Chapter 4

Oh no no no no…

Asher's jacket was missing when I got home and Garrett was nowhere to be found. He didn't come back home and his lines were off. I was genuinely scared, what if he found out that it belonged to Asher?

I tried to calm myself down with the thought that he couldn't find the owner of a jacket so easily but then another problem surfaced in my head, what should I tell Asher? That my boyfriend took it to find you because you had a one stand with me?

Fuck!

I was so confused and was about to lose my mind. I tried Garrett's line for the last time before leaving for work. I was about fifteen minutes late when I entered the office.

“Lorie, why on earth are you late? The CEO wants you in his office now” Jasmine rushed up to me and said.

I looked through the transparent glass of Asher's office and there he was, with a serious face working. I tried to keep a calm composure and muttered thanks to Jasmine. As I passed through the other coworkers, I could see them pass me a sympathetic look as if I was going to see the devil himself. And they were right…

I knocked on the office door and went in nervously. I could see the other coworker sneaking a peek at us, probably curious to see what the cold CEO would do to me. Asher remained quiet, his eyes trained on his laptop as if I didn't just walk into his office.

I stood there quietly, tried to rehearse what to say and how to say it and I kept coming up blank. After one torturous minute, he said, “Close the blinds”

“I'm sorry what?” I thought I didn't hear him clearly. Why did he want me to close the blinds? The image of that steamy night came into my mind, making my stomach flip. I waited for him to repeat it but he didn't so I had no choice but to close the blinds. My co workers who were waiting for a show were quite disappointed when I blocked their view with the blinds, the office was soundproof too so they could not hear or see what was happening.

“You were fifteen minutes late” Asher finally looked up from his laptop as he spoke.

“I'm sorry Sir, it won't happen again” I said with my head bowed.

“You seem to like saying sorry but I don't” he said.

“I'm so…” I bit my lip to stop myself from apologizing again.

“You have something of mine, where is it?” he asked, his face as blank as ever. If I didn't see him smirking and smiling before, I would have said he was only capable of an expressionless face.

I stayed quiet with my head bowed slightly, I didn't know what to say and where to start from, and how do I apologize when he doesn't want me to say sorry.

“Cat caught your tongue?” he questioned as he stood up slowly.

“T..The thing is I mistakenly ruined it, I know you don't like me saying sorry but I'm very sorry. I promise to pay you back as soon as possible” I said with utmost sincerity. I didn't even have any money that could pay for it but at this point, I just needed anything to get him off my back.

Asher bursted into laughter and walked closer to me with his imposing figure, I found myself unconsciously stepping back.“Do you think you can pay for my jacket with that meager salary of yours?”  he taunted with a smirk.

My back hit the wall indicating that I had reached the end, Asher placed one hand on the wall by my head as if telling me I had nowhere to run. My heart hammered wildly in my chest and my body trembled “I will do anything you want” I blurted out, desperate to get away from him no matter what. He had a strange influence on my body that made me feel vulnerable, I felt ashamed of myself for offering my body for a jacket and even more ashamed that I wanted him.

“Anything?” his smirk got wilder. He raised his hands to trail the open end on my sleeve that exposed my full chest. My core clenched in anticipation as images of the night before attacked me. I wanted to run away and didn't want to at the same time.

“Y..Yes” I rushed out, praying someone came to disrupt the tense atmosphere.

“Asher baby, I'm backkkk” A feminine voice burst into the room loudly and I quickly moved away from Asher to avoid being caught in a compromising situation with him. But I was a second too slow because she saw us.

The woman had long wavy ginger hair that reached the curve of her waist with green eyes and full lips. She had a stunning hourglass body that was perfect for modeling and now that I looked again, she was the world famous model, Sabrina Dubois.

She frowned as her eyes fell on me and she said, “Leave us”

I was about to scurry out when I heard Asher's guttural voice, “No, stay. I'm not done talking to you” I turned to look at Asher but the face I saw almost made me step back a little. This was the most angry face I have ever seen on me, he was simply livid, his eyes were darker and colder and his hands was folded in fists. All this anger was directed at this woman, what was going on?

Wait! I remember Jasmine telling me yesterday that after further research she found out that the woman who ran off leaving Asher at the altar was a famous model. Could it be Sabrina?

Oh my god, I felt like I was interfering in something personal but then I couldn't leave because my boss ordered me not to. Sabrina sent me a death glare before turning to Asher and switching to a guilty look.

“Asher baby, I'm so sorry. I know you must be angry and heartbroken, but we can settle down and talk about this” She pleaded. It was supposed to be genuine but why does the apology sound so fake?

“There's nothing to talk about. Leave” Asher said in a stern voice, I could tell he was struggling to control his anger.

“Look Asher, I can explain why. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity you see, I would earn big. I couldn't just let it go, baby. I swear I wanted to tell you but there was no time, by the time I came back I heard of how distraught you were and I waited for you to heal before showing myself to you. You have to believe me Asher, I still love you” She said as she walked closer to Asher with a slow step and tears brimming in her eyes. I looked at her in surprise, was she okay? She left her fiance at the altar for a business deal!? That was just plain insane. I thought that perhaps they had some conflicts that they kept secret, out of everyone's eyes but it became too much for Sabrina to ignore so she had to leave. I even suspected that it was Asher who caused their splitting because of how he was such an asshole to people, I never thought that the reason for that split up was due to a mere business deal.

With the ongoing drama, my fellow coworkers would definitely not let me rest because I was the only one who could see and hear everything. I could say I was lucky but I wasn't, Sabrina already had me in her bad book I'm sure.

“Love me?” Asher chuckled dryly before he added, “The only time I decided to fall in love with a woman, she left me on our wedding day to chase a modeling job. Now she's coming back one year later asking for forgiveness?… pffttt, I'm only going to say this once, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW!!!” His voice was loud and full of anger, I wasn't the one he was talking to but I shivered under his voice. I never wanted to be on the other side of his voice.

“Ash baby, come on” She ignored his threat and attempted to touch him. Asher's folded fist immediately went into the wall which was made with wood, it cracked a bit and his fingers were a little bruised.

“LEAVE or I'll call security. I'm pretty sure the world wouldn't mind seeing their world class model being dragged out of a building” He spat venomously.

Sabrina's guilty face disappeared and she stopped reaching out, she looked at me and something flashed through her eyes, “You better watch out” was all she said before turning around and storming out of the office.

I was beyond stunned, since the night I met Asher, my life has been a rollercoaster. I didn't even know whether to laugh or cry at my newly found enemy.

Asher suddenly cleared his throat, he tried to regain his composure despite the hint of despair in his face, “So as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted… how do you intend to pay for my jacket?”

I was a little caught off guard that he still didn't forget, “Uhmmm… I said anything you want” I answered nervously.

“Good. Meet me at the Winnbred deluxe hostel at 10pm today so you can repay me” He said with a nonchalant voice as he returned to his seat and resumed working like he didn't just plan a sex meeting with his secretary.

I nodded awkwardly thinking about what could happen at that hostel tonight. I felt my dignity as a woman being crushed for offering my body because of a jacket, if people heard of this, I would live the rest of my life in shame. But deep down in my heart, I admittedly missed his embrace and couldn't wait.