Chapter 24 #2
We’d just emptied our glasses and were leaning back in our seats when my parents glided over with my sisters.
My father looked at the table, then flagged a waiter down.
He told the waiter they needed more chairs and another table.
The waiter gave my father a nod and moved a table and chairs for four next to ours.
After he positioned the last chair, he picked up the tray under our table and stacked the plates, glasses, flatware, and napkins on it.
He lifted the tray and set one side on his shoulder and braced it on his raised hand.
Just as he turned to leave, he winked at Asher.
Ah, the tray thief. Asher nodded and smiled as he returned a two-fingered salute to his partner in crime.
My sisters scrambled to see who would sit next to Asher. Magnolia won. I stifled a chuckle at their antics, knowing it wouldn’t go over well. I’d learned over the years to keep my head down literally and figuratively. Asher didn’t know that.
“Asher, what do you do?” my father asked after he sat down.
“Like Emma, I work in information technology.” Asher’s hand slipped off the table and rested on my thigh. He squeezed it ever so slightly, and as I moved like I was getting more comfortable in my chair, I quickly stroked his hand to thank him for his support.
“You work in the same place as Emelina?”
“No, sir. Emma is on contract to the company I work for. She’s helping me with mainframe expansion and streamlining, along with merging our domestic and international divisions.”
“How fascinating,” Magnolia purred, leaning closer to Asher. He gave her a pointed look and shifted closer to me.
“I see.” Dad nodded. Even though he worked in applied technology and owned one of the largest chip manufacturing companies in the country, I knew he didn’t understand a darn thing Asher had just outlined.
He’d never understood why I majored in computer science or why I’d chosen my current career path.
None of my family did. “And what is your company name?”
I quickly covered Asher’s hand with mine and squeezed…hard.
Asher glanced over at me, then lasered on my father and answered in a voice so smooth even James Bond would’ve been proud. “Fantasies, Inc.”
Dad hesitated, then frowned. “I’m not familiar with them.”
I took a breath. Good, then there wouldn’t be any awkward conversations.
“Oh, I’ve heard of them,” Seraphina said.
Oh shit. This is about to go sideways.
Seraphina looked smug, totally pleased with herself. “It’s that company that arranges salacious hook-ups.”
“It’s not a dating business, Seraphina,” I said, earning a dirty look from her. “It’s a perfectly respectable company.” I may have been a little ignorant when I first walked into Fantasies, Inc., but the organization was good, and there was nothing even slightly salacious about it.
“I doubt that.” Mother’s lips were pinched together.
Magnolia was examining her manicure, then looked up directly at me, her resting bitch face expression firmly in place. “I heard it’s a sex toy company.” She laid her hand on Asher’s arm in an open invitation.
Oh, to hell with this crap. I rolled my eyes.
Asher shook Magnolia’s hand off his arm. “Fantasies, Inc. is not a”—he raised both hands in an air quote gesture—“sex toy company. We respect and understand what our clients want. We recognized a need and filled it.”
“A sexual need.” Mother made no attempt to hide her disgust.
“It can be,” Asher said. “Our clients want a safe space to enjoy all aspects of life, and we ensure they can do just that.”
“I can’t see how a place like that can make money,” Father commented.
“I can’t comment on the financial aspects as I’m not privy to the corporation’s books. I can say I’m paid higher than my counterparts in other technology companies.”
“I don’t care what money it makes. Emelina, you will quit this job,” Father demanded.
I could see the satisfied grins on my sisters’ faces. As if I cared.
“I have a contract.”
“Contracts can be broken,” he said.
I shook my head. “I’m not going to break it. I like working there.”
My mother gasped as if I’d said something totally obscene.
“I may not know all the ins and outs of the adult toys business but working on this project with Asher is fun.”
“And the place you work for is okay with his company claiming any technology product you develop?” Dad wasn’t going to let this go.
I stiffened. “They are not stealing anything. I’m configuring, expanding, and improving existing systems. Any code I write or apps I develop will be properly licensed.” I wanted to say more, but that would only lead to an old argument, and I wasn’t going to waste the energy.
“I think it’s interesting,” Magnolia commented. “Asher, have you used the company’s products?”
