21. Asher
ASHER
The radiant smile on Veda's face had me captivated.
I was ten minutes late to a meeting, still hovering over her desk speaking with her, and I had no intention of rushing out.
She'd been moved to report fully to Jared now that I was getting sober and the board understood my duty was not to train interns.
Clayton's little plan to hire a babysitter for me had backfired on him.
The only thing that had come of that was my complete rehabilitation.
"Look, I know how you work, Mr. Locke." God it jazzed me when she called me that.
"You only like visiting my desk because you're thinking of how you'd like to bend me over it.
" Veda's flirty comments had me going. My body was juiced up and ready to pound her, just like every time we engaged in banter but we were both wise enough to maintain professional decorum at work.
I had only stopped by to see if she was okay because she was a few minutes late this morning and she looked extra tired.
It was worrying for me, though I was the type of guy who hovered and micromanaged.
Emma used to hate me for that. I wouldn't let her lift a finger when she was pregnant and I got told a number of times what a pain I was.
So to see Veda looking like she hadn't slept, seeing her skip breakfast in favor of a few peppermint candies out of her desk and a cup of tea, and watching her pore over documents that had her looking anxious and stressed out made my heart go out to her.
No meeting in the world was more important than making sure she was okay.
"Ms. Porter, you're going to get me in trouble."
"That's what I was hoping for," she said cheekily, and though she smiled it didn't reach her eyes.
"Hope you're not distracting our star intern, Mr. Locke. Veda's working on those grant proposals you asked for." Jared breezed up to her desk and stood there with a few file folders in his hand, which he dropped next to the work Veda was doing on her desk.
"Not at all…" I stood from where I had perched on the edge of the desk and smoothed my slacks. It was no shock to see me there. Everyone in this place knew I was dating her since the board announcement. But Jared was good at keeping us accountable and focused on work.
"You know, Mr. Locke, I'm seeing a different side of you. I haven't had one complaint from any of my team this week that you were out of control with them." Jared grinned. "It's good to see you getting sober and being more relaxed."
"He's doing incredible, right?" Veda chimed in. She took the stack of papers Jared had dropped and focused on them, but I swore I saw a hint of disappointment flash across her face.
"Well thank you for noticing, Jared. I can't even take offense to that comment about being out of control.
I know I've been a bit of a bear…" Straightening my tie, I looked down at Veda again.
I couldn't tell if she was voiding eye contact now or if she felt awkward speaking with me due to Jared's hovering.
But I got the point. It was time to move on.
" I have a meeting, if you'll excuse me. "
"Of course," Jared stated.
I walked away, feeling much better about the state of things between Veda and I now that our work week was back in full swing.
I'd been irrational when she left my place Saturday morning.
It was clear to me now that Veda was stressed out, maybe by work or by how the dynamic had shifted between her and her coworkers.
Instead of being skeptical and suspicious, I'd chosen to be respectful and compassionate.
Robert encouraged me Saturday night during that dinner that it was all part of the process of recovery. I had to accept hard truths and let go of trying to control things. It was the only way to force my emotions to listen to me so I wouldn’t feel the urge to control everything else.
I was on cloud nine as I walked into the conference room where Robert sat across the table from Clayton, who stood talking with a laser pointer in hand. On the whiteboard at the far end of the room were projection numbers, bar graphs, and the title "branding acquisition."
I stopped by the door, still halfway across the threshold as I read the words on the whiteboard and my body went through a shift from calm and relaxed to tense and angry in just a few heartbeats.
Two other board members sat at the table too, staring up at the screen before turning to look at me. And Clayton still kept talking as if I hadn’t just walked in.
"So it appears we'll get a great deal on this, probably only seventy-five percent of market value, which is incredible for a company this size." He turned to look at me as he clicked his laser pointer and the screen shifted.
"What are you doing?" I asked, stepping farther into the room. The door clicked shut behind me, but I barely registered it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’d been working on that acquisition for six months now.
