Endless Obsession – Episode 23
Episode 23
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⚘Poppy⚘
The next morning I’m nervous as the driver pulls up on the tarmac where the jet is waiting for us. I told Asher I could catch a cab to the private airstrip, but he
insisted on sending a driver over. He said there was no sense in wasting cab fare when he could easily send someone for me.
I don’t know why I’m so nervous. It’s just a simple business trip. I see Asher five days a week, so it’s not like we’re new to being in each other’s company for hours on end. After what transpired last night with Sterling, I felt better about going on this trip with Asher, but not so much this
morning. My feelings for Sterling are growing stronger by the day, but every time I’m near Asher, I get this flutter in my stomach. He still makes me nervous and edgy, but he also brings life to my body. I hate having my body react this way to two different men. I want them both, and that right there makes me feel like total shit. Even if I could have both, I wouldn’t do that to either of them. They both deserve better. Everyone deserves better than to be strung along and used. Besides, Sterling’s already proven that he won’t share, although I do find it quite odd he didn’t put up a fight about me going on this trip.
The car pulls to a stop, jerking me from my conflicting thoughts. I sit for a minute and try to force away the nervousness that starts to overwhelm me. I’m just about to open the door to get out when it’s opened for me. Grabbing my purse, I slide from the smooth leather seat.
“Thank you,” I mumble.
“My pleasure, ma’am.”
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I walk around to the back of the car and wait for him to pop the trunk so I can grab my bags. A moment later it opens, and I reach to grab the handle to my suitcase, but before I can, Benjamin, the driver, steps beside me and pulls it from the trunk.
“I’ll get these for you, ma’am.”
“Oh, thank you.” I smile.
I take a step back. I’m not used to having others do stuff for me when I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself. It makes me feel useless, and I don’t like that feeling. I’ve always done everything myself.
I fiddle with my purse strap as Benjamin
sets my suitcase down on the ground and slides the pull handle up before grabbing my smaller carry-on bag. I sedately walk behind him to the steps leading to the jet. A tall, older gentleman in a black uniform that has several patches on it meets me at the steps. Benjamin continues on with my luggage, handing it over to a man standing by a small hatch close to the back of the jet.
“Miss Lexington?” the man at the stairs inquires, holding out a hand.
“Yes.” I place my hand in his and he gives it two pumps before letting go.
“My name is Captain Hayes,” he says with a smile. “I’ll be the pilot for your trip today. If you’ll climb on board, Mr. Knight is already inside. We’ll be taking off momentarily.”
“Thank you. It was nice meeting you.”
I turn from him and eye the stairs warily. I don’t know what I’m more nervous about, getting on this jet or spending so much alone time with Asher.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” Captain Hayes asks when I make no move to climb the steps.
Swallowing through a thick throat, I murmur, “Yes.”
“Have you ever flown before?” he asks, coming to stand at my side.
I try my best to give him a smile, but I’m sure it looks warped or something.
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“No. This will be my first,” I answer anxiously.
He lays a comforting hand on my arm and gives it a squeeze. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ve been flying these things for twenty years, and before that I was in the Air Force for ten.” He gives me a reassuring smile and it calms some of my nerves.
The next smile I give him is more natural.
“Don’t mind me. I’ll be fine, but thank you.”
With a pat to my arm, Captain Hayes lets go and I turn back to the stairs. I pull in a deep breath and grab the handrail before taking the first step. There are only seven steps, so it’s not long until I reach the top. Cool air whizzes past me as I stand in the doorway. It’s refreshing and cools my heated skin. I clutch my purse in a tight grip and move forward. My anxiety has now moved back from flying to seeing Asher. I round the small corner and am met with a decent size space that has several comfortable looking seats on either side of the aisle, and what looks like a small bar off to the left. In the back, I see a doorway straight ahead and two doors to the sides, one leading to the left and one to the right. There are cabinets along the walls right below the ceiling. Overall, it’s much bigger than I pictured from the outside. I shouldn’t expect anything less, though. It is, after all, owned by Silver Technologies.
