Scandal: A BAD BOY Romance Novel (5 page)

Finally, he said, "I need your passport information."

"Why? Are you going to steal my identity when we're overseas?" I joked nervously and then cringed internally when my laughter came out more like a high-pitched '
heh... heh heh... heh
.'

His frown turned incredulous and his lips were a grim, straight line. "So I can change the flight and hotel information," he responded matter-of-factly.

Perplexity was written all over my face now. "But... I'm in charge of the bookings?"

Asher sighed and raked his hand through his head of thick, dark hair. He looked exasperated. "Yes. You're in charge of the bookings. And yet, I'm in charge of making sure you're seated beside me and staying as close to my room as possible. Don't need Harding & Co's newest employee running amok, do we?"

"
Me?
" I choked back a laugh. It had never even occurred to me to misbehave on this trip, let alone
ever
.

Asher hiked a perfectly arched brow at me, his icy eyes fixed on me. "Why not you?"

He took a step towards me, and my breath hitched. My nostrils filled with the faint smell of his cologne; it made me want to take a step closer and fill all of my senses with him. Asher was so close I could touch him if I reached out to him, yet it felt like he was an ocean away. The warmth of his body coated mine lightly, warring with the air conditioning of his office. I held onto one of the chairs he had reserved for clients to steady my weakening knees.

"Well, first of all, I value my job," I started, hating the tremor that had crept into my voice. I took a small step back and clasped my hands together anxiously.

"And second of all?" he asked, his voice dangerously low now as he took another step towards me. My heart was pounding so loud, I was certain he could hear it in the deathly silent room.

Why do you allow him to have this effect on you?
I asked myself, angry at myself for the millionth time since beginning employment here. But I knew it was no use. You couldn't help how someone made you feel, no matter how much they tried to make you hate them. I'd gotten glimpses of the real Asher since starting here, and my mind was holding onto that. Beyond that, I had a strange sense of safety with him as it was, like I could trust him--which was ridiculous, considering the things he'd been accused of.

I fixed my eyes on his and crossed my arms over my chest and stood with my back straight.
Job over some hot asshole,
I reminded myself.
Especially when that asshole uses his position to manipulate employees.
Not to mention the fact that getting my parents here was more important than anything. Especially more important than Asher Harding, who probably was only interested in me because he wanted me as his next scandal.
Is he even interested in me?
I wondered, remembered Friday night when I thought he was going to kiss me but decided to publicly humiliate me instead.
Or is he just using me to piss off his dad?

"Second of all," I continued, my voice stronger this time, "I am better than that." My voice was stony, and my heart did a little happy kick that I hadn't wavered this time. I'd made sure to put extra emphasis on 'that' in order to indicate the fact that I wasn't just talking about getting into mischief. I was proud of myself, because although it wasn't explicitly stated, I was certain that we were both talking about the same thing. And I wasn't buying what he was selling--not this time.

Asher's expression changed though. The lust I could have sworn I saw in his eyes a moment ago had vanished. He no longer looked amused or impressed with me. Now he was looking at me almost the same way he was looking at Stacey, but a little differently. Impassive. Bored. Pained disappointment.

Shit,
I thought, immediately regretting what I'd said. Letting people down always got to me, especially if I was the direct source of their hurt. And looking at Asher, I could see that I'd hurt him.

It was too late to take it back, and it would acknowledge the hidden discussion we were having, which I'd rather not do. So, instead I had to try to learn to accept it. I'd already changed so much since starting at Harding & Co, I almost didn't recognize who I'd become. Is this what growing up was like? Either way, I couldn't spend any more energy on Asher's attempt to gain pity from me. Maybe this disappointed look was another manipulative act of his.

I'm glad I said it,
I decided, though I was still a bit unsure of myself.
Maybe now he'll learn that it's not cool to try to bend people at his whim and threaten them if they disobey.

"We'll see," he said, interrupting my thoughts. My mind was taken back to Friday night when he said those words the first time. This time it sounded more like a challenge than a taunt, and my mouth went dry. We locked eyes, staring each other down. Without breaking eye contact, Asher pulled the door open for me and I slipped out of his office, feeling like I could finally breathe again for the second time in two months.

"Your passport," he said again. "Don't forget." With that, he clicked his door shut.

I thought I would feel better for telling Asher off, but instead I felt cold.
What hold did he have over me?

The morning of the flight, I was awoken by a phone call. It was the limo driver informing me that he was parked behind my apartment complex. I glanced at the clock sleepily, which read 4:30 AM.
It's way too early to go anywhere,
I thought, half-contemplating on just going back to bed. But, of course, I couldn't do that. I would lose my job.
All you have to do is get to the limo
, the rational part of my sleepy brain coaxed me. I'd made sure to sleep in my travel clothes and already had my bags packed and ready at the door, which made the struggle to leave that much easier.

I stumbled out of bed, grabbed my bags, and found myself in the limo in a matter of minutes. My stomach grumbled softly, and I shushed it by dozing off again.

It felt like I'd only gotten to snooze for a matter of seconds before the cool morning air awoke me. The driver had the passenger side door open and was speaking to me.

"Hm?"

"Miss Lane, we have arrived," he said.

I peeled one eye open. It was still dark out, but I could see the Harding family's private jet right outside.

"My bags," I mumbled.

"They have been transferred to the vessel, Miss. You are ready to board."

