Damsel in distress

"Joan is the Hargreaves heir?" Jackson asked absentmindedly, it was quite a shock for him, he wondered why Francesca never told him about that.

"You know Joan?" Asher asked Jackson, the revelation had made both men forget about the other.

"I only met her for a brief moment, but yes I do," 

"when, where, and how did you meet her?" Asher asked Jackson in a frenzy. 

Jackson eyed Asher, it was just a few moments ago, but Asher seem different from the man he was talking with before his phone buzzed.

It was a long time ago he's seen the fire Asher had in his eyes right now, not since Emily.

"I met her at Francesca's apartment, on Friday night, it seems you know her too, how do you know her?" Jackson was curious why Asher got fired up at his mention of Joan.

Asher had to take a long breath to calm himself before he said anything, he didn't know why he got so worked up.

Jackson's answer interested him, Joan Hargreaves heir to the Hargreaves family wealth, in Francesca's home at night. 

He ponder what her relation to Jackson's matchmaker was and how that would affect his plans. He cares not about Jackson's late night rendezvous with Francesca as long as it doesn't cause any setbacks

"She was my date Friday night," Asher said crisply, now that he thought about it, Joan never told him her family name on the date, now he knows why. 

"She's the date?" Jackson couldn't understand the reason Francesca would match her niece with Asher, she was surely hiding something from him.

"I need to have a talk with Francesca about this."

"What does any of this have to do with your matchmaker? Joan and I can resolve this between ourselves." 

"Well, she's her aunt, what do you even mean by resolving it between yourselves, I thought you said she was a horrible date."

"She's not horrible anymore, she is just perfect, and I mean it when I said we'll resolve it together, after all, we're going to be married."

Jackson wasn't even surprised by what Asher said, they've been friends for a decade, and he knew Asher well, he expected at least this level of crazy from the man.

A cold, calculating prick, he knows Asher wouldn't joke about marriage to Joan, especially if she is a Hargreaves, she fits everything Asher wants and more.

"You are going to use her to get Hargreaves aren't you?"

"I won't be using her, but yes, I will have Hargreaves Corporation by marrying her, we'll be great together, I can see it."

"That's not possible man, I told you her aunt is important to me, I can't risk losing Francesca, I have to tell her."

"You can't, if you do we lose everything, think about it we get Hargreaves and we won't need to spend that much."

"I know but-"

"There are no buts man, I mean you speak as if I would hurt her, she fits everything, Jax, she's beautiful, her family is perfect and she's our key to Hargreaves!" Asher exclaims, sits back on his stool, and took a sip of his mojito, he'd completely forgotten about the drink.

"She's everything, Jax, with her I'll have the perfect family, and we will all be richer for it,".

"I don't know man, but I'll think about it." 

Jackson was conflicted, if things goes awry he could end up losing more than Hargreaves, he could lose Francesca.

****

It was the end of the week and Joan was exhausted, she's spent a large part of her time all week meeting with people, friends of her father, old friends to help with the situation of Hargreaves Corporation. 

They all gave her a negative response as she asked them -begged them really- to help her save her family's business. They all said the same things, Hargreaves Corporation is deep in debts, and there are rumors of a sell-off.

Consultation with her father's lawyer had not yielded any solutions except if she was willing to sell her shares to create funds for the company. But there are fears it would instigate the other shareholders into a rapid sell-off.

She also had to attend an extraordinary general meeting at the company, during the new week, it would be her introduction as the largest shareholder in Hargreaves, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Joan felt battered and confused, and as if she didn't have enough problems she got a call from Asher Evans inviting her to another date with the excuse he had something important to tell her after she waited the whole week for his call.

She'd refused his offer at first but after persistent phone calls from him, she asked him to meet her at a cafe she frequents, to at least listen to whatever he had to say. 

So here she was at a table in Altch cafe, a good coffee shop in the city, the cafe is naturally lit with the daylight from large glass windows that allows you to peer at the outside world. 

Her favorite part of Altch cafe however was the couch they put around the corners, where on her sad days she would just lay on, sip good coffee and get away from the world.

Joan didn't have to wait long for Asher, she saw him stride into the cafe, a few minutes after she got her order of caffè mocha.

He looked as gorgeous as she remembered, the white shirt and blue jeans he wore fitting his tall frame perfectly, he looked good even in casuals

"It seems I'm the late one now," Asher said and took the seat across from her

"Don't worry about it, I haven't been waiting long. Would you like to order some coffee?" Joan inquired trying to be polite.

"Oh no I'm okay," Joan watched as Asher took a look around the cafe, analyzing his environment. "Do you come here often?"