I shift on my feet as my gaze meets Asher’s, who’s sitting in one of the seats talking on his phone. He’s wearing black slacks and a dark gray button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. I always feel a little thrill run through my body when I see his tattoos, and now is no different. The eyebrow ring glints from the sun
peeking in through the window. For a split second, I thought I saw something in his eyes when he first saw me, something dark and carnal. But when I blink and look back at him, it’s gone. It had to have been my mind playing tricks on me.
Or maybe it’s your mind conjuring up something that you desperately want, a small voice in my head whispers.
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I shake the ridiculous thought away.
A beautiful young blonde in a knee-length gray skirt and white blouse walks up to me.
“Hello. My name is Seraphina, and I’ll be your flight attendant today. If you need anything at all, please let me know.”
She smiles at me, but there’s something about her that sets me off. Maybe it’s the way her smile looks fake. It could also be that she has her blouse unbuttoned just enough to give a small glimpse of her cleavage. Reluctantly, I have to admit her cleavage is nice, albeit probably fake.
When I don’t say anything back to her, her smile slips a bit and I feel like a bitch.
“Would you like for me to take your bag?” she asks, indicating my purse.
I grip it tighter and force a smile. “No, thank you. I’ll keep it with me.”
“Okay. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your seat.”
She turns on her black heels and leads me further into the cabin. Instead of taking me to a seat beside Asher like I figured she would, she takes me to one across the walkway.
“She sits over here, Seraphina. You already know this.” Asher’s clipped tone has both of us looking over at him. He’s still on his phone, but has one brow raised at Seraphina.
She blushes, and is clearly uncomfortable being reprimanded. “I-I’m sorry, sir,” she stammers.
I’d feel sorry for her if it wasn’t for the fact that she blatantly went against Asher’s wishes. I move my gaze from Asher and back to Seraphina. Although she still looks flushed from his sharp words, she can’t hide the desire flashing in her eyes. It’s there for all to see, and I feel an irrational need to scratch them out. She purposely went against him to keep me away from him. She doesn’t realize that
there’s nothing going on between us, and I’m not particularly in the mood to enlighten her of anything different.
God, I am such a bitch!
When she brings her eyes back to me, I barely hold in my gasp at the barely concealed hate she throws my way, before she wipes it clean with another fake smile.
Not waiting for her to lead the way, I walk over to where Asher is sitting and take the seat beside him. I set my purse on the floor at my feet and fold my hands in my lap. Out the corner of my eye, I see Asher looking at me. He’s still on the phone, so I keep my eyes forward.
“We’ll be there early afternoon, Stewart. Make sure you have everything ready.”
He hangs up and puts his phone in his suit pocket, never taking his eyes off me. I start to fidget in my seat.
“Good morning, Poppy,” Asher’s smooth, deep voice greets me.
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I plaster on a smile and turn to face him. “Good Morning, Asher.”
A wave of his scent hits me and it nearly steals my breath. He always smells so damn good. Fresh and woodsy, like he just came inside from being out in the country.
“Was the drive over okay?” he inquires.
“Yes, thank you.”
He just sits in his seat, watching me with green eyes that seem like they see more than I want him to. I become antsy with his perusal, crossing and uncrossing my legs. I want to look away, but I can’t.
“Why do I make you so nervous, Poppy?”
My eyes widen at his question. He’s never asked me that before, so I’m surprised he’s asking me now. My behavior is nothing new, so why does he feel the need to know now? And what do I say to that? I don’t even know the answer myself.
I lick my dry lips. His eyes follow the movement, causing my already frayed nerves to shred more. I wipe my sweaty palms on my navy blue skirt, trying to
come up with an answer. My stomach feels like there’s a hundred wild horses galloping around inside it.
