And I had to decide what to do about this horrible situation I'd gotten myself into.
I didn't think I could take Asher down the way Clayton hoped, and I didn't have a choice.
7
ASHER
The entire morning into early afternoon, I'd spent distracted and at times, pacing my office.
I hadn't been in the office since Tuesday and now, being Thursday, I was falling behind on things I needed to get done.
Meanwhile, Veda pranced around in that short skirt that made her look leggy and luscious, and it was driving me mad.
I had no clue what had come over me.
All I knew was that for two years, I never thought about another woman even when they threw themselves at me, and after a few interactions with her, I was out of control.
She was all I could think about.
When I tried to focus on work, I found myself irritated and unable to concentrate.
My eyes would drift up to the window where I could see her working with the real interns across the hall in cubicles, and I'd start getting hard as I watched her smile.
To make matters worse, I was anxious about the meeting this afternoon with all of the interns and the man who led the whole team—Jared.
We were supposed to go over all of their progress and success, and I was supposed to give my honest feedback.
It was something Robert set up weeks ago, before Veda was on the radar, and now I wished to God I'd never set eyes on her.
If anything could make me spin out and unravel faster than the drinking, it was her.
But she was also the thing that temporarily, if only for a moment, made me remember what life was like without alcohol in my system.
Veda Porter took a nervous system response that felt hardwired into my brain and pressed pause for twenty glorious minutes while I kept calm and reveled in her aura.
And now I was on edge again, wanting a drink every two seconds just to get through the day.
When the knock came at my office door, I couldn't turn them away. I was CEO of Locke Global, for Christ's sake.
I had to do my job and I couldn't keep hiding behind excuses.
"Come in," I grunted, standing from my desk to watch the door swing open.
Jared entered first, nodding at me. "Sir, we're ready for our meeting." He held the door open and stood to the side for the others to file in.
One by one, they walked past him and found a seat in my office in various places—the table in the corner, the small leather sofaon the far wall, and the armchairs across from my desk, turned to face the group.
"Yes, well…" I straightened my tie and watched Veda more than the others.
She glanced around like she didn't know what she was doing and in fact, she didn't.
She wasn't even a part of this meeting.
Hired as a way to keep tabs on me, Veda didn't fit with the interns, my assistant, or even in my office, though she clearly had the skills to outshine them all.
She strutted over to the sofa and perched on the armrest, folding her hands in her lap over the tight grey skirt that hugged her hips so beautifully.
My cock jumped at the sight, and it had to be obvious to anyone paying attention to me that I was staring.
