Chapter 38 Asher #2
I want to elbow him in the ribs. I forget, because he’s my younger brother and because he’s lighter around Declan and me, that Sterling is only lighthearted in front of his family.
Around everyone else, he’s quiet and reserved, bordering on aloof.
The problem is, with his stature, build, and the razor glint in his dark brown eyes, his quiet and reserved nature comes off as intimidating at best and terrifying at worst. If I am the dictator of the company and the family, then Declan is my enforcer, and Sterling is my assassin.
But instead of melting into the background like a good assassin should, Sterling’s dark quiet somehow draws people in rather than helping him to disappear.
Which is interesting to watch. As people get caught up in his allure, he can take them down before they even realize it.
Of the three of us, he’s the most disciplined in martial arts and tactical weaponry.
Plus, he’s a goddamn ghost of a hacker. If he doesn’t want to hurt you in person and make a scene, he can eviscerate you with a few keystrokes on his laptop.
All of this combined makes for a bit of a looming figure. And it looks like Maya is catching that from the get-go.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Sterling says, and Maya stays frozen for a second, her eyes wide.
The ma?tre d’ interrupts their charged greeting and leads us to our table.
Ella links her elbow with Maya’s, and Maya visibly relaxes.
As we walk through the restaurant, they are once again enmeshed in one another, and I can practically feel the happiness rolling off of Ella.
We take our seats at a large table in a private room, and Ella and Maya sit across from one another, then Sterling and I sit next to each of them.
I can’t help but notice as they chat endlessly with one another that though they aren’t blood related sisters, they have quite a few physical similarities.
They are almost identical in height, and their body styles are quite similar, although Maya is thinner, almost bordering on unhealthy.
They both have bright green eyes, full lips, and delicate noses.
Their biggest difference is their coloring.
Ella is all golds and bronzes with her golden-brown hair and olive skin, whereas Maya has creamy pale skin and red hair.
“Aunt Bethany will be late. Stuck in traffic,” Sterling says, interrupting my thoughts. “She said to go ahead and order, and told me what to order for her.”
“Are you ready for finals?” Ella asks Maya.
“Nearly, but this third year is brutal. I can’t wait for summer break.”
“Yes! We’ll have to adjust our plans a bit since Asher here is keeping me busy, but we’ll still fit in the important things.”
Maya shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, that’s the thing. I’m not coming back to New York for break this summer.”
Ella sits frozen for a second. “What? Why?”
“I got an internship at the museum, so I’ll be working.”
“What? That’s amazing! And I also hate it, but I’m so happy for you. Which museum?”
“The British Museum.”
“Wow! That’s the big one, right? The one you’ve been dreaming about working at your whole nerdy life?”
Maya clucks her tongue. “Yes.”
“You deserve it!”
“Well, I’ll mostly be doing boring admin work, but I at least got in. I’ve been denied all the other times I’ve applied.”
“What are you studying at Oxford?” I ask.
“I’m working on my masters degree for both art and history. My goal is to one day be a curator for a big museum.”
“She’s brilliant,” Ella gushes. “Like a little red-headed Google. She can spout off facts and stories about almost anything related to art or history.”
“Not about anything,” Maya says through a laugh.
“Okay, almost anything.”
Now Maya rolls her eyes. “I specialize in British art and history, but since Britain went around colonizing the world, there is a lot of overlap in other countries’ histories as well.”
“Have you worked in a museum prior to this internship?” I ask.
She nods. “At NYU I did, but I haven’t had the same opportunities here in London as I did back home.”
“Because your professors are classist assholes,” Ella growls.
“Calm down, Els. It’s not that deep.”
“It is too. You’re at the top of your class, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have gotten this internship your first year.
You shouldn’t be just breaking into the museum to do admin work at this point.
By now you should be assisting with the actual job.
But you’re a poor American girl on scholarship, with no connections, so you get overlooked every time. ”
Maya rolls her eyes again.
“Who are your professors?” Sterling asks.
Maya lists off their names and then furrows her brows. “Why?”
He shrugs. “I could make some calls.”
She stiffens. “That’s not necessary.”
“It may not be necessary, but it will be helpful. Your sister is right. Connections are everything over here.”
