Chapter 5 Ella #2
“No matter what it is, you still need to do your job. And you need to remember that even if Mr. Langford hadn’t chosen an heiress, and he hadn’t chosen Ella, he still wouldn’t have chosen you.
You need to come back down to earth and stop being salty about the fact that you somehow think he chose Ella over you. ”
“Fuck you,” Daphne hisses.
“See? You’re defensive. You’ve somehow convinced yourself into thinking you were an option when you never were. Ella wasn’t supposed to be an option, but she and Mr. Langford clearly have a connection. So, get over it and do your job.”
“Ella is nothing but a white-trash slut who somehow got into Mr. Langford’s head, and you won’t convince me otherwise.”
Heels clack against the marble again and then a door slams. A few seconds later, a second set of footsteps follows, and the door opens and closes again. God, I can’t even escape the ridicule at work. I’ll have to thank Heather for standing up for me, but I want to strangle Daphne.
I go to the sink and wash up, then head back to the conference room.
I’m so worked up I’m ready to confront Daphne, but I stop short when I see a delivery man set a massive vase of flowers on my desk.
I decide I don’t want to confront her in front of the team and create more drama, so I let it go for now and head to my desk.
I try to tip the delivery man, but he waves me off and tells me it’s already been taken care of. Emily and Heather come to stand by me, clearly curious and wary.
“Who are they from?” Emily asks as I pluck the card from the arrangement. I open it and groan as I read the note.
I blow out a breath and show her the card. “They’re from Blake Covington, Vericom’s CEO. He sends his condolences on what transpired and tells me to call him if I need anything or if I need better security measures.”
“That was nice of him.”
I let out a humorless chuckle. “Nice or not, I need to get rid of these.”
“Why?”
“This isn’t the first time Blake Covington has sent me flowers, and Asher was less than thrilled the last time.”
Emily raises her brows.
“Let’s just say Asher has a bit of a jealous side.”
Now Emily smirks.
What I can’t tell her or Heather is what happened after Asher discovered the flowers and the bracelet Blake sent me.
The memory of Asher possessively sliding piece after piece of his family’s jewelry onto me and then fucking me senseless makes the heat rise in my cheeks.
Thankfully Blake hadn’t sent me jewelry this time, but I don’t doubt that if Asher knew he’d sent me flowers again that it would hit a nerve.
If Asher and I were in a better place I might let him see the flowers, just to see what sort of repeat performance he might stoop to at the office—just the thought of it has my mouth watering.
But Asher and I are taking a step back, so that’s probably not the best idea.
“I think you’re too late,” Heather says through a half smile, nodding toward the entrance of the conference room.
I follow her line of sight and grimace. Asher stands in the doorway with his eyes narrowed on me and the flowers.
“I’ll just, uh, take these out to the lobby,” I stammer before picking up the large arrangement. “There’s probably a table I can set them on.”
“Good luck with that,” Emily says, holding back a laugh.
“What have you got there?” Asher asks as I try to brush past him.
“Just some condolence flowers.”
“That’s nice. Who are they from?”
I pretend not to hear him and pick up my pace, but seconds later, his footsteps sound behind me.
He follows me all the way to the lobby, and as soon as I set the flower arrangement down on an empty table, he snatches the card from my hand before I can toss it into the trash.
His jaw flexes as his eyes roam over it.
“Persistent mother fucker seems to think a little too highly of himself.”
“Are you talking about you or Blake Covington?” I tease.
“Careful, Ms. Hale. I might be in a mood to punish those who defy me.”
I swallow hard.
Asher notices and smirks, then looks down at the card again. “With everything that’s happened since we got home from London, I forgot to send Mr. Covington a thank you for his gifts. It looks like I need to remedy that.”
“What does your thank you entail?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Don’t burn bridges over something silly like this.”
Asher scoffs. “I don’t need whatever rickety rope bridge Blake Covington is offering, but I do need him to understand that he isn’t welcome to continue sniffing around what’s mine.”
Asher tosses the card into the trash and grabs me by the hand.
He pulls me after him toward his office, and I have no choice but to follow.
I may have pushed for some distance between us, but in the office, we still need to look the part.
My mouth dries when Asher ushers me into his office and locks the door behind us.
He flips a switch, and the glass windows that face the hallway turn a dark gray opaque.
“You know I have no control over who sends me flowers,” I say, my voice a little breathless.
“Oh, I’m aware,” he says, leaning down and brushing a ghost of a kiss along my neck. I shiver at the sensation and press my chest against his. Then my brain kicks in, and I pull back.
