I’ve seen enough. There’s no reason for me to spend the rest of my night watching a man I hate more than almost anyone else on this planet.
Peeling out of the parking lot, I take a left toward the house, even though my chest aches to make a right toward Hannah.
One day soon she’ll spend every night pressed between us, but for now, I have to be patient.
No matter how unnatural that may be to a man like me.
The drive is quiet despite being through the heart of New York City, but then again, it is two in the morning on a weekday.
I park my car in the garage and head straight upstairs to the bedroom, peeling my suit off as soon as I cross the threshold.
I drop my phone on the bed, scowling when I notice a message from an unknown number. This is my private phone, one that only a handful of people can contact me on, but as soon as I read the words, I know exactly who sent it.
Unknown: The harder you make this, the harder I’ll make it for her.
I’ve never hidden the fact that I watch over Hannah from the world. I may have only been in my sham of a marriage for a year, but it was long enough for me to be able to claim concerned ex-stepfather.
I know you’re probably thinking I’m a pervert for my obsession with Hannah, and perhaps you’re right, but I didn’tmeet her until after she was of age, and I’ve waited five years to make a move.
And you know what they say? You can’t help who you fall in love with.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HANNAH
Waking up alone stings more than it should.
Especially because Asher is always up before I am. He starts every morning at five with a morning run, but he’s usually back by the time I wake up.
I check the time and frown. It’s after eight, which means I’ve overslept my alarm.
Or someone turned it off.
“Asher?” I call out, but when he doesn’t materialize, I push myself up and tug my robe around my shoulders.
The man has a thing for making me late, because at least once a week, he decides to let me sleep later than I should, saying some version of “What’s the point of being your own boss if you don’t get any of the perks?”
When I first graduated, I had a job at a small investment firm, but I hated it. You’d think, seeing as I’m submissive in relationships, that I’d be able to follow orders at work, and you’d be absolutely incorrect.
I hate coloring inside the lines when I work, which is why I pivoted the first chance I got.
A client at the firm was looking for someone who wouldn’t play it quite so safe with their portfolio and asked if I would be interested in taking him on, away from the firm.
I hadn’t been there long enough to have had to sign a non-compete, and I would have been an idiot to pass up the opportunity.
If I’m honest, when I think about the beginning of my business, things seem like they fell into place a little too easily, but then I tell myself that maybe it’s just the universe paying me back for all the shit I endured growing up.
A yawn escapes me as I move toward the coffee machine in the corner, only to find a full cup sitting in front of it with a Post-it Note.
I reach for the coffee first because I literally cannot function without it, taking a long sip before picking up the note.
I know you’re pissed I turned your alarm off, but you needed to rest. Drink this.
I’ll be back with breakfast before your first meeting.
I shake my head, unable to stifle the stupid grin that tugs at my lips.
This right here is why I struggle to believe he’s being deliberately deceitful.
