Chapter Twenty - Asher
Asher
My father keeps me in a conversation about my current movie projects. As I see Kayla wander off with my mom, I grow worried for a moment—on the field she was okay walking with my mother, arms linked. But how is it going to be here? Will she be alright or should I get prepared for another argument for leaving her alone with Mom?
When I can finally convince Dad to look for the two of them, we find them at a table, with plates and plates of food. Kayla is eating some kind of puff pastry concoction, deep in a conversation with my mother that I don”t want to interrupt, but I also want to eat.
And I”m sure Kayla would appreciate being rescued from my mother”s curious questions, even if she doesn’t currently look uncomfortable.
I get myself a plate and heap it with food. Then another one because I don”t want to get up again in ten minutes and all of this stuff is pretty small. Now I get why they have so many spread out on their table.
This whole event is way more relaxed than I thought it would be. I expected stiff ballroom dancing and either a ten-course meal or only hors d”oeuvres. I”m more than happy that while everyone is dressed in evening wear, it”s a pretty chill event.
No stiff speeches or grand donation announcements, just evening gowns and vibes.
My mother bursts into laughter when she sees me balancing both plates, trying to keep all of the food from falling off, while Kayla looks like she”s either forcing herself not to grin or embarrassed that she”s here with me. Fine with me either way.
I shoot the two a grin when I set down my plates opposite Kayla, then run off to get all of us some drinks. They smile at me gratefully when I set them down.
”I don”t know where you hid this lovely young girl for this long,” my mother scolds me and now Kayla definitely looks embarrassed. I grin at her red cheeks and shoot her a wink as I sit.
”She”s a bit shy.” Oh, if looks could kill I would be on the dirty floor. “She also doesn’t like when I talk about her when she sits next to me. Sorry, Sweetheart.”
She doesn’t look that appeased with my apology, but before she can further plot for my demise, Dad joins us at the table as well.
”So I heard you”re in a bit of a bind with your label?” He cuts right to the chase, raising his eyebrow at Kayla, and I feel my mom kick his shin under the table. ”Ouch! What?”
”This is a dinner, not a business meeting,” Mom scolds but Kayla pats her arm to signal that it’s okay with her.
”No, it”s fine. In fact, I am. Asher recommended reaching out to you, but I wanted the charity match commotion to calm down first.”
I watch her as she explains Millie’s shitshow of the past week to my parents, who listen intently to every word leaving her mouth.
It”s weird to watch her talk to my parents. I thought so when I introduced them in the stadium already, and I feel the same now.
It”s two completely different worlds colliding, and while it”s thankfully going more than well, unease makes my stomach churn. There”s a protective instinct in me that wants to jump in and take on talking for her, even though I know she would not appreciate that at all.
”So yeah. I would love to explore the option of founding our own label, but first, we need to find a way out of our contract,” she concludes and takes a sip of the fruity drink I got her. Her eyes grow wide, and she glances at me. ”What is this? It”s delicious!”
I hold out my hand. ”No idea. Let me try.” For a moment, her eyebrows scrunch in confusion, and she has a deer in headlight look before she pushes it over to my side of the table. I roll my eyes. Sharing a drink is by far not as much of a deal as we all made it out to be in our youth.
I take a sip and nod approvingly. It really is good. I have no idea what it is, though.
”It”s definitely worth exploring if there”s a loophole in your contract,” my dad starts and rolls his eyes when he catches my mother glare at him. ”Calm down, Jade, she”s Asher”s girlfriend; we might be talking business but really what better way to get to know each other?”
”I don”t know; maybe ask her about her family? Her friends? Ambitions?” From the corner of my eyes, I see Kayla stiffen, but my parents continue to bicker, unaware of how uncomfortable the topic makes her.
”Her job?” My dad raises his eyebrow, a smug grin spreading on his face. Mom crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at him.
”If you must.”
”Thank you, Darling. Always a pleasure to argue with you.” He reaches for her wrist to lift it and presses his lips to the back of her hand. The mature son I am, I make retching noises, earning myself a loving elbow to the ribs from my dad.
”Now, where were we? Right. Contract loophole.”
”I mean the contract is pretty long; there might be one.” Kayla shrugs, acting like she”s not rattled but I’ve noticed her looking tense ever since they mentioned asking her about her family. ”I went through it yesterday and didn’t find anything, but I”m also not very good at legal speak.”
”You should bring it over sometime. I”m sure my lawyers would love to have a look at it.” His face breaks into a cheeky grin. “They love fucking over companies in the business if warranted and they don’t get to do it often.”
”Thank you, I”ll get back to you about that,” she says noncommittedly, but my dad doesn”t really pay the insecurity in her answer any mind.
