Page 84 of Twisted Truth

“And it won’t happen again,” he presses.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen Saturday.”

“I . . . was not as prepared for this situation as I should have been, and that affected me much more than I anticipated.”

I nod and look back out the window. I don’t really know what to say. I’m glad he admitted that he was the problem on Saturday, but it sounds like a lot of that has to do with Matthew giving him an earful and not him acknowledging it on his own. I’m not in the mood to push back, or pick his words apart, worrying over them. I’m here to do my job. And that’s it. Plus, I have my money to comfort me. Four more deposits, and we can end this.

Asher spends the rest of the drive on the phone in a heated conversation with his brother Sterling. Apparently, they’re having some issues over in London. But I welcome the distraction since he’s so consumed with the call that I’m able to take my plate from the chef up to my room as soon as we’re home. It probably seems childish to avoid Asher like I am, and maybe it is, but I feel completely uncomfortable around him now. Maybe that will change with time, but right now, I’d just really prefer my own space. Asher said he wanted boundaries in place, and after Saturday night, I couldn’t agree more.

An hour later there’s a knock on my door. I drop the book I’m trying to read.

“Come in.”

Asher opens the door and stands just outside my bedroom, looking annoyingly perfect in his pajamas.

“I was wondering what you wanted to do about Emily’s text,” he says, running his hand across his scruffy jaw.

“Hmm?” I ask, sitting up and reaching my hands over my bedding. I dig my phone out from under a pillow at the bottom of the bed. “My phone is on silent; I didn’t know about a text.”

I look down and read from the group text with Emily, Matthew, Asher, and me.

Matthew: I emailed the team about the changes in the schedule. We really need to make this event work in our favor.

Emily: I’m checking the guest list as we speak, and I’ve got the glam team scheduled.

“I haven’t checkedmy email. What changes in the schedule?”

“I’m leaving for London late Wednesday night. I need to help Sterling with an acquisition, and I’ll be gone for at least a week. But we also got a last-minute invitation to a movie premiere Wednesday night before my flight.”

“Oh, that sounds fun. What movie?”

“Last Blood Two.”

“Hmm. I never sawLast Blood, but I’ll look it up online. It’s an action movie, right?”

“Yes, a spy thriller type.”

A little thrill goes through me. I’ve never been to a movie premiere before. “Why were we invited? You don’t do any business in film, right?”

“No, but a friend of mine is a producer. He’s a little worried about the film’s reception; the critical reviews have been less than shining so far, so he’s trying to drum up as much publicity as he can. With the stir you and I have made in the media in the last few days, he’s hoping to snag some of that attention his way.”

My phone vibrates with another text.

Matthew: I don’t think any of the gowns we’ve selected will work. We’ll need to do an emergency fitting tomorrow.

Emily: Agreed

“I know things are. . . off right now,” Asher says, pulling my attention back to him. He still looks uncomfortable standing in the doorway. “But I know the paps at the premiere are going to probably push for some . . . PDA or something. They’re going to want a show.”

“Then they’re going to be disappointed.”

“We have to counteract the bad press somehow.”

“I’ll figure it out with the team. But for now, I’m not throwing myself at you in public.”

“You wouldn’t be throwing yourself at me like it’s a one-sided thing. We’d both be participating.”

“I’m not doing that.”