Asher flinched, and I looked at him and followed his gaze to his lap, and I could see Magnolia’s red painted nails.
She had her hand in his lap. Assault. That’s fucking assault.
Goddamn the bitch! My entire visual field took on a reddish haze.
Every hair on my body was standing up. Asher squeezed my hand, and over the buzzing in my ears, I could’ve sworn I heard a whisper that sounded like… Asher.
“I’ve got this, Emma. Relax. I got this.”
“Magnolia, if you don’t remove your hand from my lap this instant, you will not like my reaction.” His tone was hard, and now definitely cold enough to freeze water, even though his expression and body language radiated calm.
Magnolia stiffened, her lips curved in a pout. “I was just trying to show you I’m more fun than my sister.”
“That’s it. We’re done here.” Asher didn’t raise his voice as he stood, pulling me up with him, but the edge in his tone cut like a razor.
Magnolia’s hand hovered in the air. He didn’t release my hand when he turned to address my father.
His expression remained dead calm, but there was something almost scary about his gaze.
“Mr. Palmer, Fantasies, Inc. is an ethical business. We do not steal intellectual property of any kind. Period.”
Then he focused on Magnolia. “What you did when you touched me in that manner without my specific consent is classified as fourth degree assault. I’m not going to press charges at this time because Emma is a friend, and I have enormous respect for her.
But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, make no mistake, I will ensure you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
” Magnolia was so pale, if she hadn’t been sitting down, I was sure she would’ve fainted.
Asher wasn’t finished. He speared Mother and Seraphina.
“Everything Emma said about you people was accurate. In fact, she was generous in her descriptions. None of you deserve that generosity. Your familial issues are yours to deal with, but when I’m with Emma”—he looked directly at Mother when he emphasized my preferred name—“you will treat her with courtesy and respect. End of discussion.”
There was a moment of paralysis. None of them moved until Dad sputtered and spoke.
“Emelina, you’re going to let him talk to all of us like that?” he blustered.
What Asher had said and done left me with the feeling I could conquer anything—even my family. Maybe I didn’t have to live under the shadow of my parents’ control and their notoriety. Maybe I could—finally—stand up for myself.
“I am. You see, Asher sees me. The me you all ignore or belittle because I refuse to fit into your mold. He respects me, too, unlike you. He’s a wonderful man who has made me realize I don’t need your toxicity in my life.
” For the first time in my life, I saw, without the constraint of emotion, who these people really are.
I had lived every day hoping they would love me for who I am, and today I realized that wasn’t going to happen.
I felt Asher squeeze my hand. He had unlocked something in me that had always been there but was dormant. No longer.
I was finally free.
“Goodbye.” I didn’t let go of his hand, but I also knew if I looked at him, I would dissolve into a trembling mess at his feet. We made our way from the yard, through the house, and down the steps.
Asher gave the valet the ticket, and within a few minutes, his car arrived.
He held my door open and helped me in. I watched him from the side mirror until he was behind the car and turned toward the driver’s side to see him open the door, get in, fasten his seatbelt, and put the car in gear.
He turned to me before he depressed the gas pedal, his expression tender, his smile warm.
“You’ve crossed your Rubicon, Emma. It only gets better from here.” He turned, pressed the gas and, tires throwing gravel, drove away.
The silence in the car was thick. I think he knew I needed the silence to process everything that had happened. It wasn’t until we were at the stoplight that Asher turned to me. He tilted his head like he was trying to solve a problem in his head.
“How did you grow up to be so normal with family like that?” He untied his bowtie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.
“Ignored them?”
Asher let out a breath and gestured for me to come closer. “Seatbelt,” I said.
“It will stretch. This light takes forever. Come over here.”
I wiggled out of the chest restraint and let it contract behind me then leaned as close as I could across the console. He cupped my face and brushed a soft kiss across my lips and a firmer one on my forehead.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He rubbed my shoulder.
His touch sent rivers of awareness through me.
“I…” He took a breath and blew it out. The light turned green, and we started forward.
“I can’t believe your family. Your sister openly flirting with me and touching me. Does she do that a lot?”