Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Emma
I polished off my burger and fries quickly. Asher had picked up the food on our way to his house. Thank goodness, I’d totally forgotten about food with everything going on. One could only survive on Red Bull and protein bars for so long.
“You were hungry,” Asher said.
“Like you weren’t. I only ate one burger. You ate two.”
He grinned. “I’ll need my energy.”
“Oh?” I picked up the wrappings and carried them to the trash.
“You do know you’re staying here tonight.”
I glanced at him. “I’d hoped you’d ask, but I don’t have a change of clothes.”
“I have a washer and dryer, and I’m sure I can find you something to wear.”
The image of me in one of Asher’s white shirts flashed in my mind. “I’d like that.”
“Great.” He sprang up and made a beeline for his bedroom.
I shook my head. Asher seemed to have rebounded quickly after what we learned today. I was still processing. I was aware Greg disliked me, but apparently, it went way deeper than that. I had no idea what I’d done to make him hate me so much that he would sabotage a project I was working on.
My breath caught. If I stayed in tech, would that ever change? Tears burned behind my eyes. I didn’t want to leave tech; I loved it too much, but how could I continue?
Working with Asher and his team showed me what it felt like to be a valued member of a team. I needed to think about this, because there was no way I’d go work at my father’s company. That would be worse than Tri-O-Tech.
Asher came back into the room with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt in his hands. “I think these will work.”
Hiding a smile at his choice, I took them and went into the bathroom to change. Of course, they were a little big on me, but that was okay. I threw all my clothes in the washer, then met Asher in the kitchen.
“You’re thinking about work,” he said.
“How could you tell?”
“You stiffened and got a faraway look in your eyes.”
“Sorry. I really feel like I’ve missed something else.”
“Emma.” He cupped my shoulders. “If you did, it was so tiny it shouldn’t matter. I want you to relax now. We’ve all had a busy forty-eight hours.” He pulled me into his arms.
“You’re right.” I leaned against his chest. Worrying wasn’t going to help. Not right now, anyway.
“I’m always right.”
I playfully hit his arm. “Not always.”
“Always.” He guided me to the sofa and gave me the two things I needed most.
Cuddled in his arms, we watched some disaster movie, and I finally fell asleep.