Part 32 Asha
I arrived at the office the next day, expecting to see Liam waiting by the elevator like he always did—but he wasn't there. A slight worry crept in.
I headed to the elevator, trying to shake off the unease. Maybe he was running late or still asleep. I couldn't stop myself from glancing back every few minutes, hoping to glimpse him. I let the elevator doors open and close a few times, lingering, but he still didn't show up.
Sighing, I decided I would go up without him.
As the elevator ascended, my mind replayed last night. After we left the bar, Liam borrowed Jake's jeep to take me home. He kept fussing over my bruised arms, as if it were a serious injury. I remember him apologizing for ruining the night, but making it clear he didn't regret punching Aiden. In fact, he said he wished he had hit him again for hurting me.
When the door opened to my floor, the hallway was empty. He wasn't there either, and I racked my mind thinking about what went wrong.
He kissed me again before I got out of the car. The kiss didn't start slow and sweet like before. It started with madness, like he was ready to tear my clothes off right then and there. He kissed and nipped and licked his way through my mouth, my cheeks, my neck and my shoulders. Didn't give a damn who would see from the outside. We only stopped when a car's headlights flashed, followed by a loud honk, snapping us back to reality.
My mind was lost in a fog of memories as I walked toward my door. Just before I reached the handle, I heard a voice shouting, "Asha!"
My heart skipped a beat, and a grin spread across my face before I could stop it. I spun around and gasped at the sight of Liam. He was only wearing jeans, barefoot and bare-chested; his face was still groggy, like he'd just rolled out of bed. Behind him, Theo, still in his pajamas, stood with a tube of something in one hand and cotton swabs in the other, panting like he had just been running, and looking absolutely livid.
"Asha, can you please tell this boorish man to sit still so I can apply this to his jaw?" Theo huffed, exasperated. "I wanted to ask Keith to handcuff his leg, but that guy was useless. When he sleeps, he's out like a rock—impossible to wake up."
I barely registered what Theo was saying. I stood there, grinning so wide my cheeks hurt. Liam was there too, staring at me with that same intensity—we stared at each other as if the world had shrunk to just the two of us.
Theo, who obviously didn't like being ignored, planted his hands on his hips and scowled. "Fine. Have it your way then. Don't blame me if your jaw took weeks to heal and you cannot eat." With another huff, he swiveled around and went back inside.
Liam walked towards me. "Hi," he dimpled at me when he reached me.
"Morning," I flushed, butterflies dancing in my stomach, feeling like a teenager all over again. I pointed at his bare chest, my eyes taking in the muscles, the intricate designs on his chest, and the masculine arch of his throat in all its glory. "Nice outfit."
"You like?" he asked in a low, sultry voice, turquoise eyes twinkling. Shivers licked all over my body at the sound. When he noticed my flush deepen, he nodded to himself. "You do like."
I chuckled, "Searching for compliments, aren't we?"
"Only from you," he whispered, his eyes dropping to my lips.
"We're in the office, if you remember. It might breach some code showing up like this."
"My office is closed for today." When I raised my brows, because it was Friday, he added, "We get an extra day off every first Friday of the month."
"Oh, wow. Must be nice working for you," I grinned back, but then my smile faded. "But not my office." Even with only seven of us on this floor, I didn't think my coworkers would appreciate seeing a half-naked man waltzing around and chatting with me.
"How's your arms?" he asked, concern flashed over his face.
"It's fine." When he didn't look convinced, I added, "It's only a little sore. How's your jaw?"
He shook his head, suddenly looking frustrated. "I'm fine. Asha, if he–"
"He won't," I interjected quickly. I didn't want Liam to remember last night and get angry again. "I won't let him touch me like that again."
Liam opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment, the elevator doors slid open, and Dennis stepped out. He was glued to his phone, but when he looked up, he did a double-take.
"What the—" His eyes were blown wide, and then he fanned himself, looking flushed. "Oh, my, my," he muttered, continuing down the hall. As he passed me, he said, "Morning, boss," and then, turning to Liam, added, "Morning, handsome. Better put on some clothes real fast before you cause people some serious injuries with all those muscles."
Liam just chuckled while I felt my cheeks burn with heat. Dennis opened the door to our office and stepped inside, but he kept glancing back over his shoulder, clearly not wanting to miss a thing.