The entire meeting was supposed to be me presenting to the few board members who were in the office today to get a feel for how things would work out.
"We had a meeting that started thirteen minutes ago. Asher. I'm taking initiative." Clayton scowled at me then turned back to the whiteboard with his clicker. "Now, as you see, the deal I've worked out with Channing—"
"You?" I hissed, walking closer. "You didn’t work anything out. I've been the one handling this acquisition. I spoke with Mr. Channing this morning and—"
"Stop interrupting me." Clayton's eyes narrowed and his face hardened. "Your drunkenness almost cost us this entire acquisition."
I was seething. Clayton had no right to start this meeting. He hadn't done a shred of this work. Sure he'd shown up to a few meetings early on, but that was it. This was my deal he was hijacking.
"I called this meeting!" I boomed, not even a tiny bit aware that my board was watching. This was between me and my snake of a brother who wanted to steal this company out from under me.
"And you were late. I thought you were drunk somewhere sleeping it off. Now if you'll excuse me I have things to cover still."
My rage hit its boiling point. After everything he'd done, I lost it.
He'd been physical with the woman I loved, lied to me about her nature, lied to my board about my capabilities, and wound up manipulating them into believing I needed someone to watch me work every day, and this was the final straw.
I launched at him, leaning over the table to grab him by both lapels and drag him to my side. Papers flew everywhere. Robert leapt out of his seat to move away, and Clayton clung to my wrists as he yelped in surprise and gasped for air.
"How dare you! This is my company. I run this show. You can't just walk in here and take what you want. I'm in charge." My entire body shook with rage as he collected himself and got his feet under him. But I still didn’t let go.
"Looks like you're still not as collected as you think you are," Clayton quipped calmly so I shoved him. And it wasn’t a tiny push either. He went down hard, toppling a board member's chair, sending it sliding into the drink station where cups tipped over and the coffee pot danced.
"Christ," Clayton hissed, and I felt hands on my arms as Robert pulled me back.
"Asher, calm down," Robert urged. The other board members stood and backed away like they were watching two wild animals tangle.
"I can't believe you. I'm the one that put in all the work for that acquisition. The tireless meetings, the—"
"You were drunk and raging, just like now.
" Clayton jerked himself off the floor and straightened his suit coat as Robert continued to hold me back.
"You have been nothing but a nuisance in this company for two years because you let your emotions dictate your actions.
You ruined multiple deals by being too drunk to go to meetings.
You lost clients we counted on to help pay the bills, and our stock fell by eight percent! A minus eight!"
Shrinking back, I jerked free of Robert's hands and ran a hand through my hair as Clayton continued dressing me down.
"This board has stood by you since you went off the deep end, and you continue to prove you are completely unfit for duty. You should be ashamed of yourself." My brother's chest heaved, nostrils flared as he smoothed his hair back and righted the chair.
I was ready to punch him anyway. I'd been bottling up my anger about him and his conniving ways for so long they became impossible to hold back now.
Since the day our father died Clayton had made it clear he hated me.
This was just one more thing to stab me in the back and provoke me so I'd look like a fool.
"Take a walk, Asher…" Robert walked in front of me offering a stern expression, and I got the point. I was skating the line he was comfortable putting up with. I respected him too, a great deal more than I did my own brother.
My jaw tightened but I turned and walked out, slamming the door behind me. My hands shook as I marched up the hallway toward my office. Since getting sober I hadn't been so out of control, and I had no clue how to settle myself at all. I was raging, craving a drink so badly I could almost taste it.
Then I remembered the first time Veda and I kissed, the spark we had, and how afterward my desperate need to drink had vanished.
Walking closer to her desk, I started to crave her now too, more than the drink my body instinctually reached for.
So when I saw her seated there with her head down, staring at files she was proofreading, I knew what I wanted.
I got close enough she could hear me, but far away enough that no one else could, and I grumbled, "My office now," and kept walking, not turning back to see if she was obeying.
Of course she was.
She knew how bad I needed her.
Probably better than I did.