”Wonderful.”
He starts eating and really all of us start nibbling on our food. When I realize Kayla is staring at some appetizers on my second plate, I scoot it over to the middle of the table so she can try them out.
She reaches for one and cuts it in half, shooting me a small grin as she puts one half on her plate.
Luca and Millie walk into the room a bit later with confused looks, trying to find us.
”Luca!” My dad waves the two over when it looks like they’re searching for a free table. We scoot together so they can fit at the table as well. “Come over here and spend some time with us. It’s been ages we’ve seen you.” My dad greets him, and Luca says hello him with a hand on his shoulder as he sits down. ”How have you been?”
”I”ve been amazing,” he says with a grin that could light up the room and reaches for Millie”s hand. ”You know my girlfriend, Millie?”
”Only from the news,” Mom chimes in with a chuckle and smiles at her. ”It”s so good to meet you.” Then she turns to Luca. ”You should really bring her to Thanksgiving this year.” Then she turns around to Kayla. ”You”re invited too, of course!” My eyes dart between my parents.
What the hell are they already planning Thanksgiving for? It”s not even summer yet.
Millie”s eyes dart around nervously. ”I usually spend Thanksgiving with my parents.”
”Well, bring them along too. The more, the merrier.”
”Speaking of, what do your parents do?” my dad asks Kayla, and suddenly the playful banter subsides and the table falls silent. I can see Kayla”s jaw tense and a muscle tick, but she gulps down her anxiety and takes a deep breath.
”Oh, they”re lawyers. They”ll be busy on Thanksgiving.” I’m sure my parents don’t notice it, but my gut clenches at the icy undertone in Kayla’s voice.
”Lawyers? Shouldn”t they be jumping at the chance to help you out with your label conundrum?” Dad looks a bit puzzled, and given the context he has, I don’t blame him.
”They kind of disowned me for not becoming a lawyer, so that”s not happening,” Kayla says, straightforward, and I feel my mom kick my dad under the table again. Because she misses and hits my shin instead.
”Ouch!” I lean down to rub my shin where she hit me.
”Sorry, hun.” Mom shoots me an apologizing glance. ”It was not intended for you.”
”I apologize,” my dad says immediately, to his credit. ”I put my foot in my mouth there, apparently.”
”It”s fine, you couldn”t have known,” Kayla grits out, and she even manages to make her face look relaxed, but I can see how hard she”s fighting for composure.
Luca quickly steers the conversation to a more secure topic for the remainder of the meal, while Millie darts worried glances towards Kayla. I can”t help but worry as well.
She”s so tense. Only this short conversation managed to ruin her mood. I can see it in her tight shoulders and the way she scoots her food around on her plate instead of eating it, even though she was wolfing down all kinds of food they have here just minutes ago.
”Ellis!” A couple stops at our table, right behind Mom. The man looks a bit older than my dad. The woman on his arm, however, is way younger. She can”t be much older than her mid-twenties. It’s a dynamic you see very often in the industry, but it never fails to give me the ick.
”Jordan,” Dad says and gives him a curt nod.
”Listen, did you get a chance to look at the e-mail I sent you this morning yet?” he asks, ignoring everyone else at the table, especially my mom whose head he”s speaking over.
I want to speak up and maybe remind him of the definition of manners, but my dad gives me a subtle nudge with his elbow. It”s probably someone important.
”No, I haven”t, Jordan,” he answers patiently with a tight smile on his face. ”But this is an occasion to celebrate. Let”s not talk about work here.”
I can see my mom trying to stifle a laughter and even Kayla looks like she”s fighting a grin. Oh, how the tables turned within minutes.
”Yeah, yeah.” That Jordan guy waves my dad off. ”Congrats on a successful event and such.”
Now his bored eyes finally wander over the rest of the table and recognize who else is sitting here. ”Ah, I see you are celebrating the newest family member.”
”Well, actually—”
”You must be gearing up for grandkids soon, right?” He bursts into a booming laughter and the woman on his arm shoots us an apologetic glance. ”Means you can finally stop working, young lady,” he says to Kayla.
She sits up a bit straighter, challenge twinkling in her eyes as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. Whether it’s a defensive mechanism or because that dickhead was about to leer down her cleavage, I don’t know.
”Now why would I do that?” She raises her eyebrow at him, but this mysterious Jordan seems to lack the skill of reading a room.
”To have children, of course!”
Silence falls. You could hear a pin drop.
I lean over to my dad.
”Sorry in advance,” I say softly, but he shakes his head.
”Oh no, go right on ahead, I think that’s quite enough.”
