"Ugh," I scoffed, following him as I held my towel in place. "You can't just storm into my apartment and?—"
"Asher is going to be so angry…" He chuckled, and I could've slapped him. "He'll spiral again. Go on a bender and ruin his own future by losing control, just like always."
"Clayton," I hissed as he turned toward my living room. I should never have opened that door to begin with. I wanted him out."You can't do that to him. He's just gotten sober, less than forty days. You can't?—"
"Watch me," he snarled. When I stood in front of him, he nudged past me and stormed into my living room where he spotted my phone immediately.
"Don't you see how it will hurt him? Don't you care?" I couldn't believe what he was willing to do all to have the title of CEO of a company his father was clearly correct in not awarding to him. Clayton had no business as CEO of Locke Global.
Clayton snatched my phone up and turned on me like a viper ready to strike. "Do you think I ever cared once what my brother feels?" His teeth were gritted, spit flying between them as he spoke. "I paid you half a million dollars with the intent to give you the second half-million, and all you had to do was record him fucking you… That smutty kink talk he likes so much… And you have it here. I know it!"
He started trying to open my phone, typing in random number combinations into the lock screen, and I panicked. There was a very slim chance he'd ever guess my passcode, but I couldn't take that chance. I reached out and slapped the phone out of his hand and it fell to the ground. I watched the screen crack instantly but for good measure, I slammed my foot down on it over and over, my heel grinding into the screen to make any chance of recovery impossible.
"No. I won't help you break him." No tears came this time, only anger and rage. I shoved him hard, and kept moving toward him as he straightened and stood his ground. "You are a monster. You can destroy me all you want. Sue me, make me file bankruptcy. Call me the whore who seduced him and ruin mylife, but don't hurt him." I raised my hand to slap him, but he caught my wrist and grinned at me wickedly.
"You love him," Clayton said calmly. "You actually love him." He shook his head, offered a look of pity and disdain.
"Shut up!"
"It's such a pity… A man his age nailing such a beautiful, busty woman like you." Clayton backed me up now, moving me toward the front door where my back was pinned. He had my wrist in his hand and a glare on his face. "He's old enough to be your father, and you're giving him a baby. So sweet. but such a shame he won't be able to move past your deception. And very fitting that he makes you call him daddy since he's so much older than you." He chuckled as I felt color drain from my face.
"I hate you," I hissed, knowing somehow, he'd overheard us having sex at some point.
"I know… And I'm okay with that. Now stay out of my way or this will get far worse for you." Clayton finally loosed my wrist and reached for the door knob. "If I were you, I'd be typing my resume up. You’re going to need it because you'll be in the unemployment line soon."
The entire building shook when he slammed my door and stormed out as I sank to my knees by the shattered phone. I had no way to call Asher and warn him, no way to tell him my side of things before Clayton ruined it.
Why hadn't I listened to Regan to begin with?
And why had I ever thought that taking a bunch of money in exchange for something so rotten would ever be okay?
My heart was shattering to a million pieces. I had to get to Asher, but I knew by the time I did, it would be too late.
25
ASHER
For the past twenty minutes I'd been pacing my office, wringing my hands. Nervous didn’t begin to describe how I felt, knowing what I had planned for this evening. I had picked the most beautiful ring and Veda was going to love it. I just had to convince her to have dinner with me tonight.
It wouldn't be a big fancy event or a grand gesture, more like a quiet escape from the stress I'd been under here at work and battling to stay sober in my personal life. But I hoped and prayed the simplicity of it showed her just how serious I was. I wanted her in my life, right by my side every day for the rest of my life and I wanted to help her dreams come true.
Every few minutes I checked the time on my phone but I couldn't sit down. When I did, my legs felt restless and I ended up getting up to walk to the door and see through the window of my office if she was at her desk yet. I left a note there for her to come see me when she got in, which wasn't unusual. Sometimes I left it with a piece of candy, and once I left a flower there too. This morning I got here a bit earlier so the wait was longer, making it feel excruciating.
Before Veda's smiling face ever appeared at her desk I was interrupted by a rude knock on my door. I knew right away it wasn't her or Penny. Both of them had more feminine cadence to their knocks. This was hard and heavy, the hand of a man for sure, which wasn't a surprise when the door swung open without me beckoning and Clayton barged in.
My body went rigid before he said a word but I swallowed down my anger toward him because we were still family. His insults and pressuring hadn't diminished that in my eyes. It threatened to yesterday, but when Veda stopped me from insulting him, I had a heart check. Clayton had his personal reasons for what he was doing. I didn't have to agree with him to care about him.
"Good morning," I grumbled, halting my footsteps in front of my desk as he stomped to the center of my room and crossed his arms over his chest.
His chest was puffed out, eyes wide with some sort of negative motion. He most certainly was not here to apologize to me, but what was new? He had never approved of me being in the position of CEO here at LG, and that would never change, sadly.
"You went to the board and told them I was lying?" Clayton's eyes narrowed on me and went black as sin. I had no clue what he was talking about.
"What?" I asked, furrowing my brow in confusion. "I never spoke to the board about anything after that blow up."
"Cut the crap, Asher." He scoffed and ran a hand through his hair as he stepped closer, still maintaining personal space between us. "I got a corrected memo that places you as the lead for the branding acquisition now, when you know I took charge of that."
My mind raced with possibilities. I'd been so eager to see Veda and invite her to dinner tonight that I hadn’t even looked at my notes or emails this morning. There were a half a dozen notes from Penny on my desk and more than fifty emails in my inbox to go over. I hadn't seen said memo, but I believed him based on his anger.
