Chapter 19
Alyse
“I’m glad you said yes,” Cooper says before taking another bite of his bison burger.
“Me too,” I reply, looking longingly at his burger as I stuff some bland lettuce into my mouth. With Livia’s wedding just a few short weeks away, I have the requisite five pounds to lose. Or…at least not gain.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to bring the contract I need signed.”
“Really? Are you sure you didn’t just want an excuse to see me again?” I tease.
His smile is contagious. “Caught me. I’ll check my calendar and see when I’ll be back in the city and give you a call.”
“You can just email it, you know.”
“But this is a lot more fun.” He winks. “So how long have you lived in Chicago?”
“Oh, I don’t live here. I’m just on assignment for a few months.”
That piques his interest. “Doing?”
“An audit. I’m a forensic auditor.”
“Really? A woman with beauty and intellect. I like it.”
I smile at his compliment. When Cooper called earlier this week asking me to join him for lunch, I almost declined, but there’s something about him that I really do like, so I agreed. Now I’m glad I did. It would be nice to have another friend.
“So, where do you hail from if not Chicago?”
“Detroit.”
“Ah…Motor City. Nice. My cousin spent some time there a few years back. What firm do you work for?” He pops a fry in his mouth and with a smirk hands me one off his plate. I look at it only a couple of seconds before I snag it and devour it before he changes his mind. He winks and I cock a brow, giggling.
“I work for me. I opened my own company last year. ARK Consulting.”
“Wow. That’s great, Alyse.”
“Thanks. What about you? How did you come up with the name of your studio, CB29? I love it. Coming up with a name was probably one of the hardest things when I opened my business.”
His face lights up.
“I actually co-own the studio with my cousin. We had a dream of opening our own photography studio when we were younger, so it’s named after our first two initials and we were both twenty-nine when we opened it.”
“I like it. Very creative.”
Half an hour later, after talking about the challenges of being small business owners, Cooper and I part ways, agreeing to meet for lunch again sometime soon.
Wrapping my scarf around me in a lame attempt to protect against the bitter winter winds and swirling snow that started coming down five minutes into lunch, I walk faster, wishing the four blocks back to CFC weren’t so damn long and definitely wishing I’d worn anything other than a skirt and heels today.
Once inside the building, I’m shaking the snow that’s collected on my hair when I hear my name.
“Alyse, hi.”
I look up to see the head of CFC security, whom I met in the cafeteria earlier this week, talking to a guard at the front desk. What’s his name again? Casey? No. Craig? No. Conner? Hell, I don’t know, so I settle for a generic, “Hi.”
I make polite chitchat with someone whose name starts with a “C” for a couple minutes before I beg my leave. He’s a nice enough man, but I’m a little uncomfortable around him.
It’s after one before I finally reach my temporary office on the thirty-fourth floor. I sit behind my desk with a sigh, still chilled from my short walk but glad I took the much-needed break.
I’ve spent the last two weeks looking at ledgers and balance sheets and bank statements until my eyes are crossed. With a little over a thousand employees, CFC isn’t that big of a company, but big enough this audit could take me well until January or even February.
So far, I’ve not uncovered anything that looks suspicious, but I have yet to really dig into the accounting system or start validating vendors against invoices, which is my next project. With the hundreds of third parties that CFC works with, that alone could take me weeks.
Because of the nature of CFC’s business, I will also need to look at each client account and review billing practices. I may need to pull in Al to help with this after he’s done with his current audit or I could be here for months. Not that I would mind. The more time I spend with Asher, the more I can’t fathom not being able to see him every day.
I’ve spent every night at his apartment this week. Regardless of my own emotional reservations, I can’t deny that’s where I want to be too. I’ve been trying to keep a little bit of distance, trying to protect my heart, but Asher sees right through me and he’s very convincing. I can see why he’s been so successful in his career. He’s tenacious, like a bulldog.
Pushing aside thoughts of Asher from my head, so I can get some actual work done, I turn to my laptop and log onto the SAP accounting system that CFC uses. Last week when I met with Aaron Hinton, the director of finance, and one of his analysts, Amanda, they gave me a cheat sheet to understand the vendor and banking codes within the system. As I search my desk for it, though, I’m unable to put my hands on it.
After ten minutes of hunting, I decide I must have accidentally thrown it away. Picking up the phone, I ring Amanda’s extension first. For one, she’s a little lower level and I don’t want to bother Aaron if I don’t need to for something so inconsequential. For another, I want to limit my time with Aaron. I’ve seen him a couple of times these past two weeks. Both times he’s asked me out for drinks, regardless of the fact that I told him I’m seeing someone.
Of course, I haven’t told him it’s his boss’s boss’s boss, because, well, that’s just not good for either Asher or me. I need to at least give the appearance that I’m being professional, although Asher makes that as difficult as possible at every turn. Yesterday he found me in the copy room and shoved me against the wall, kissing me passionately for a full minute. Thank God there aren’t that many people on this floor, although I’m quite sure his assistant knows something is up by now. He may not care, but I certainly do.