I scowled at my assistant; he didn't even seem to notice me.
"Do you really need to work today?" Liam asked, pulling my attention back to him.
"Yeah. I have two meetings today," I replied. Two were actually quite few for me; I could have up to six meetings in a single day.
"Can you get out of it?"
I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?"
He grinned. "Just spend the day with me."
"Liam," I chuckled. "You're asking me to bail on work just to hang out with you?"
"Hang out, make out..." he mumbled, his grin widening even more. When he noticed I wasn't completely sold on his idea, he leaned in a little closer. "Come on, Asha. When was the last time you broke the rules?"
I gave him a playful scowl. "You're a bad influence, mister."
"Spend the day with me, Asha." He insisted.
I thought about it for a moment before saying, "I'll let you know after lunchtime." I spun around and walked to the door, but not before reminding him, "Put on some clothes and take care of that jaw, will you?"
As I stepped inside, I noticed Dennis had already leaped from his seat and trailed me into the office, eager to know what happened. "I take it last night you spent time with Liam?"
I took off my coat, hung it, then walked over to my desk. "Yes," I answered, while turning on my laptop.
"You didn't spend the night here with him, did you?" His eyes roamed over my clothes. Should've noticed that I was not wearing the same clothes as yesterday's.
"Of course not!" I bellowed, rolling my eyes at him.
Not missing a beat, Dennis said, "It's perfectly okay if you did, though." He smiled. "Did you have a good time?" He took a seat in front of me.
"I did. Very much," I replied with a sheepish grin, and Dennis instantly brightened at the sight of it. He was genuinely happy for me. "Well, until Aiden ruined it by punching Liam, and then Liam retaliated by punching him back in the face."
Dennis jumped a little in his seat, looking shocked, staring at me with disbelief. "What? What the fuck happened?"
I sighed. "Aiden happened to be at the bar we visited. Liam's brother owns it, and Aiden apparently is a regular there. He was drunk and begged me to leave with him. Long story short, there was an argument, and then it turned into a punching match."
"Oh, my God," Dennis gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. "I wish I had been there! I want to see Liam punch Aiden's face." He laughed out loud, clearly amused by the thought.
"But honestly, the time I spent with Liam made me so happy, Dennis." I sighed, earnestly pouring my heart out, which was not something I usually did. I just really needed to unload this. "Do you think it's too soon? My divorce hasn't even been finalized yet."
"What's the progress on that?" He asked.
"The papers should be delivered to him either today or Monday. Then, I just need to wait for him to sign them. But seeing how Aiden was last night, begging me to go back to him, I'm worried he's going to make it difficult."
"How do you feel about Liam, Asha?" he asked, looking at me with genuine curiosity.
I didn't even need to ponder about it; I answered straight away. "I like him. I like him a lot. Like a lot ."
"Then what's the problem?" Dennis looked really confused. "He loves you. I heard him when he said all that to you –" And then it dawned on him. "But you're not there yet, aren't you?"
"I have feelings for him—strong feelings that honestly surprised me. But there's so much going on in my life right now, Dennis. I'm worried that his infatuation and attention are clouding my judgment, and that one day, I'll wake up feeling differently. The fact that he loves me makes me feel like I need to be really careful; I don't want to hurt him." I paused, leaning back, and voiced my biggest concern. "And what about Kayden and Chloe? Their parents just separated, and here I am, already thinking about bringing a new man into their lives. How would they feel about that?"
"I don't know how to answer that, Asha, but when my dad left my mom, all my sister and I wanted was for her to find a good man who loved and cared for her. Liam, is that for you, Asha. You have a great man who loves you, and you have feelings for him, even if they're not as intense as his right now."
I chuckled softly. "Yeah. Liam is... intense."
Dennis nodded with a small smile. "You've been given a second chance at love, Asha. We don't know if you'll get another one. My suggestion is to take it—take it with both hands and be happy." He paused, his expression growing more serious, as if choosing his next words carefully. "I can't say that I know what's best for your kids, Asha. That's something only you can decide. But... kids notice when their parents are happy. If Liam makes you happy, they'll feel that, too."
I really hoped Dennis was right. But I really needed to think this through first.
"Enough about me," I said to him. "How's your date with Samuel?"
Dennis scrunched his face. I raised a brow in question.