Ugh
, I groaned inwardly. I had hoped that I could distract him for a couple more minutes while I stole a few more precious moments of sleep, but he wasn't buying it.
How is
he
even awake?
I wondered, practically angry at the fact that he was so awake and chipper so early in the morning.

"Thank you." I smiled at the driver as I slid out of my seat. I realized then that I didn't even know his name, so I quickly glanced at his name tag and added, "Matthew."

"No worries, Miss Lane. Have a safe flight now."

I nodded and made my way onto the jet.

"Morning, sunshine," Asher greeted me, grinning while sipping on orange juice in a flute. I rolled my eyes, but I didn't really mind.
At least he isn't disappointed in me anymore.
"Mimosa?" he asked, reaching his drink out to me.

This time, I couldn't hold my groan back. "Really?" I snapped. "This early?"
Am I the only person here who enjoys sleep?
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked around me, my mouth dropping. This place was
enormous
--at least four times the size of my apartment!

I glanced back at Asher, frowning.
How is he not amazed right now?

His grin grew even wider, showing how much he was enjoying this. "Woah, you're a firecracker in the mornings. And honestly," Asher leaned closer to me, resting his elbows on his knees. He smelled damn good and I allowed myself a moment to breathe him in (from afar, I didn't want to end up being the creepy one here)--he was also looking as good as ever.

Oh god, I just stumbled out of bed and came straight here,
I thought, mortified at how I must look right now. "It's actually this
late,
" he finally finished.

Waving down the passing flight attendant, Asher instructed her, "Another mimosa, Janet." Then, to me, "Trust me. You need it."

I shook my head at him in mock disappointment as I continued taking in as many details as I could. The layout wasn't like a typical airplane flight and was tastefully furnished. I quickly noticed that everyone had taken their shoes off. I quickly slipped mine off before taking another step into the jet. It felt weird even calling it a jet, because this is certainly
not
what I was expecting it to look like. Asher was sitting on a large L-shaped leather couch. Across from it was a matching loveseat, with a rectangular glass table between it and the L-shaped couch.

"Wow," I breathed, walking right past Asher to admire the luxuries.

Paintings adorned the walls, chandeliers lit the rooms, and thick carpet coated the ground in every room I entered. The bathroom in itself was nearly the size of my apartment, complete with a couch, marble-top counters, a raindrop shower, and a jacuzzi. I sighed as I admired the room.

"Should I leave you two lovebirds alone?" Asher asked, casually leaning against the arch of the door with a mimosa in each hand.

I looked at Asher, longingly at the bathroom, then back again. "Maybe," I jested. "This jet is incredible."

He smiled and handed me my drink. I eyed it suspiciously but took it from him. "Did you tamper with this?" I joked.

"Only by wishing you'd lighten up and then whispering it right into the drink."

I stuck out my tongue and took a sip of the sugary deliciousness. Any hope of sleep had completely disappeared. I was way too excited now to sit still, and a sense of euphoria flowed through me.
I'm so lucky,
I thought truthfully for the first time in God knows how long.

I carried on through the short hallway to the final room. A gasp escaped me as I opened the door only to be met by a king-sized bed in a burgundy-and-gold decorated room. The room also contained one small dresser and a desk, but it was obvious that the massive canopy was the star of the show here. I moved towards it and felt the velvety blanket with my hand and decided I had to leave the room before sleep overtook me again.

Returning to the main room, Asher was nowhere to be found.
Oh well, his loss,
I thought as I grabbed the remote to the flatscreen TV and curled up on the loveseat. My fingers worked their magic on the remote's buttons, but my eyes were drifting shut.

My eyes flew open to the sound of
tsking
from in front of me and fixed themselves on Asher, who was sipping on his drink on the larger couch.

"Is this how you vacation?" Asher teased.

"This isn't a vacation," I reminded him. "We're on a business trip."

"Well, if you're just going to go to bed, you could always come over here. I'm pretty sure my seat is more comfortable than yours."

I turned to face him with my best
'Oh really?'
face, and he flashed me an award-winning grin. He was being cheeky, and I hated admitting to myself that I found it a bit hot.

"How sweet of you to offer to trade seats, but I'm perfectly fine here," I said sweetly.

Screw it,
I thought while setting my champagne flute down on the coffee table.
I need a bathroom,
I realized, since I hadn't made time to pee before I left. But, as if it was just to spite me once again, Asher was up and in the bathroom before I could even unbuckle my seat. My legs awkwardly carried my body to the bathroom where I wanted to squirm but also needed to stand extremely still.
Too much wigglin' and it'll come 'a' spiddlin'.

A moment later, the lock on the bathroom door clicked and the door flung open, revealing Asher.

He grinned as soon as he saw me. "If you wanted to join the club that badly, you could've just asked..."

Frowning in confusion, I was about to ask him which club that was, before I shot him a pointed look. "Really?"

His grin grew wider, clearly amused with my response. "Of course. In fact, I'm ready right now."

I tsked at him and shoved his chest playfully. I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it and was beginning to notice that he certainly seemed less on edge than at the office. It was almost as if he was free.
If he hates it so much there, why does he even stay?
I didn't have time to think about that right now, because I had only one goal at the moment: the bathroom. I tried to sidestep him, but Asher caught my wrist in his hand just as I did. We locked eyes, and his face suddenly looked more serious, more intent. With his burning gaze came my pounding heart.
Traitor,
I told my body as I squirmed uncomfortably for
two
reasons now.

"I need to go to the bathroom," I said softly, wiggling my hand out of his grasp.