, but who am I to judge her strength or past? And the same goes for my dad. He must be affected too, right?

I shove that mess of information to the back of my mind as I let myself back into my apartment.

I head straight to the guest bedroom, where I strip the bed, pick up my suit, and open the windows to let in some fresh air.

I toss the bedding into the washer and leave my suit on the side to be washed later. Then I walk back into the living room only to find Zach standing there with a pissed-off look, staring right through me.

Yes, through me.

“Dad.”

“What the fuck were you thinking, Asher?”

Honestly, I wasn’t thinking, at least not with my head. But how was I supposed to know Emma was here to see my dads?

I brush off his question and head to the kitchen to make a drink. I’m thirsty. I’ve got a headache and need a joint ASAP. But I have a feeling this isn’t going to be pretty.