“Umm…” I swallow, but it does nothing to wet my dry throat. I need something to drink, but don’t want to ask for fear it will give me away. My eyes drop to my lap and my hands that are wringing themselves together.
I jump slightly when I feel Asher’s touch
on my chin, lifting my head back up to meet his eyes.
“Why do I make you so nervous?” he asks again, his voice soft. His face is closer, so I feel his breath against my face.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
His lips tip up into a half-smile when he says, “I think you do know.”
My eyes stay glued to his lips. I wonder how soft they would feel against mine. If he were to kiss me, would it be rough and bruising, or soft and gentle? Either way, I bet they would feel amazing.
A ding sounds and the captain’s voice comes over the intercom, breaking the spell between us. I’m left breathless when I look away from Asher. I try to pull air into my lungs, but it doesn’t feel like I’m getting enough. I scramble for my seatbelt, just to have something to do with my hands. When I peek at Asher from beneath my lashes, I see a smirk on his face as he casually buckles his own belt. My face blazes hot and my stomach flops.
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After the captain announces that we’re ready for takeoff, the jet starts to move. The grip I have on the armrests has my fingers cramping. I lean my head back and close my eyes, taking in deep gulps of much needed air. Asher’s hand on mine has me lifting my head and turning it his way. The expression on his face is soft with understanding.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” he says gently.
I nod and turn my head forward, pinning my eyes on the seat in front of me. Asher keeps his hand on mine as the jet starts to pick up speed. It makes a couple turns before coming to a complete stop. I hold my breath and wait as the roar of the engines turn louder. I didn’t think flying would be this scary. I should have had a couple glasses of wine to relax before I left the house. I wonder what they have in the bar across the way, and if Seraphina can find me something to help calm me.
“Poppy,” I hear Asher say beside me, but I’m so stuck in my fear of flying that I can’t look at him.
“Poppy,” he says more harshly, the tone snapping me out of my frozen state. I turn my wild, scared eyes to him. “Just keep your eyes on me, okay?”
I swallow thickly and nod. It’s the only thing I can do at the moment. I’m so focused on his eyes that I see small brown flecks in them. I’ve never noticed them before. Of course, I’ve never been this close to him, or been given the opportunity to look at them unencumbered. He has small wrinkle lines in the corners of his eyes. It’s rare that I see his smile or laugh, so I wonder how he’s acquired them. He has a few gray hairs at his temples, which only adds to his appeal.
I feel the jet jerk forward and start picking up speed, the momentum pushing me back against my seat, but I’m so absorbed in looking at Asher that it fails to worry me. All I can see, feel, smell, and touch right now is Asher’s eyes on me, his breath against my lips, his scent filling my nose, and his hand still touching mine. Everything else around us is insignificant. I want to stay like this forever. It feels safe. I briefly feel my stomach drop, but I stay focused on him, and he does the same.
What in the hell is happening? Think of Sterling, Poppy! I berate myself. And stop with the Asher fascination.
I slowly start to relax when I realize we’re off the ground. I break our stare, feeling strange as I do so. My cheeks turn hot, and I glance around the cabin before looking out the window. Asher reaches across me to close it, but I stop him with a hand on his arm.
“No. Please, leave it open.”
He eyes me for a minute and then lowers his arm.
“Are you sure?” he asks, his voice laced with concern.
I give him a reassuring smile. “Yes.”
With a short nod, he places his arm back on the armrest.
As scared as I am of flying, I have this uncontrollable urge to look out the window. Turning my head from Asher’s probing gaze, I take my first look out the window and gasp in shock at what I see. I would have never thought it would look so uniform. I’m totally mesmerized by it and forget the fear I was feeling moments ago. Everything looks so small from up here. It’s amazing to watch the tiny cars glide along the roads and see the tops of trees and buildings float by. I literally feel like I’m on top of the world.