Unfortunately, Amanda doesn’t answer and this is the next thing on my list. Because I like to obsessively follow my lists, I’m kind of at a standstill. So reluctantly, I dial the extension Aaron gave me. Lucky me, he answers.
“Aaron, sorry to bother you. It’s Alyse Kingsley.”
“Alyse, well it’s no bother at all.” He’s smooth. I’ll give him that. And handsome. On the hot-o-meter, Aaron is about an eight. He meets my tall, dark, and handsome requirements, but he just doesn’t make any of my bells ring. I think Asher’s permanently silenced those for any other man.
“I apologize, but I seem to have misplaced the legend you gave me for the accounting system. Could you email me another copy?”
“I’ll just run it up to you.”
“No need to trouble yourself. Email is fine.”
“Nonsense. I need to get out of my office for a bit anyway. See you in a few minutes.”
“Sure,” I mumble before hanging up.
A couple minutes later a light knock comes at my door before it opens. Aaron peaks his head in. “Knock, knock. Okay to come in?”
Why wouldn’t it be? “Yes,” I reply as I stand.
“Hi. Wow, you look great today, Alyse.”
I’m wearing a simple white silk blouse tucked into my black pencil skirt. A clear-and-black silver-beaded necklace complements my very simple outfit. I wouldn’t say I look great, but I don’t look too shabby either.
His eyes slowly rake down my body and when they finally reach mine again, they are full of appreciation. He gives me a panty-dropping smile. I have to admit it’s charming. I find myself smiling back.
“Thank you. Sorry to trouble you.”
He walks all the way in, leaving the door open, for which I’m grateful. “No trouble at all. I’m happy to be of help however you need.”
I don’t miss the underlying innuendo of his thinly veiled attempt at being professional. Smirking, I hold out my hand for the paper he’s now holding hostage in his. “Ah, sorry.”
“No problem,” I say, taking the document and setting it by my computer screen. “Well, that’s really all I need so I won’t waste any more of your time.”
“Actually, I was wondering if Amanda showed you some of the shortcuts in SAP to make your job a little easier. Faster.”
I spent an hour with Amanda earlier in the week, but she just went over some of the basics. I’m fairly familiar with SAP, but CFC has put their own homegrown spin on it, so it’s a little different than what I’m used to. “No, she didn’t.”
“Well if you have a few minutes, I have some time now to show you.”
“Sure,” I reply.
“It may be easier if I come over there and sit with you, if that’s okay?”
I inwardly groan, wondering if this is some ploy for him to get closer to me, but anything that can shave time off my research will be helpful, so I can’t turn him down either. Damn that Amanda.
“Yes, fine.”
For the next forty minutes he walks me through some of the nuances of their accounting system. He even shows me how to run a few simple reports that I can download into Excel for easy filtering and sorting, so I don’t have to wait for someone else to do it. I find Aaron is very intelligent and funny. If I wasn’t head over heels for Asher, I might actually entertain the idea of a date.
“Thanks, Aaron. This was very helpful.” I smile, turning toward him.
“My pleasure.” He reaches up and brushes his thumb against the fullest part of my bottom lip, startling me. I try to pull back, but he curls his fingers around my neck, holding me in place. “You have a crumb here that’s been driving me mad,” he tells me in a low voice.
“Oh,” is all I can manage, remembering that I had a few crackers with my salad at lunch.
His fingers don’t move and I swear his face just came closer to mine. “Do you know what else is driving me crazy, Alyse?”
I swallow hard and shake my head. My brain has clearly not caught up to what’s going on here or otherwise he would have a fist in his face by now.
His eyes have darkened, now flitting back and forth to my mouth. “Your perfume. Jesus, you smell good.”
I start to pull my head out of his grip and open my mouth to tell him how highly inappropriate this is when I hear a throat clear. A deep, male one that does not belong to Aaron.
Oh. Shit.
I can tell by the look in Aaron’s eyes as they leave me and look toward my door that he’s thinking the same exact thing. He drops his hand from my face so fast, it’s like my body is now a conductor for ten thousand volts of electricity.
“Uh, Mr. Colloway, hi,” he bumbles. Pushing his chair back quickly, he stands and starts to walk around my desk. I’m still looking the other way. Knowing exactly how Asher will react to what he thinks he just saw, I bend my head and close my eyes, taking a deep breath to steel myself for when I turn around to see the blazing fury in his.
When I do finally look at Asher, I stifle a sigh. I’ve never seen a man look like he literally wants to commit murder before, but there’s no mistaking he wants to do just that. I’m surprised that his eyes aren’t flashing red and he’s not wielding a bloody scythe with Aaron’s head already rolling out my office door.
“It’s time for you to go,” he grits, punctuating each word slowly. Even through Asher’s tailored suit, I notice his muscles are rippling. He’s fighting to physically restrain himself from hurting Aaron.
This time I don’t even hide the shake of my head at his ridiculous reaction. I have to bite my tongue not to chew his ass up one side and down the other. Mind you, I’ll do that, just not in front of Aaron.