”Listen here, you sorry excuse of a man,” I say loud enough for the whole room to hear, standing up when the prick’s eyes land on me. I”m not quite sure what to do. All I know is I want to give him a piece of my mind from eye level. ”You can take your misogynistic ass and fuck right off.”
”Excuse me?”
”You heard me. When I”m lucky enough to get Kayla to marry me, it won”t be to stay home and have fucking children and give up her career that’s already more impressive than anything you were able to achieve in your sad life. Do you even hear yourself? You”re talking to one of the most successful and influential people on this fucking planet. One word from her and whatever business you have would probably go bankrupt. So I suggest you fucking leave before any of us will be tempted to do just that.”
”You”re going to let your son talk to me like that?” He looks past me to my father, who is wearing a proud grin on his face.
”Jordan, we should go,” his girlfriend says softly and tugs at his sleeve, but he tears his arm out of her grasp.
”Well, he”s right,” Dad adds and crosses his arms over his chest and gets up as well. ”Now, you”ve disturbed a lovely family time, and I am going to support my son in his suggestion for you to leave.”
Finally, the weirdo huffs and walks off without as much as a goodbye. Good riddance.
Meanwhile, Kayla looks like she”s seen a ghost.
God, I feel so bad. This evening is really not going in our favor and even worse is knowing that I’m at fault for that.
”Excuse me,” she says, so softly I barely hear her, standing up from the table and quickly walking off.
My parents shoot each other a look that”s basically a silent conversation before both of them get up as well.
”Excuse me, son, I need to make a few phone calls and cancel some contracts.”
”And I have a gossip mill to feed,” Mom adds, rubbing her hands together.
”Of course,” I say when I realize that Millie shoots me a glare; I finally come to my senses and jump up to hurry after Kayla.
I find her pacing the hallway right at the front door, eyes directed to the ground as her mouth moves in a soundless whisper.
”Are you okay?” I ask her and she jumps in surprise. ”Sorry, didn”t mean to startle you.”
”I can”t do this anymore, Asher,” she says, her thumb at her lips as she bites her nail. I reach out to pull it away from her face, but she tears her hand out of my grasp. My heart sinks. ”We need to stop.”
”Stop what?” My blood turns ice-cold and my jaw tenses as I wait for her to confirm what I’ve feared.
”I can”t do this,” she repeats, her eyes looking anywhere but at me as she gestures between the two of us. My stomach drops and my eyes tear up with a sting. ”I need to leave.”
”Wait a second, we—”
”No, Asher,” she says a bit louder, lowering her voice when she remembers that we”re in public and there are people close by. ”This was a charade to begin with and I”m ending it here. Millie and Luca are happy, everything”s fine, we won”t run into each other again. Probably. Maybe. I don”t know. But I can”t continue this. Meeting your parents, fucking up your industry contacts, it’s too much.” Her voice sounds thick with emotion, and when her eyes finally meet mine, I stumble back a step at the intensity of the emotion in them.
”But we can—”
”Goodbye, Asher.” She turns around and storms out of the front door and effectively out of my life.
”She”s gone,” I tell Millie and Luca when I return. Both of their heads shoot up where they had them stuck together for a hushed conversation.
”Huh?” Millie asks, her eyes darting behind me as though I”m hiding Kayla behind my back.
”She left. And she broke things off,” I sigh and sit down, swallowing past the emotion in my throat. Fuck. ”It”s over.”
”The hell it is,” Millie says full of conviction. Then her gaze turns serious as she turns to me. ”But I have a bone to pick with you.”
”I know,” I say with a sigh and rub the bridge of my nose between my eyes. ”I should have said something earlier.”
”You should have talked to your parents before even bringing Kayla here,” she hisses, and I bite my lip. I know she”s right. ”In fact, you should have mentioned it before they ever met. You have no idea how sensitive of a topic her parents are. I just bet that when she told you about them, she downplayed everything, but I”m the one who hears her cry at night when she has too much time with her thoughts on tour. I can see her asking herself if she”s good enough with every goddamn thing we do in public, the way her walls go up with every new person she meets. Whatever emotion she showed you when she told you, take that times a hundred and you might come close to how she really feels.” She takes a deep breath.
”And then you throw her into this family dynamic? Have her parade around the premises with your mother? Who is a lovely woman by the way, but that”s not what this is about.”
I nod. I get it. I fucked up.
”And your comment on ”when” you”re marrying her probably didn”t help either,” Luca adds and Millie nods vehemently.
”So tell me something, Asher. Before I go and talk some sense into my bestie.” She leans over the table, her arms crossed and fingers flexing. ”What are your intentions with my friend?