I’m captivated by the scenery for a good ten minutes, then it starts to fade into fog. A smile breaks across my face when I realize we’re flying through the clouds, but
it fades seconds later when I feel a bump, followed by several more. My hands fly back to the armrests, and I grip them tight. This has got to be the dreaded turbulence you always hear about. I look around the cabin to see Asher still watching me. He doesn’t seem to be worried about the jerks and bumps of the jet. Seraphina unbuckles her seatbelt and stands. Shouldn’t she stay in her seat? This is my first flight, so I have nothing to compare it to, but neither Asher nor Seraphina seems to be fazed by it, so it can’t be bad, right?
My death grip on the armrests get tighter as my stomach plummets to my feet. Seraphina walks in her tall heels toward us like we’re back on the ground, her gait steady. How is she not freaking out right now? And how can she walk so easily without grabbing the seats as she walks by them?
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She stops next to Asher, her sugary smile in place. The look she gives him turns my stomach even more. Why in the hell do I care if she looks at him like she wants to devour him whole? It’s not like I have any say over who he sees or what he does. It’s stupid to feel this dislike toward her, especially when I have Sterling. It’s Sterling that I want.
“Can I get either of you anything?” she asks, not bothering to mask the husky tone in her voice. It grates on my nerves.
What the hell is wrong with me? Am I jealous? That would be idiotic, but at least it’s distracting me from the unsteadiness of the jet.
I’m just about to order a water, when Asher says, “Two Johnny Walkers, neat. Make one a double.”
I open my mouth to say something, but Asher turns his attention back to me, effectively dismissing Seraphina. My eyes flicker up to hers, and I catch her sneer before she walks off.
“She doesn’t like me,” I mutter, watching her retreating back.
“It doesn’t matter. This will be her last trip.” Asher’s words have me looking back at him.
“Why’s that?” I ask, tipping my head curiously.
“Because as soon as we get to Texas, I’m firing her,” he says, not an ounce of remorse in his voice.
“What? But why?”
“Because she deliberately went against my wishes. She wasn’t just informed by an employee on where you sit, I told her myself, not even five minutes before you boarded.”
It still seems kind of harsh to fire her over something so unimportant as not sitting me where he wanted me. I may not care for her, but that doesn’t mean I want her fired.
“Isn’t that a little extreme?”
“No. I’ve had problems with her before. She has a knack for flirting with clients and disregarding rules. She damn near lost me a client when his wife traveled with him on a business trip. She had him cornered in the bathroom when his wife walked up. Luckily, he was able to convince his wife that nothing happened. She was warned that if there were any more issues, she would be let go.”
My mouth opens in shock, but I’m not sure why I’m surprised. I’m normally not one to judge, but the vibe I’ve gotten off her and the looks she’s sent my way proves she’s not against using her body to get what she wants. I like that Asher can see past her fake beauty to the person she is inside. But I’m also sad that she feels like she needs to use herself like that. It will get her nowhere, and will only end up hurting her. Point in fact, she’s being fired because she broke the rules and thought she wouldn’t be reprimanded for it because of her looks.
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She walks back to us carrying a small tray with two glasses on it. Leaning forward, Asher unlocks the tray in front of me so it lays flat before reaching for the glasses Seraphina holds out for him. He doesn’t even look her way, and I can see the deflated look on her face when she notices.
Instead of handing me the glass with the smaller portion, he gives me the double. I gawk at it for several seconds before trying to hand it back to him.
“I can’t drink this.”
It’s not that I can’t drink it, it’s that I don’t want to. I don’t drink often, and when I do, it’s only Moscato, or some type of fruity drink.
He doesn’t even look at the glass as I hold it out to him.
“It’ll help calm your nerves,” he replies.
He doesn’t even get the words out of his mouth before there’s a particularly rough patch of turbulence. I’m sure my eyes are as wide as saucers, and I quickly bring the glass to my lips. It burns, but it’s not as harsh as I thought it would. I guess the more expensive the whiskey, the easier it goes down. Before I know it, the glass is tipped all the way back and I’m gulping air.