Asher’s one of the most possessive men I have ever known, and while that should be a total turnoff for me, it’s not. Most of the time I find it exhilarating. Today it’s just irritating. And embarrassing.
“I was just showing Alyse some things in the accounting system she needs for the audit.” Aaron’s brows are drawn together in confusion, probably wondering what kind of crazy his CEO just turned into. Asher’s practically morphing into a wild, frothing animal right before our eyes. Aaron apparently has no self-preservation skills or he would have been out of here the second he looked up and saw Asher ready to rip out his jugular.
I rise and make my way around the desk, standing between them. I’m not sure if I’m protecting Aaron or saving Asher from himself. Probably both. “Aaron, thanks for your help. I appreciate it. I’ll call you if I need anything else.”
“The hell you will,” I hear Asher reply under his breath.
Jesus, I hope Aaron didn’t hear that. I do sigh now. Rather loudly. I want to glare at Asher, but I don’t dare look at him or I’ll either kick him square in the little boys or burst out laughing at his utter absurdity.
“Yeah, sure. Glad I could help.” His puzzled eyes dart back and forth between Asher and me. I can tell he’s trying to quickly piece this jagged brainteaser together. He makes his way toward the door, but Asher is still blocking it, not looking like he’s going to move.
Grabbing Asher by the elbow, I gently nudge him into the room and out of Aaron’s way. “Mr. Colloway, please come in and have a seat. I’ll be right with you.” Asher silently walks forward, but I can actually feel his body shaking with rage.
I smile, hoping to hell it looks relaxed and professional, not like I’m about to have Asher’s balls twisted firmly in my palms in about five seconds.
“Thanks again, Aaron.” I quickly usher him out and shut the door. “What the fuck was that?” I hiss, spinning around to face my utterly ridiculous…lover? Boyfriend? Whateverheis?
“You’re kidding me, right? That’s my line, sweetheart. The guy practically had his tongue down your throat and you were just sitting there letting him do it!”
Taking a deep breath, I lean against the door and cross my arms. It’s obvious that one of us needs to remain calm. It’s also obvious it’s not going to be him. I lower my voice, trying to gain control of a situation that’s close to exploding into a hurtful verbal war any second.
“Asher, it wasn’t what it looked like.”
“Really?” he sneers, leaning against the front of my desk, mirroring my stance. “Because what I saw was his hand touching your skin. What I saw was his face about two inches from yours. What I saw was a man who was looking at my woman like he wanted to throw her down on her desk and fuck her into tomorrow. And what I heard was him tell you how fucking good you smell. So, please…explain to me what I misconstrued.”
Okay, so it was exactly what it looked like.
Crap.
I want to break our gaze, but I can’t because then I’ll look guilty. And I’m not guilty. I did nothing wrong, but when he puts it like that, I feel guilty. Damn him for making me feel like I did something behind his back.
“I did nothing wrong here. I didn’t lead him on. I’ve told him repeatedly I’m involved with someone. Nothing happened, and I wouldn’t have let anything happen. You’re overreacting.”
“It didn’t look like nothing was happening to me.”
“Dammit, Asher. You got here about two seconds before I was about to tell him to back the fuck off.”
“Two more seconds and his mouth would have been on yours.”
“Damn you! Nothing happened. Nothing would have happened. I’m not attracted to Aaron.”
“He wants you.”
I shake my head. “Well, I don’t want him,” I retort. “I only want you.”
His eyes bore into me, as if trying to ferret out a lie. I wonder who hurt Asher so badly that he doubts me when I’ve given him no reason to. I’m disappointed and offended that he thinks I would do that to him. To us.
“I may have a lot of personality flaws, Asher, but adulterer is not one of them. I have never cheated on a man in my entire life. I wouldn’t do it.”
“I won’t share what’s mine, Alyse. That’s a deal breaker.”
“It is for me, too.”
We stand there, eyes locked for several tense minutes, neither of us moving. The five feet that separate us may as well be the goddamn Pacific Ocean. As hard as I’ve fallen for Asher, I don’t know if we’re going to make it if he freaks out like a rabid animal every time a man shows any hint of interest in me.
Possessive is one thing.
Irrational psychotic jealousy? No. I won’t subject myself to that for any man. Not even Asher.
A knock breaks us out of our strained standoff. I open the door to find a sheepish Tara standing outside. Lovely. She’s probably heard half of our fight; maybe she’s even transcribed it for our reading pleasure later.
“I’m really sorry to interrupt, but your two o’clock is here, Asher.” Tara spins, quickly walking away without waiting for a response. I don’t blame her. The tension swirling in this office is now so thick it’s suffocating me with every shallow, harsh breath.
Without a word, Asher pushes off my desk and starts to walk out. Grabbing his arm, I stop him, but he doesn’t look at me. “You need to trust me.”
If you break down his three-word response, each word is innocuous and harmless all on its own, but the way he strung them together hurts as much as being stabbed slowly with the end of a spoon. In fact, I’m not sure any other man has ever hurt me as deeply as the pain those three little words inflict.
“Trust is earned.”