"Yes I do, I like the ambience of the place. You said you had something to say, and I don't have a lot of time"

"Yea, but I don't wanna rush into it, so I was thinking, how about I tell you over dinner."

"I don't know, the last time we had dinner it was terrible, and afterward I invited you to a coffee date, but you never called."

"We can just forget about all of that, start afresh?" Asher said flashing Joan a smile. Like everything about Asher, this smile was well-practiced and served the purpose of seducing even the most hard-hearted woman.

But the smile just made Joan angry, she waited a week for his call and now he wants to start afresh, she saw through the facade that was Asher Evans. If anything Francesca told her about Asher was true, she saw the point of his notoriety. 

His smile, his eyes, everything about his body was all dubiously great, and he's rich, everything about him would seduce a woman, but at that moment not her. Maybe it was her exhaustion, or the fact she waited a week for his call, or both, she found herself immune to his charms.

"It's not possible, we can't just start afresh, this is not a game you know," Joan groused and took a big gulp from her coffee to calm herself. 

"Let's get married then," Asher said calmly, his smile still on his face.

Asher's words caught her completely by surprise that Joan almost choked on her coffee, she was coughing up a fit by the time she got the caffè mocha down her throat.

"What the hell is wrong with you, I'm not one of your toys."

"Of course you're not a toy, and this is me being serious, I am trying to tell you that this is not a game for me."

Joan was befuddled, she had no idea what Asher was planning, but she won't fall into his trap. 

"You know what I don't care, if you're being serious or not, I don't want you to call me again, I have a lot on my plate, I have no time for this," Joan said and stomps off in anger. Asher became to her an unsettled man she needs to avoid by all means.

"Ok that didn't go well, I have to be more proactive," and he knew just how to do it, there is to be a Hargreaves Corporation extraordinary general meeting soon. Jackson has always represented their stake in Hargreaves but it wouldn't hurt if he took more interest now.

****

Asher knew he was going over and beyond with Joan, he also knew the end profit of his efforts would be massive, and that was all that mattered to a businessman like him.

He didn't remember the last time he'd done what he was now attempting, socializing with people he could just avoid. 

It's not because he couldn't socialize, he could when he wanted to, after all, he'd taught himself all the social nuance needed to aid his business, it was just that most times he doesn't find the need to. 

What to say, what not to say, how to smile, and the different types of smiles, things normal people grasped easily, were things he had to teach himself as he got older. 

He had not gone to an extraordinary general meeting for any of his past female conquests, but none of them was a Hargreaves.

"I heard from Mr. Brown you would personally be attending this meeting, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Evans" rambled Isaac Long a portly middle-aged man who is a director at Hargreaves Corporation, one of the few Asher and Jackson had in their pocket.

Isaac led him inside the conference hall for the meeting. Although the portly director tried so hard to amuse Asher, he was on the lookout for Joan.

When he found her, she was at the fore of the room, while he sat at the back, away from her roving eyes. He noticed how uncomfortable she was, surrounded by greedy shareholders prodding at her, questioning her, trying to protect their interest.

It was a good situation for Asher, he'd hoped something like this would happen, since only then can he swoop in to save the damsel in distress, tonight he would be the dark knight. 

As the meeting progressed Asher found the whole affair boring, he appreciates a good productive meeting, but all he saw was management and board with nothing but excuses. They had no practical means of turning the company's fortune around, they looked out of their depths.

He was pleased when the meeting ended, and as people start exiting the room, he noticed Joan being aggressively pulled aside by Mabel and Jacob Hargreaves.

Jacob is Hargreaves Corporation CEO and he chairs the board too, while Mabel serves as a director on the board, and they are both members of Joan's family, ultimately they are the two he has to take Hargreaves from.

Asher watched them as they got more hostile with Joan, when their argument started to attract other people inside the hall, he figured it was time to make his appearance.

"Joan darling, there you are, you kept me waiting quite a while, shall we go now?" Asher said pulling Joan towards him, he put his hands on the small of her back, and turned to lead her out of the hall.

"A... Asher?" Joan was surprised to see Asher, she wondered what he was doing at Hargreaves Corporation, she feared he was stalking her.

Asher smiled down at Joan, he knew he had her where he wanted, and there would be no escape for her

"Hey who are you? you can't just barge in here and drag her away," Jacob barked at Asher.

"I'm sorry, allow me to introduce myself," Asher turned back towards the Hargreaves pair of Mabel and Jacob, "I'm Asher Evans and I'm also Joan's fiance, right darling?"