“What are you doing, Asher?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he nibbles on my earlobe and runs his hands down over my ass, squeezing it in his large palms.
“There is nothing for you to worry about with Blake.”
“Blake, is it?” he growls. “On a first name basis, are we?”
“No. I mean he told me to call him Blake at the launch, but I haven’t spoken to him since, and I don’t plan to.”
“You’ve got that right.”
“What is it about him that sets you off so badly?”
Asher pulls back and looks at me in my eyes. “Because he looks at you and thinks he can have you. Because he doesn’t understand that you are mine.”
“I’m not some toy that belongs to you.”
“You are not a toy—but you belong to me just like I belong to you.”
“I . . .”
His words hit me. Asher and I haven’t really visited that idea, but I can’t help it, the thought of it makes me melt. I want him to belong to me.
I want that so much.
I wish we could forget everything that wasn’t just the two of us and give in to what feels right. But too many things stand in our path.
My mind is in such a spiral that I don’t notice that with a flick of his fingers Asher has popped open the top button of my blouse until he nips at the skin right between the tops of my breasts.
“Asher,” I whisper.
“What, baby?”
I groan. Damn him using that word with me. It gets me every time.
“We can’t,” I somehow choke out.
“Why not?”
“Because we need space.”
“I don’t recall ever agreeing to needing space.”
“Okay, I need space.”
“And why is it that you need space, Ms. Hale?” His voice is a purr that rumbles against my breasts, making my nipples harden.
Damn him again. Asher and I haven’t been intimate since before the Kyle situation.
And after experiencing something so awful, it’s been miserable going without Asher.
I’ve craved his presence and the safety and security he makes me feel.
Too many times over the past three days, all I’ve wanted was to be near him.
I’ve missed him, but I’ve also missed his physicality.
Denying myself of him has felt like dying of thirst and yet refusing to drink the water in front of me.
I feel my resolve crumbling by the second, like a house of cards.
“B-because everything has happened so fast . . . and this is an arrangement.” Asher flicks another button open and another, then he runs his tongue over the swell of my breasts. “. . . and this will end . . . and . . . I don’t want to get hurt.”
God, Asher is a master at making me come undone. I can’t think straight when he touches me.
“I believe you owe me some extra credit,” he growls against my skin. “And I’m cashing that in now.”
“Extra credit?” I say through a confused shiver.
“Remember the night we played our game of truth or dare?”
I nod. I had come up with the game to try to get to know each other better.
“Then you’ll recall that I earned extra credit. You agreed to comply with a prize of my choosing at a future date.”
“Th-that’s not fair.”
“It’s perfectly fair.”
“And what exactly are you choosing for your prize?”
“Your agreement that we can get back to what we were before that article and your ex fucked everything up. I know you want clarity, I want that too, but it can come with time. All I want right now is you. I want us to go back to how we were before. I want you in my room, in my bed. I want us to spend time together and not avoid one another. This space is killing me, and I hate it.”
“I don’t want to get hurt,” I repeat for what feels like the hundredth time, but with the repetition, the phrase is losing its potency.
Asher moves back slightly to look me in the eyes.
“Hurt is not a one-way feeling, Ella. If things end between us in the future, you would not be the only one to suffer. This is not a one-sided risk. The thought of how it would feel to lose you keeps me up at night. So, I know you’re scared, but I’m scared too.
I want all the things you want. I just have to find a way to make them happen while also keeping you safe. ”
I let out a long breath.
Woah. I hadn’t thought about it that way. I’ve been so caught up in protecting myself and keeping myself safe that I forgot that this is a risk for Asher as well.
“You chose your business before me,” I whisper, knowing that this is still one of my hang-ups. “I asked you to trust me that I’d handle the story with Kyle, and you didn’t. You asked for something I wasn’t willing to give because you were worried about the board and their threats.”
I want to trust Asher, but I don’t know if I can handle always playing second fiddle to his business. I understand he’s a massively successful businessman, and I don’t have a problem with that, but I do if it means that his business is always his first and most important priority.
“I know.” He brushes his thumb over my chin. “I fucked up. And I’m sorry. I can’t change my actions, but I can promise to try to be better in the future.”
I sigh, knowing he’s got a valid point. The fact that he’s willing to try gives me a lot of comfort. Asher doesn’t make empty promises, so if he says he’ll try, then that’s exactly what he’ll do.
“So, back to my extra credit.” He tugs me to him until I’m flush against his chest. “I’m thinking I want to start on it immediately.”
“I didn’t agree to it yet.”
“Oh, Ms. Hale. You’re cute when you think you can win against me.”