Page 45 of Asher Black (The Five Syndicates)
If word gets out that I lied about this, that we are lying about this relationship, my professional reputation will be ruined. New York City is a big city, but Asher’s celebrity is even bigger. Being branded a liar so publicly will ruin my job opportunities here. My future here.
And all it’ll take for everything to come crashing down is Monica opening her mouth about what she knows. She likes Asher. I sympathize with that, but it doesn’t mean I like the power her knowledge has over me. She has the motive to hurt me, and I’ll be damned if I let that happen.
The thought sends a dark shudder down my back.
Chapter Fourteen
Courage does not always
roar. Sometimes courage is
the quiet voice at the end of
the day saying, "I will try
again tomorrow."
Mary Anne Radmacher
Asher leaves with Monica after we finish eating. He has some commercial properties to look at and clients to meet, and I have packing and homework to do anyways.
The smug look on Monica’s face when she walks out of the penthouse with Asher annoys me. I’m not jealous that they’re spending time together. I’m irritated that she has the power to ruin my future, and judging by how petty she was earlier and the faces she makes at me when Asher’s not looking, she seems like the type to use it.
I am left with strict instructions to return to my dorms with one of Asher’s guards and discretely clear my dorm room. I text Aimee, informing her that I am on my way, and forward my ironclad leasing contract to Asher’s email address before I leave. He promised that he’ll get it nullified when he has the chance, and it will be like I never even signed it.
And my name is Aphrodite, and I invented the orgasm.
I can be delusional, too.
While Xavier, the guard that scanned the VIP level for bugs two nights ago, drives me to Vaserley, I consider what I will tell Aimee. As my best friend (well, my only friend), she needs answers and probably won’t stop until she gets them.
I don’t think she’ll tell anyone that my relationship with Asher is fake, but I don’t want to take the chance. As much as I like her, I’ve only known her for about a month, after all. Plus, I already signed an NDA, so I legally can’t tell her anything anyway.
On the other hand, I know that Aimee has a pretty good nose for bullshit. She’ll recognize if I’m lying to her, and I have to tell her something. If it can’t be a lie, the only alternative is the truth.
Plus, she’s aware of the timeline of our relationship. She thinks that Asher and I have only really just met yesterday. She’ll call bullshit on a one-day engagement, and so will anyone else if they know that Asher and I only just properly met.
But as far as the rest of the world is concerned, Asher and I have looked as cozy as a couple should each time we’ve been seen in public together. For instance, when he stalked me around campus, he always either had his arm around my shoulders or held my hand in one of his. When I was at his club two nights ago, the staff gave Aimee and me the VIP treatment, immediately ushering us to Asher on the VIP level.
I also practically dry humped Asher on the dance floor in front of everyone, but I don’t want to think about that. It’s currently the Voldemort of my life right now, never to be named nor spoken about.
Anyway, the cherry on top is that we left the club together, we went to dinner with his family, and I just left Asher’s place after staying with him the whole weekend, although I did so out of his private garage in a black town car with windows tinted pitch black…
Asher’s favorite color, of course.
I go over our relationship cover story again: The first night I went to Rogue, we locked eyes and it was love at first sight. He followed me outside, where we talked and had our first kiss. When I left, I forgot my phone in the restroom due to the chaos.
Asher was so taken by me, he tracked me down, using my phone as an excuse when what he really wanted was a date. By the time he found me and gave it back, I already had a new phone, but I was still moved by the gesture. I agreed to the date, and we’ve been dating in secret ever since. He proposed to me last week outside of Rogue, where we had our first kiss.
It’s like a modern day Cinderella story, only I lost a burner phone not a glass slipper.
And it’s also a botched version of the truth, which just makes it easier to remember. Of course, we switched the timeline a little, so he supposedly found me three weeks ago, and we fell quickly in love. Even though it would be more realistic, we can’t press the timeline back any further, since I only arrived in the country a month ago on the first night I went to Rogue.
We’ll just have to work harder to sell how smitten we are.
Joy.
“We’re here, Miss Ives,” Xavier says, as he pulls the car into one of the visitor’s spots.