I frown and glance down at it.
Asher chuckles. I shrug and place the empty glass on the tray.
Without looking away from me, Asher calls, “Another double, Seraphina.”
“Asher, I don’t…” I start, but then stop when there’s another bump. I close my eyes and try to block it out. This is freaking ridiculous. I’m an adult. I should be able to take a simple plane ride, for goodness’ sake.
I open my eyes when Asher’s warm hand picks mine up and wraps my fingers around the new glass. There’s a smirk on his face, making him look even hotter. It’s really not fair that he looks so good. His hand lingers longer than necessary, and there’s a knowing look in his eyes, like he knows what he’s doing to me. I’m sure he’s used to it, though. Women must drop at his feet daily and beg for a smidgeon of his attention. Hell, even his flight attendant has starry eyes for him.
I drop my gaze from his and face forward again as I bring the drink to my lips, sipping this one much slower than the last. I lean my head back, close my eyes, and try to bring up an image of Sterling to distract myself from the man beside me, but it’s impossible. First, I have no damn clue what he looks like, so it’s literally impossible. And second, the man beside me demands all attention to be placed on him. It’s always like that when I’m in his proximity. It’s as if everything else is forgotten as soon as I’m in the same room with him.
“Poppy,” Asher urged, sounding entirely too close.
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I opt to roll my head to the side to look at him instead of lifting it. The alcohol is hitting my bloodstream, and I’m too relaxed to force my head forward. He’s closer than he was before, and another wave of his scent assaults me. It’s intoxicating. I barely catch myself from leaning over and sniffing him.
I didn’t realize I had finished the second drink until he takes the glass from my hand and passes it along with the other empty glass to Seraphina.
He smiles indulgently at me as he says, “Are you okay?”
I smile back at him and nod. “Yes.”
Crap! Did I just slur? From the mirth in his eyes, I’d say that is a big fat yes. How embarrassing is that?
My arms feel heavy against the armrest and my eyes are starting to droop. This is why I don’t like drinking heavy alcohol. It either makes me sick or extremely tired. This is supposed to be a business trip, and I’m not acting very professional right now. I try to focus my eyes on his to get a glimpse of what he’s thinking, but my vision is starting to blur. My body feels flushed, so I adjust in my seat, trying to get air in places there aren’t any.
Asher reaches up and over me. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but the closeness of his body isn’t helping the heat in mine. God, he smells sooo good. Did I already think that?
When I feel a rush of cool air hit me from above, I sigh.
“Thanks,” I manage to say without sounding like I’m drunk.
He sits back in his seat, slightly facing my way, and crosses one leg over his knee.
The arm that’s closest to me rests on his raised leg.
“When we land, I’m going to have my driver take you to the hotel. I’ll be back to pick you up for dinner this evening.”
It takes my muddled mind a minute to realize what he’s talking about. When I remember the whole reason we’re on this jet, I try to sit up, then feel a wave of dizziness.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have had that last drink,” Asher mumbles, causing my cheeks to heat even more. The cool air from above is no longer helping.
I grab the front of my blouse and fan it out in front of me, trying to cool myself down. His eyes move to my chest. I look down and realize I’m giving him little peek-a-boo shows of my boobs.
“Shit,” I mutter.
This just keeps getting worse. I swear if I’m not embarrassing myself in one way, I’m doing it in another. I should have never agreed to come on this trip. Damn flight nerves and alcohol. I press my hand against my blouse to flatten it back down.
When I look back at Asher, he has his elbow resting on the armrest with his with finger against his lips and they twitch, trying to hold back a laugh. I narrow my eyes at him, perturbed he’s finding this interesting.
“I’m taking a nap,” I grumble.
“You do that,” he says with a chuckle.