"We broke up again." He sighed heavily.
"Why?" I bellowed, feigning a surprise. They've broken up a hundred times but always get back together again. Old story.
"He was wearing a checkered flannel jacket, Asha! A green checkered flannel jacket! Can you believe it? What in the world was he thinking wearing that?"
I laughed. Dennis was ridiculous. "But he still looks cute wearing it, right?"
"Yeah." He leaned back, looking annoyed. "That's the problem. He's just too damn cute!"
*** *** ***
It was already 5 p.m., and I still hadn't given my answer to Liam. The day had slipped away, and now, as I stared at my phone, I realized there was nothing I could do to turn back time. Yet, his words kept circling in my mind.
A single message from Liam read, "I know you need time. I will not push you, Asha. Until you're ready to take this further, I will wait."
I sighed, touched by his patience.
Today, I went through the day and all those meetings, but my mind kept drifting, trying to decide what I truly wanted with Liam. There were a lot of things I needed to consider carefully. A lot of things I should take into consideration.
Yet, despite all that thinking, my thoughts always circled back to the same conclusion. I realized I had known what I wanted all along.
Closing my laptop, I left it behind on the desk, then gathered my bag and coat. With one last glance around the office, I headed out, closing the door behind me.
Outside, I hesitated, staring across the hall at Liam's door. My mind was buzzing with what I wanted to say, but before I could think it over, my feet carried me forward. I crossed the hall, my heart pounding slightly louder with each step until I found myself standing at his door.
A panel rested beside the door, and a small bell was set neatly on it. I paused, my finger hovering just above the button, wondering for a split second if I was making the right choice. But then I took a steadying breath, letting go of my hesitation, and pressed it. The soft chime of the bell echoed through the hall, and I held my breath, waiting.
I waited a few moments until the door swung open, and Keith greeted me with a warm smile and motioned me inside.
"Is he in?" I asked, following his lead.
"He's in his room," Keith replied, leading me through the quiet, dimly lit office. As we walked, I noticed Theo fast asleep on a beanbag, looking utterly adorable, his glasses slipping down his nose, and his mouth wobbling with each soft snore. Keith chuckled under his breath and walked over to handle it.
"Go on ahead," he said, gently lifting Theo and moving him to the big couch, where he barely stirred, deeply lost in his sleep. "Oh, and the code to his door is 1212."
I paused, surprised. 1212—December twelfth. My birthday.
Before leaving, I watched as Keith took off his black cardigan and draped it over Theo, gently tucking it around him. The cardigan was oversized, comfortably covering half of Theo's body. Keith then carefully lifted Theo's glasses from his nose and set them on a nearby desk. Once Theo was settled, he lowered himself onto the bean bag Theo had been using, pulling his phone from his pocket and quickly engrossing himself in what looked like a video game.
Maybe Keith planned to stay there until Theo woke up, making sure he wouldn't be alone. The thought warmed me—Keith was so thoughtful.
I turned around and continued down the hallway, retracing my steps toward Liam's room. The quietness of the hall felt calming, each step bringing me closer to the conversation I knew I had to face.
When I got to Liam's room, I entered the code on the panel. The soft click confirmed the lock had disengaged. Holding my breath, I slowly lowered the handle and pushed the door open.
As I stepped inside, Liam's sleeping form came into view. He lay on his stomach, head turned to the side, bare-chested, with a blanket pulled up over his waist. I quietly closed the door behind me and walked silently over the carpet to sit on the edge of his bed.
Liam stirred, mumbling something I couldn't quite catch. I leaned in slightly and whispered, "Liam."
His eyes instantly fluttered open, gradually widening to reveal the bluest of blue orbs sparkling in the dim light. For a moment, he seemed disoriented, blinking as he focused on my face. Then he softly gasped my name. "Asha,"
I smiled at him, warmth spreading through me at the sight of him. "Hi, sorry that I woke you up," I said softly.
"It's okay. This is the best way to be woken up," he said, his voice still thick with sleep. He shifted closer, draping his arm over my lap and pulling me toward him. "Lay down with me."
"I—" I paused, unsure of what I wanted to say.
"Asha," he looked up at me, and I couldn't help but think how gorgeous he looked, still sleepy like this. "Come on. Lay down with me."
I bit my lip, contemplating.