“What Asher and I do in his office is none of your business.”
“So, you admit you did something.”
“What do you want, Daphne? You’ve already jumped to conclusions. I don’t understand why you’re picking at this.”
“I just think it’s highly inappropriate to do that sort of thing at work.”
I laugh. “I’ll report your thoughts to Asher, then. I’m sure as CEO he’ll be very interested in your opinion of what he should or shouldn’t do in his office.”
Daphne pauses and her eyes widen. “That’s not what I’m saying, you shouldn’t speak about this to Asher.”
Asher?Oh, hell no. “It’s Mr. Langford to you,” I snap. “And why not? You’re clearly upset about what you think Asher was doing in his office and you also think it’s your place to comment on it. You could bring your complaints to HR, but I have a feeling they would rather eat glass than talk to him about it.”
“I’m not upset about what Mr. Langford does in his office.”
“So, you’re just upset that he did something in his office withme. But I suppose if it wasyouhe was fucking in his office, you’d be fine with it, right?”
“That’s not . . . Ugh.” She gives me another glare. “So, you admit to it? That you fucked him in the office?” Her voice is like venom.
I raise my brow. “Again, why do you care?”
She doesn’t answer, still waiting for mine. I’ve had enough of her barbed comments, enough of her petty jealousy, so I lean in close. “Yes. I did fuck him in his office,” I say low enough that only she can hear me. “And in our hotel in London, and in hisbed, and on many surfaces of his penthouse. Neither Asher nor I planned for our relationship to turn physical, but what can I say, we could only fight the inevitable for so long. And Asher is quite insatiable, because the more he has me, the more he can’t get enough of me. But if this is a concern of yours, please bring it to his attention, I’m sure he’ll be all ears to your complaints.”
A satisfied smirk tugs at my mouth as I stand and turn to leave, having had more than enough of this conversation. Hearing Daphne’s blatant jealousy from both earlier in the bathroom and again just now, has me burning. I have no reason to feel jealous myself, Asher probably doesn’t even know Daphne’s name, but the fact that she so obviously wants him bothers me. It shouldn’t, a large portion of the women on planet earth want Asher, and she’s no different, but her proximity to him and her knowledge of our situation makes it feel more personal. Now, I kind of see where Asher was coming from with his jealousy toward Blake Covington.
Fuck it.
I’m not feeling any more of the high road today. I know this is stupid. I was literally just chastising myself for this, but right now, I don’t care. I’m too raw and vulnerable today, and I need whatever comfort and connection Asher can offer me.
I brush past Daphne and head for Asher’s office. I catch her eye and feel a tug of smug satisfaction at her open-mouthed surprise as I knock on his door. I flash her one more smirk before I head in.
He barks an annoyed, “What is it?” since he normally doesn’t get many unannounced visitors, but his annoyance morphs into a smile when he sees that it’s me.
Before I can second guess myself, I head toward his desk and plant myself in his lap. His hands grab my hips, and I wrap mine around the back of his neck.
“This is a surprise. What can I do for you, Ms. Hale?” he purrs.
“It seems speculations about why your windows were blacked out earlier have made waves around the office.”
He raises a brow. “Is that so?”
“Yes. And one of my coworkers thinks that is highly inappropriate work-place behavior.”
“Do they now?”
“It seems they’re quite concerned about what you do during your workday. Or actually, I think their real concern was that what you were doing during your workday involved me.”
“And why would they care about that?”
“I asked the same question and didn’t get much of an answer. But I have a theory.”
“Call me intrigued.”
“I think this coworker doesn’t like the fact that I’m the one dating you, and I think she doesn’t like that I’m allowed to touch you—and she isn’t.”
“You think she wants to touch me?”
“I’d bet every cent in my now bloated bank account that she does.”