“Yes!” Ella says with an enthusiastic nod. “And that might help keep Professor Creepy in line.”
Maya’s eyes bulge and she shoots Ella a dirty look.
“Professor Creepy?” Sterling says in a quiet, menacing voice.
“It’s noth—”
“It’s not nothing,” Ella snaps, interrupting Maya. “He’s creepy and pushy and he makes you uncomfortable.”
“Take my card.” Sterling says it like an order as he pulls the card from his suit pocket and pushes it toward her. “Call if you ever need anything. I know you’re over here by yourself.”
“I’ve been here for three years, and I haven’t had any problems. I’m fine—”
“Maya, take the card,” Ella says, interrupting her again. “I know you’re smart and strong and capable, but he’s not wrong. You are in another country all alone. It doesn’t hurt to have someone you can call on if you need help.”
“I have friends here. I’ve lived here for three years; I’m not entirely alone.”
Ella keeps her brows raised, unimpressed, and Maya lets out an annoyed breath, rolls her eyes, and finally reaches toward Sterling and takes the card. “There, happy now?”
“Yes,” Ella says with a satisfied smile. “You know how much I worry about you. This makes me feel slightly better.”
Maya rolls her eyes again. “As if your living alone in New York was much better. And you lived with that asshole, Kyle. The worry was not one-sided, my dear.”
“No need to worry anymore,” I say to Maya.
“The imbecile, Kyle, will never go near Ella again. And she’s not living alone in New York anymore.
She’s living with me in one of the most secure buildings New York has to offer.
” I can hear the slight possessiveness in my tone, but I can’t beat it back.
My thoughts from earlier hit me again, wondering where Ella will go after all this is over, and it makes my skin crawl.
Sterling gives me one of his looks, and I know I’m in for trouble. “Why yes, Asher. It’s good she’s living with you with the circus of media that now plagues her.”
I shoot him a glare. “An unfortunate side effect of dating a Langford. You know that well, Sterling.”
He narrows his eyes, but the waitress interrupts, asking for our orders, before he can respond. We each order, but when it’s Maya’s turn, she seems a little skittish.
“I’ll just have a side salad,” she says, her eyes raking down the menu with furrowed brows.
“You will not,” Ella snaps. “She’ll have the same as me,” she tells the waitress.
Maya opens her mouth to protest, but Ella cuts her off again.
When the waitress leaves, Maya is glaring at Ella, but Ella holds her glare with no contrition.
“Asher is paying for the meal. We wouldn’t invite you to dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants in London and expect you to pay for yourself.
Plus, you don’t need to be so tight with your money now; I transferred money into your account. ”
Maya’s cheeks flush red, which is very noticeable beneath her pale skin. “Yes. But I have to purchase a work wardrobe now, so I’m being careful.”
“Then I’ll send you more money. I’ve told you, Maya, you have to stop half-starving yourself. You’ve lost weight since the last time I saw you.”
“Well, I just got the money two weeks ago.”
“And before then, were you scrimping on buying enough food again?”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Maya grumbles.
“Ella said you are on scholarship here at Oxford,” I ask Maya, concerned about the turn of the conversation. Is Ella’s sister really forgoing eating enough food because she can’t afford it? “What does that cover as far as expenses go?”
Maya blushes again. “My scholarship is only seventy-five percent tuition and no living expenses. Just the twenty-five percent tuition is far more than I can afford on my own.”
“Our parents had money put away for us for college,” Ella says, “but when our father got cancer, well, it was expensive.
And it was either treat his cancer or pay for college.
Both Maya and I had earned good grades in school, so we told our parents to spend the money on his treatments.
In the four years he fought, they spent every last dime and then some.
“That’s one reason Maya and I went to college together. We did it so we could live together and keep expenses down as much as possible if we were smart about it. Our mom helped as much as she could, but her job doesn’t pay all that well.”
“Did your mother not receive life insurance from your father’s death?” Sterling asks, gently.
Ella bites the inside of her cheek. “That’s the thing.
He had a life insurance policy, but three months before he was diagnosed, the company went under, and he only got a portion of his premiums back.
He was in the middle of writing a new policy when he was diagnosed, so all the insurance companies denied him.
No sense in writing the policy of a dying man. ”
Fuck.