I blinked.“Most ask me what I did to make her cheat on me,” Asher commented.
“I bet none of your friends here asked that.”
“You have some great instincts and insights.”
“Go on.Are you okay with telling me what happened?”She picked her fork up again.
“Tiffany told me she cheated on me because I wasn’t giving her the satisfaction she needed.”I took a bite of my salad.
Emma stared at me and then started laughing.“I wouldn’t presume to comment except to say that I can’t imagine you not satisfying a woman.”
Another reaction I didn’t expect.I sipped my iced tea with a prayer that I wouldn’t choke.“Why do you say that?”I wanted to know what was going on inside her head.
“Because when you kissed me, you woke feelings I’d never imagine were possible.”Her cheeks turned red when she realized what she’d just said.
Satisfaction flowed through my veins at her words.“You enjoyed our kisses?”
She bit her lip and looked down at her plate before raising her head and looking me directly in the eyes.“Yes, I enjoyed them.”
Yes!Mental fist bump.
“I’m glad.Because I want to do more of that.”I actually managed to sound almost calm.
“Asher.”Her voice was low, and she glanced around.
I grinned.“Anyway, I walked away from the marriage.”
She nodded and pushed away her empty salad plate.“Men just want to get close to me because of who my parents are.”
I opened my mouth to ask who her parents were when she shook her head and said, “Not here.”
I nodded.“What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“I take long walks, read, or just binge watch something.What about you?”
“I enjoy watching sports, hanging out with friends, and hanging out by the ocean.”
“Your home is close to the water?”
“To Puget Sound yes, but nothing beats the ocean.Listening to the waves, watching the birds and the people hunting sand clams.”
“Do you spend a lot of time at the beach?”She took a bite of her sandwich.
“When I can.I have a place out on the coast.”I ate one of my fries and watched as she dabbed her lips with her napkin.Lucky napkin.
“How nice.I’ve always wanted to live by the ocean.But that’s one heck of a commute.”
“Yes.Which is why I live where I do.I can still see the water every day.”
We chatted about really mundane stuff as well as the upcoming R&D meeting and finished up our lunch, just in time to make our way to R&D.
***
Marcus met us at the elevator and led us to a room where we could sit and observe the focus group behind a one-way mirror, and he took a seat with us.People walked into the room, Cassie the last one in the room.
“Good mixture of gender and racial diversity.”Emma remarked.
“It’s more than that.Cassie tries hard to make sure we are inclusive in our focus groups.Gender identity, lifestyle, sexual orientation, disabilities.”Marcus said.