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I roll my eyes and fumble with the little handle thingy that reclines the seat. I huff out a breath when the stupid thing doesn’t work. The next thing I know, Asher has unbuckled his seatbelt, and I now have his chest in my face as he leans over me. Before I can stop myself, I lean forward and sniff him like a dog sniffs another
dog’s butt. I should really be locked up somewhere, or never be given whiskey again. I have no idea what’s wrong with me. It’s like I can’t control myself around him. I want to blame it on the alcohol, but a little voice in my head calls me out on it. It’s Asher. He drives me to act stupid, the alcohol is just the accelerant.
It’s not just me, though. Asher is acting strange as well. He’s never been so forward with touching me, or looking at me the way he is now. Well, not until recently anyway.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“You looked like you were having problems,” he answers, right before my seat reclines back.
I give a startled yelp, not expecting the movement, and he goes back to his own seat. My chest pumps up and down with my heavy breathing. I’m not sure if it’s from the surprised backward motion of my seat or Asher’s behavior.
“Go to sleep, Poppy. I’ll wake you when we get there.” His eyes are still laughing at me, but I choose to ignore it.
As I expected, the seat doesn’t go back
very far. Just enough so my head won’t fall forward. I ignore the man at my side, who’s eyes I can still feel on me, and relax back against the seat.
I wake up to something warm rubbing up and down my arm. My head is nestled against something firm, but comfortable. I don’t want to move, so I snuggle my face into it. What I smell has me wanting to burrow my nose in deeper, or stuffing whatever it is up my nose so I can smell it all the time.
“Poppy,” a deep, velvety voice calls.
I reluctantly open my eyes and am met with a swirl of color and black lines. I furrow my brow, trying to figure out what I’m looking at, or remember where I am. It doesn’t take long for mortification to set in when I remember getting a little too tipsy off two glasses of whiskey and sniffing Asher like a dog in heat. And what’s worse is that during my nap, I somehow managed to end up with my head against Asher’s shoulder.
I look down to see my hand resting against his thigh, and his hand is lightly rubbing my arm. I stiffen in my seat and slowly lift my head from his shoulder. I move my arm back to my side, dislodging his hand in the process. Embarrassment isn’t a strong enough word to cover what I’m feeling right now. I decided to take a nap to try to avoid any further awkward moments, and now here I am, doing it even before I wake up. The ground, or rather the sky, just needs to open up and swallow me whole to put me out of my misery.
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when I remember getting a little too tipsy off two glasses of whiskey and sniffing Asher like a dog in heat. And what’s worse is that during my nap, I somehow managed to end up with my head against Asher’s shoulder.
I look down to see my hand resting against his thigh, and his hand is lightly rubbing my arm. I stiffen in my seat and slowly lift my head from his shoulder. I move my arm back to my side, dislodging his hand in the process. Embarrassment isn’t a strong enough word to cover what I’m feeling right now. I decided to take a nap to try to avoid any further awkward moments, and now here I am, doing it even before I wake up. The ground, or rather the sky, just needs to open up and swallow me whole to put me out of my misery.
I force my eyes to meet Asher’s. His are soft as he watches me.
“Sorry,” I mumble, sitting upright in my seat.
“No need to apologize,” he says with a devastating smile.
Although I’m sure he shaved this morning, there’s a hint of a dark shadow that’s starting to form on his chin, cheeks, and above his lip. It looks really good on him.
“I would have let you sleep, but we just landed. I figured you wouldn’t like me carrying you to the car.”
I look over at the window and see we’re back on land.
“Oh! I didn’t even feel us land,” I say dumbly.
I whip my head around at his remark, horrified. His lips are quirked up at the corners, looking amused.
“You were sleeping pretty hard. Even snored a few times.”
“I did not snore!” I protest.
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He shrugs and chuckles. Reaching over my lap, he unbuckles my belt as he says, “If you say so.”
Maybe I should just go ahead and paint my face red, because it seems to stay that color whenever I’m near him. Only now, it’s so much worse.
