Do not answer that. It’s a trap. It has to be a trap. “I suppose she would.” Damn it.
“Great. I bought two extra tickets in case your dad could be convinced to go as well. You’ll ask them?”
Okay, this is seriously a trap. It has to be. He’s trying to win my parents over. Or something. He knows they know this isn’t real. But he still got them tickets? What could he possibly want from me? I’m not rich, and I’m probably not that great in bed either. I’m certainly no catch when he could have any woman he desires. And he’s my boss. It’s not like I can even lord that over him. He has me in every single way, and he knows it, but he’s doing nothing to hurt me with any of that.
So I’m confused. Very confused.
What’s his end goal here? He has to have one. Everyone has one.
“Tomorrow,” Asher says calmly. “At seven. It’s fine if they don’t want to come. You can leave the decision up to them.”
“I…thank you,” I mutter. It’s not an appropriate response, but I’m not sure what exactly there is to say. “I’m going to go home and change now.” I wince. Yeah, because that’s any better.
Asher nods. “I thought you might. And just so you know, I’m very excited for tomorrow for our date but not really a date night.”
He lets me see myself out of his office.
CHAPTER 11
Emily
Halfway through the opera, Asher has my parents eating out of the palm of his freaking hand. They love my boyfriend, who’s technically not my boyfriend. Maybe that’s why they love him. My dad doesn’t have to be all wary and protective, and my mom doesn’t have to do any assessing. They can just sit back in the seats right beside me and enjoy the opera.
I have to admit I have tears in my eyes for more than one reason. The opera is incredible, and I can’t believe I’ve never been before. The tickets, especially where we’re sitting, second row in the middle, probably cost a fortune. Regular tickets probably cost a lot too. The talent, the story, the costumes, the way the stage is set up, complete with the lighting, it’s all like being in a dream.
You know what else feels like being in a dream and causing my eyes to want to water?
The fact that this morning, when I woke up, there wasn’t just twenty grands in my bank account. There was fifty—one single transaction. Asher Paris deposited fifty thousand dollars into my account! How it’s possible to even do a transfer that large, I have no idea. Maybe for him, his online banking limits are a little different from my own. If someone else does his banking, perhaps they’re used to moving huge sums of money around. When I randomly checked it, I was not prepared to see all those zeroes at the end. I mean, normally, there are zeroes, but they aren’t in the right column.
I have no idea how I feel about that.
I now have enough money to help Sam and Melody and get my parents the kitchen renovation their house badly needs. They’re still in the same home we grew up in, and the kitchen hasn’t been updated since before I was born. My mom’s appliances are so ancient that they barely work. I could even get a crew in there to make it happen for them since I know they can’t do it themselves.
As soon as I saw the money, I had one thought. Is Asher Paris trying to buy me? That’s the only thing I could figure. But then, after thinking about it for a large part of the day when I should have been working, I also thought that maybe he’s just trying to be nice.
Or maybe he’s a snake in the grass waiting to strike, and there’s something I have that I have no idea I have, but he wants it. It could be that he’s just toying with me. Maybe he gets off on stuff like this—power trips. Having someone owe him, or having someone in his debt.
But I don’t think so. There wasn’t, and isn’t, anything in his demeanor tonight or from before that would suggest he has some underlying motive. In fact, he’s sitting beside me like a perfect gentleman. Clad in a black suit that made my mouth water like he was a bag of salt and vinegar chips because yes, he looks that good.
After the opera is over, we see my parents off into their cab. Asher picked me up, and I was surprised until I realized that, of course, he was confident in doing valet parking. There’s a huge lineup of people waiting for that same service right now. We’re standing in the middle of the sidewalk, so I take a step back to get out of the way of the swirling crowds.