Chapter 81: That’s Quite a Coincidence
Leah Sinclair’s head snapped up, her gaze meeting Asher Keating’s smiling eyes. Standing beside him were Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling.
Both men had their arms around female companions, smiling and talking with them. After a moment of shock, a smile slowly spread across Leah’s face.
Zion Sawyer happily greeted them as well. "President Shaw, Mr. Sterling! What are you two doing here? Such a coincidence!"
"Yeah, we were bored," Ethan said. "We rich kids had nothing better to do, so we came for a soak in the hot springs."
Ethan Shaw burst out laughing, then asked with feigned confusion, "What are you all doing here?"
Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling had been bored out of their minds today when Asher Keating suddenly asked if they wanted to go to the hot springs. The two were instantly energized, grabbing their dates and heading straight over without another word.
Before they left, Ethan Shaw had even asked Asher Keating why Leah Sinclair wasn’t with him. Asher had simply replied, "You’ll see her when we get there."
The two of them knew at once that Asher Keating had an ulterior motive. ’What hot springs? This is a trip to chase a girl, isn’t it?’
Hearing Ethan’s words, Zion Sawyer immediately regretted asking. "...President Shaw, could you please not rub it in?! You guys come to the hot springs because you’re bored with nothing to do. We only get to come for a company retreat!"
"Well, what a coincidence, then."
Riley Sterling chimed in, deliberately stressing the word "coincidence." Leah knew exactly why they had suddenly appeared, and she couldn’t help but blush.
Leah’s other colleagues saw Asher Keating and came over to greet him. As the group walked toward the front desk, Leah handed her check-in materials to the receptionist, thinking, ’I’m really, really happy that Asher is here.’
’But I’m sharing a standard room with Zion Sawyer. We’re the only two unmarried women in the department, so our room was assigned when we booked. Under these circumstances, I probably won’t get a chance to go see Asher.’
Just as she was thinking this, the receptionist spoke up. "Everyone, I am so sorry, but we have an unusually high number of guests today, and all our standard rooms have been taken."
Zion Sawyer was not having it. "We booked these rooms ages ago! How can you tell us now that there are no standard rooms? What are we supposed to do?"
"I am terribly sorry," the receptionist said apologetically. "A new employee who started this afternoon made a mistake and accidentally gave away your reserved rooms. To express our sincerest apologies, we would like to offer both ladies a complimentary upgrade to rooms with king-sized beds, one for each of you. Would that be acceptable?"
Leah Sinclair and Zion Sawyer exchanged a look, both seeing the disbelief in the other’s eyes. ’Is this what service is like at a four-star hotel? This is amazing!’
Having finished checking in, Asher Keating noticed the large group still gathered at the desk and walked over. "What’s wrong?"
"Ah, it’s nothing, President Keating," Todd Coleman said quickly. "We had a small mix-up, but it’s all sorted out now."
"Oh. Well, we’ll head to our rooms, then. You all have fun."
"We’re off! We’ll catch up with you all later!" Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling said their goodbyes, each with an arm around their date, and left.
Zion Sawyer watched their retreating figures and asked, puzzled, "Huh? I just noticed, President Keating is by himself. Look, President Shaw and Mr. Sterling each have a date, but President Keating didn’t bring one? Now that I think about it, he’s never had a date with him the few times we’ve seen him."
Leah Sinclair didn’t reply. ’Heh,’ she thought, ’his date is right here.’
After getting the key cards, Zion Sawyer handed them out. She took a look and noticed that Leah was the only one in Area B; everyone else was in different sections. The areas were all relatively close to each other, though, so they all started walking to their rooms to drop off their luggage.
Mr. Langdon and those who had arrived earlier had already set up the barbecue equipment on the lawn outside. They were just waiting for everyone to gather before they could start.
Once in Area B, Leah followed the signs to find her room. As she passed B888, the door swung open from the inside. She was yanked into the room, so startled she almost cried out. But then a familiar scent filled her senses, and she broke into a smile. "Asher, what are you doing here?"
Asher Keating pulled her suitcase into the room, the corner of his mouth hooked in a smirk, but he said nothing.
It took Leah a moment to put the pieces together. "Asher," she asked, "don’t tell me you paid to have my room situation specially arranged?"
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Otherwise, how could a room that had been booked in advance suddenly become unavailable? And how could they have both been upgraded to private rooms, free of charge? Even for a four-star hotel, it felt too incredible to be true.
"Mm. Clever."
Asher Keating said this as he sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette. His room was the presidential suite. Leah wandered around curiously, taking everything in. She’d never stayed in a presidential suite before.
’That first time with Asher Keating didn’t count,’ she thought. ’The next day, I was in too much of a hurry to run away to even think about looking around.’
Today, however, she wanted a proper look. There was a living room, two inner bedrooms, and a reception room. Even more extravagantly, there was a private indoor hot spring pool. Leah couldn’t help but marvel internally. ’Obscenely rich, obscenely rich. I’ll never understand the world of the wealthy.’
Watching her wander back and forth, Asher Keating made a soft "tsk" sound and pulled her onto his lap. "Haven’t you seen enough?"
"I’ve seen enough. This is just over the top. By the way, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?"
"It was a last-minute decision. Ethan and the others said they were bored and had nowhere to hang out." Asher Keating effortlessly shifted the blame to Ethan.
Leah believed him without question. Remembering the peace charms she had gotten at the Serene Buddha Monastery that afternoon, she took them out of her pocket and found the one meant for him. "Asher, this is for you."
"A peace charm?"
"Mhm, I got it at the Serene Buddha Monastery this afternoon."
Asher Keating watched her carefully put the other one away and asked casually, "Is that one for you?"
"No, it’s for my grandma."
"Why didn’t you get one for yourself?"
"If you’re all safe and sound, then I will be too," Leah said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Asher Keating smiled and pinched her cheek. "You and your crazy logic."
He glanced down at the peace charm in his hand, a tiny red string attached to it. He wasn’t one to believe in such things, but since Leah had gone to the trouble of getting it for him, ’I’d better keep it safe.’
After a little while, Leah stood up to leave, saying she needed to go back to her own room first. Asher didn’t release her. "Go back where? You’re staying here."
"Stay here? But what if someone sees me?"
Leah was hesitant. ’Even though I’m the only one from my group in Area B, what if Zion and the others come looking for me? My secret will be out.’
"You won’t. Aren’t all their rooms in other areas?"
"I know that, but... wait a minute. Asher, isn’t this a little too convenient?"
"What’s convenient about it? I arranged it."
"..."
Leah pressed on, a sliver of hope remaining. "Please don’t tell me you own this hotel."
"I don’t."
Asher Keating grinned. "I have shares in it."
"...But how could you be sure we’d stay at this specific hotel?"
Asher Keating led her out of the bedroom. "Knowing Zion Sawyer’s personality, all it took was leaking a little information to her. Besides," he added, "I have shares in this entire resort."
"..."