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Asher’s jaw sets, and a hardened expression washes over his face. “Wait here,” he says, turning, but I stop him, grabbing his wrist.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“To tell that piece of shit to leave my building and never set foot here again,” he says.
“No! Asher—all your work, your presentation, the investors you need, I can’t let you risk—”
“There are other investors, Olivia,” he says firmly. “Two of them are sitting in the conference room with Aiden and Alec right now. But this one? He’s a piece of shit who needs to be put in his place.” And with that, he storms out of the break room.
I follow him, but he’s much faster than me, and he reaches the meeting room before I do. Through the glass, I see him politely ask to speak with the man outside, to which he obliges. Alec and Aiden look somewhat confused but continue the meeting with them. Once outside the room, Asher motions for the man to follow him, and they walk down the hallway, toward the lobby.
I glance back at the conference room, and Ben meets my gaze through the glass, shooting me a questioning look. I simply shrug, knowing I can’t convey anything else with simply a look.
And then I hear it.
Shouting.
Not necessarily loud, but definitely stern. I look down the hallway to see Asher towering over the man, spitting words in his face I can barely make out. Then he grabs him by the collar and shoves him through the lobby to the elevator doors. He pushes him inside with another loud expletive, and the doors close.
I see Asher run a hand through his hair, calming himself, and then he turns to the receptionist, who looks just as rattled as I feel, and speaks to her in a low voice.
I pad down the hallway and step into the lobby, watching Asher as he finishes up his conversation. When he sees me, his expression softens, and then my entire demeanor falls apart.
Tears stream down my face, and a sob escapes my throat. “I’m sorry,” I say quietly, but Asher stops me, spanning the distance between us and wrapping me into a hug. My hands pressed against my face, I lean against his chest and cry. His hand strokes my hair, and I can barely make out his comforting words through my own tears.
“We’re going to the police station today,” he says softly. “And we’re filing a report and getting you a restraining order. I know everything we need to know about him, and I have ways of making sure he never comes within a fucking mile of you ever again. And he knows that.”
I nod against his chest, my tears subsiding.
“What about your new meeting? Your new product? Everything?”
Asher shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. There are two other investors in there with Aiden and Alec, and even if they don’t decide to join, it doesn’t matter. It’s not going to make or break us, and it’s not worth what’s happened to you.”
I step back, taking a shuddering breath. Asher looks down at me, eyes full of compassion. “It’s over, Olivia. I promise.”
And with the surety in his tone, I believe him.
Chapter 18
Once I’ve had a little while to calm down, Asher drives me to the downtown police station where we file a report for what happened in the gentlemen’s club parking lot as well as a retraining order against Michael Harrison. Even though it feels somewhat pointless, Asher assures me that the police will look into the incident, and that Asher personally warned Michael about what would happen if he tried to reach out to me again.
“The connections I have should scare him more than the police,” he says.
Still rattled by the events of the day, Asher insists I stay with him one more night and that he’ll drive me back to my place tomorrow morning, Saturday. I give in, under no condition to argue with him.
We spend the night eating Chinese takeout and watching TV, curled up on the couch together. Not many words are spoken between us, but when I finally go to bed, I find myself missing the warmth of his touch.
Asher drives me home the next morning, and after a quick hug on my doorstep, I’m left alone with my thoughts. I spend the weekend processing the series of events, trying to come to terms with it and fully relax after everything that’s happened. I find myself continually looking over my shoulder, worried that I’ll find another creepy note. But I believe Asher when he said it was over, and I believe that whatever threat he leveled against Michael Harrison, he’ll pull through on it if necessary. And Michael Harrison knows it too.
I meet up with Courtney Saturday night for dinner and tell her about everything that’s happened. She vows to tell her boss about Harrison and get him banned from the club, and she apologizes that I had to go through this.
When Monday rolls around, I finally feel ready to face work again, even if I’ve still been feeling a big guilty about how that meeting went. Asher continues to assure me that it’s fine, and that one of the other men in the meeting was impressed and might end up joining as an investor, so all went well.
I can’t help but notice, though, the change in Asher’s behavior around me. He’s stiffer, colder. At first, I brush it off, but as the days go by, it’s harder and harder to ignore. Our banter, the friendship we’d been gradually creating, seems gone. Now he’s simply back to being … my boss.
Which, I realize, is what he is.
I feel almost stupid for wishing for more, for thinking of the moments we shared, the way he’d held me in his arms when I’d cried or how we’d cuddled on the couch. I feel almost crazy. Did I completely imagine something that wasn’t there? I knew our relationship was taboo, surely, but I’d thought that things were developing.