Asher stands and grabs his jacket. I grab my purse and stand as well. Looking around, I no longer see Seraphina. I wonder if Asher’s already fired her. We couldn’t have been on the ground long, but maybe he was in a hurry to get it done.
“Ladies first,” he says, gesturing with his arm that I should lead the way.
Captain Hayes is standing at the door when we walk up.
“Miss Lexington. How was your first trip?” he smiles and asks kindly.
I smile in return, but answer him honestly. “I’m sure your flying skills are excellent, but I definitely won’t be making any unnecessary trips that require traveling by plane. I think I prefer to stay on the ground.”
He chuckles, and I’m grateful he takes no offense. “I’m sure it’s something you can get used to. Unfortunately, the winds were somewhat heavy today, so there were a bit more bumps along the way. Hopefully, the return trip won’t be so bothersome for you.”
“I hope not. See you in a few days, Captain Hayes.”
“That you will. Have a good weekend, Miss Lexington.”
Asher stays behind to speak with Captain Hayes as I walk down the steps to the tarmac. It’s hotter than Hades here. I knew it would be hot, but Jesus, it darn near takes my breath away. I can already feel sweat beading on my forehead and my
arms feel slick from the instant humidity. Even though we’re still at the airport, excitement at being here in Texas has me smiling.
I feel a hand at my back and look over to see Asher standing beside me. He leads me to a sleek black car, where a man in a black suit is waiting with the back door open. I don’t see how he can stand there, wearing what he’s wearing. He has to be roasting. I slide into the car and am immediately met with blessed cool air. I slide over and Asher climbs in beside me. It’s quiet as the car starts rolling forward.
There’s plenty of room in the backseat, but it still feels cramped with Asher sitting next to me.
He pulls his phone out of his pocket, reminding me I need to take mine off airplane mode, and then sets the jacket beside us on the middle console. I grab my phone from my purse, just to give myself something to do. It feels awkward sitting in silence. As soon as I switch my phone over, it dings with an incoming text. My heart jumps when I realize it could be from Sterling. I cast my eyes to the side to see what Asher is doing, before checking my messages. I need not have worried as his eyes are focused on his own phone. I pull my missed messages up. One is from Liv, and the other is from a private number.
Liv: Has Mr. Knight put his dick in you yet?
I nearly choke on my own spit when I read her message. I manage to play it off as a cough when Asher looks at me. This girl is going to be the death of me. God love her, but she is so far off base it’s not even funny. I hold my phone closer to my face and turn my body slightly so he can’t look over and see the screen. I feel like a
teenager trying to hide notes from my neighboring desk mates. I type out a quick reply.
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Me: You’re lucky Asher didn’t see that message. Are you trying to get me fired? And I’m not answering your question because it’s ridiculous. Now go hump Tony or something and leave my sex life alone.
I still can’t believe she blatantly asked me that. But then again, we are talking about Liv here. There’s nothing she wouldn’t say or do.
I pull up the private number’s message.
Unknown: Do you know who your secret admirer is? Sterling you say? Oh, I know. Enjoy your time together while it lasts, because yours is running out.
A shiver of fear races down my spine at the cryptic message. I fumble to catch my phone before it falls when my palms become sweaty. Who could have possibly sent this, and what do they mean?
Enjoy your time together while it lasts, because yours is running out.
Is that some sort of threat? Why would someone threaten me? And what is at the end of that threat? How does he know who Sterling is? My heart races as I look back down at my phone, trying to get more from the message than what was given.
“What’s wrong?” Asher asks, and I jump in my seat, completely forgetting that he’s sitting beside me. When I look over at him, I find him with a frown on his face.
Should I tell him? It’s really not his concern, but maybe someone else should know. Maybe he can help me figure out what to do or what it means. But then again, it could just be a prank or some kind of scare tactic. I could just be overreacting. I’d hate to make myself look like a bigger fool than I already have.
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Tbc
Endless Obsession
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