Reckless Abandon(83)

“She came by the school a few weeks ago looking for you. She was rude to me, and I was mad at you anyway, and I had no intention of delivering her message to you.” I take a second to swallow even though my mouth feels dry. “You said she was with you in Italy. Is there something still going on between you two? Because I can’t—”

“There is nothing going on between me and that woman,” he says, taking me in his arms. “Long ago but not now. Not since I met you.”

I want to know how long ago, but would it really matter if it was two months or two years? He told me he’s been in love with two women in his life. I appreciate his honesty but I hate the idea of knowing there are two women in this world he loved, or perhaps still loves. “Is she one of the two?”

His eyes search mine trying to understand my question. “One of the two?”

I raise my brows waiting for him to answer me. His brows furrow a bit and then relax as he realizes what I’m asking. He takes in a breath and then slowly exhales. “No, Emma. She is not one of the two.”

I take a deep breath of my own. He’s been with other women before. I’ve been with other men. Well, I’m sure my number is a teeny tiny fraction compared to his.

“Does she work with you? Why was she here?” I ask, trying to make sense of the situation.

“She used to work for me but was fired. Our professional relationship ended a long time ago but I kept her around in my private life for,” he looks around as if trying to find the most tactful word to use, “company.”

Okay, maybe I don’t always appreciate his honesty.

It makes me wonder how low his self-worth is that he would spend time with someone just for sex even though he clearly despises her.

With extreme pressure on my arms, he looks me square in the eye. “Emma, I don’t want you anywhere near that woman. If you see her again I want you to call me immediately.”

Why doesn’t he want me near Malory? I’m pretty sure I’ve already heard the worst of it. What could she possibly say that he doesn’t want me to hear?

He feels my resistance and pulls me toward him. Taking my head in his hands, he skims the hair on the right side of my head and curls it behind my ear.

“Don’t go there. I know what you’re thinking. I have nothing to hide. I meant it when I said this is it for me. No more running. I’m here. Are you here with me?”

I look into the beautiful brown flecks of his eyes, surrounded my warm honey and I melt.

“I am. I’m here. With you.”

His shoulders relax and he kisses me softly on the lips. “Good, because I have something to show you.”

I want the kiss to continue but he takes my hand and pulls me out of his office and over to the elevator.

“Where are we going?”

“Surprise.” He leans in and kisses me again and before I know it the elevator has arrived and we get in. He hits the button for thirty-three and we make our descent.

“Are we going to your company floor?” I ask.

“My company?” He tilts his head, confused. “They’re all my companies.”

This time it’s my turn to tilt my head and look confused.

Alexander explains. “This entire building is occupied by companies we own or are partial owners in. If we have stock in it, it’s here.”

I look over at the elevator panel of forty-two buttons. I was just coming to grips with the fact he owned the building, but not everything that occupies it. Minus the two-story lobby and his office floor that leaves thirty-nine floors of businesses. Alexander Asher runs thirty-nine companies. At least. That’s assuming there is only one business per floor. When I heard it referred to as the “Asher Empire” I thought it was all in jest. I didn’t realize there really was an empire to run.

The doors open when we arrive at the thirty-third floor. In front of us is a glass-panelled wall with the name Black Dog etched in the glass. There are still people occupying the space, working as if it were three in the afternoon, not eight-thirty at night. When the people see him, they immediately stop what they’re doing, straighten up and give him a professional greeting.

I laugh inwardly at the thought they find him so intimidating. Lord knows I did the first time I met him but when he lets you in he can be pretty adorable, like that time he wore flip-flops for the first and last time.

“What are you smiling about?” He is holding open a door with one hand and pulling me inside a darkened room with the other.

As I pass through the doorway, I give him a kiss on the cheek. “Just you and your adorableness.”

His smile reaches his eyes. “I’ve never been called adorable before.”

Alexander flips on the lights and room comes alive. I flutter my eyelids to make sure I am seeing this correctly.

We are inside the booth of a recording studio. The black panels of the recording equipment with their various buttons and levers that I have no idea how to use are in front of us. A couple of computers are there as well with two large sofas on the opposite wall. In front of the equipment is a wall of glass looking into a large recording space that is currently empty except for lone band equipment and a few microphone stands.

“You own a recording studio?”

Alexander has a look of pride on his face. “Lifelong dream. I bought Black Dog earlier this year. We just moved them in this fall. Everything in here is new.