Pretending She's Mine

He nodded, yanking me on top of him. “I did. See? I’m a changed man.”

I straddled him, looking down in his eyes. The last bit of fear that I had clung to vanished. I decided I was going to live in the place of euphoria.

Thirteen

Asher

Journey smiled at me from across the kitchen island. She had made coffee and a batch of muffins.

“Are you always on that thing now?” she asked, motioning to my tablet.

“It’s the best way to stay connected to Westbrook Securities,” I explained.

She crossed her legs, showing the edge of her bottom. She was wearing one of my T-shirts.

“It’s still hard to wrap my head around the company.” She pulled off the top of a blueberry muffin. “After you invented the Connect Tech it took off?”

“There’s no doubt it changed my life.” I took a sip of coffee. My eyes hadn’t moved from the soft skin along her thigh. “But what do you want to know?”

“Ok. Yeah. I’d like to ask you some questions, Mr. Billionaire Westbrook,” she teased.

I laughed. “You can’t call me that.”

“Ok, just Mr. Billionaire then.”

I shot her a warning stare. “What do you want to know?”

“Do you like it?” she asked.

I laid the tablet next to the basket of muffins. “Sure.”

“That’s not very convincing. Does it make you happy, running a company?”

I inhaled. “I haven’t thought about it like that. It gives me something. I don’t know that I’d call it happiness. Security, I guess.” I winked. “No pun intended.”

Her laughter was light. “At least you still have a sense of humor.”

“I try.”

“Tell me something about it. What’s your favorite part?” She held the coffee between her palms.

“Other than the money? Hmm.” I pressed my lips together.

“I’m serious, Asher. How did you go from a security contractor to owning a billion-dollar company? That’s a huge change. There has to be something meaningful in it for you. Something that drives you.”

That was the purist in Journey. She thought everything had to have a sense of purpose. All intentions were meant for a positive outcome. She didn’t accept that sometimes people did things because they were stupid. Or because they were dark and hopeless. And sometimes people did things because they had nothing else to do. Boredom. I wondered if the shooting had changed her perspective on the human spirit.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I still protect people.” My eyes flashed to hers. “Just not on a one-on-one basis. That’s something I feel good about. I employ thousands of people. I’d like to think they enjoy their jobs. And I make a shit-ton of money. I found a way to use a skill I had to invent a device that makes people safer. Families can sleep better. I don’t say it, but yeah, I’m fucking proud of Westbrook Securities.”

“Well you should say it.” She grinned. “What you’ve done is incredible.”

I walked toward her. I brushed the hair from her shoulder. “You know what I hate about it?”

She searched my eyes. “No. What?”

“That I did it without you.” My palm flattened against her thigh, pushing the T-shirt up her hip.

“We’re not going back though.” She shook her head. “Only forward.”