Chapter 103: Happy New Year
"...It’s too much."
Leah was truly happy at first, but as she kept watching the notification alerts chime on her phone, one after another, and the balance in her bank account swell, her surprise morphed into alarm.
She and Sheila Hughes always joked about wanting money to just fall from the sky, but now that it was actually happening, she didn’t feel happy. She felt panicked. ’This feeling... it’s terrifying.’
"It’s for my girlfriend. It’s not a lot."
Asher Keating smiled and ruffled her hair. He knew she felt uneasy, so he added, "Just accept it. I have plenty of money, and I don’t want you to feel hard done by."
"I don’t feel hard done by."
Leah Sinclair hugged his arm. ’How could I possibly feel hard done by?’
She and Asher Keating had just made their relationship official today. He had always been generous with money, so this was probably the most direct way he could think of to be good to his girlfriend.
Leah didn’t want to upset him, so she decided to save the money. ’At least this way,’ she thought, ’if I want to buy something for Asher in the future, I won’t have to hesitate and feel too timid to buy it. I’ll save this money and only spend it on him.’
Asher Keating watched her expression shift from happy to conflicted, then to a bit wistful, before finally settling into one of relief. He could roughly guess the journey her thoughts had taken and suspected that the money would ultimately be spent on him anyway.
In truth, he didn’t care how Leah Sinclair handled the money he gave her. Whether she spent it or not, or how she spent it, was entirely up to her. He just wanted her to have cash on hand.
He wanted her to be able to buy things without having to worry about the price, to not have to dig herself into a hole again if something like her grandmother’s illness came up. As the saying goes, with money in your account, you don’t have to panic. He... wanted to be her foundation.
"Asher, you’re so good to me."
Leah Sinclair secretly hooked her finger around his and looked up at him. Asher Keating felt a pleasant tingle in his chest. He glanced at his watch. There was still half an hour left. If they drove fast enough, they could make it in time to make love from the old year into the new one.
Just as he was about to suggest they head home, a blast of loud music erupted from the dance club below. The DJ started to announce tonight’s New Year’s grand prize. The winner would indeed have their entire bill for the night comped, but in addition to that, they would also receive a discount card.
It was valid for an entire year, offering a 30% discount on all spending at the Zenith Club. The rule to win this prize was simple: the moment the New Year’s chimes rang out, the cameras in the venue would randomly capture photos of kissing couples. The pair in the final, captured shot would win the grand prize.
Asher Keating, Ethan Shaw, and the others didn’t really care about the prize. But since it was New Year’s, and just to join in on the fun, Ethan and the others were already preparing to head downstairs and see if they could get lucky enough to snag the grand prize.
Leah Sinclair, on the other hand, was quickly doing the math in her head. Asher was footing the bill tonight to celebrate them making their relationship official. The tab for the evening was probably already in the hundreds of thousands, not to mention the money he had just transferred to her.
By her calculations, even without counting the money he had just transferred to her, Asher had spent a sum approaching seven figures. Operating on the principle of ’every penny saved is a penny earned,’ Leah wanted to try for the grand prize too.
Asher Keating saw her eager expression and gave up on his idea of leaving. ’Oh well,’ he thought. ’It’s nice to join in the fun with her.’
But he wasn’t in a hurry to go down. Leah Sinclair knew he wasn’t a fan of all the noise, so she didn’t rush either. There was still half an hour, anyway. Everyone else from their private room had gone down to the dance floor, so Leah selected a song, snuggled into Asher Keating’s arms, and sang to him.
She lost track of time as she sang. It was only when the thirty-second countdown started outside that Leah Sinclair snapped back to reality. She hurried over to the projected screen on the wall. Ethan Shaw and the others had lowered it when they went down, so it now showed the scene in the dance club below.
Leah Sinclair was a little vexed. Asher Keating hugged her from behind. "It’s fine. Maybe Ethan and the others will get picked."
When the ten-second countdown began, Leah turned, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Asher Keating. "Asher, Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year."
Asher Keating leaned against the back of the sofa and pulled her into his embrace. Leah Sinclair wrapped her arms around his neck, and they were locked in a kiss the moment the New Year’s chimes rang out.
When a tide of cheers and applause erupted from outside, Leah Sinclair pulled away from Asher Keating. She turned her head, wanting to see who the final winner was, but the instant she did, she froze in a daze.
The people displayed prominently on the large screen were none other than her and Asher Keating. It was a shot of their profiles, taken the very second she had reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.
After a couple of seconds, she cried out in delighted surprise, "Asher, we didn’t even go downstairs! How did they capture us on camera?"
Asher Keating wrapped his arms around her, laughing as he looked at their photo on the big screen. "Since they said the entire venue, they probably have drones flying around to get candid shots."
In a darkened side room of the neighboring private suite, Morgan Sterling was furiously venting his anger. The person beneath him was whimpering in pain. This room had been specially modified to allow a view of the outside, and at this very moment, he had a perfect view of the large screen displaying the photo of Leah Sinclair and Asher Keating’s kiss.
He laughed coldly. "What, you suddenly like the gentle type? Heh. Well, I prefer it rough. It’s more satisfying when it’s rough, don’t you think?"
The cheers from the main club continued for a long time. Morgan Sterling, panting, looked outside. The photo of Leah Sinclair and Asher Keating had not yet been taken off the screen.
Leah Sinclair’s eyes were closed. Morgan Sterling’s thoughts went to her lips, now being kissed by Asher Keating—thin, a little pale, but beautifully shaped.
He then recalled the first time he had seen Leah Sinclair. She had drunk so much that her lips had turned white. She’d then bitten down on them, hard, and the color had slowly turned red again. That image was seared into his mind, refusing to fade.
When a server delivered a black card to the private room, presenting it to Leah Sinclair with both hands, another wave of cheers erupted from Ethan Shaw and the others.
Leah Sinclair happily waved the card at them before handing it to Ethan Shaw. He was a bit dumbfounded. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"You and Riley come here more often. It’s more suited for you two."
Leah Sinclair smiled. This was something she and Asher Keating had just discussed. Asher rarely came here, but Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling were frequent visitors. At the rate they spent, a 30% discount card could save them a considerable amount of money over a year. Besides, whenever Asher did come, it was almost always with them.
"Whoa, why do I suddenly feel like I’m being kept by Leah Sinclair?"
While Ethan Shaw didn’t really care about the 30% discount, holding the card made him feel a little warm inside. It was true that none of them were concerned about the money they spent here, but the fact that Leah Sinclair thought to give them the card meant she had genuinely been thinking of them.
Asher Keating came over with his and Leah Sinclair’s coats. "Do you have the money she paid for your services?"
"..."
A corner of Asher Keating’s mouth lifted. "I do."
Ethan Shaw looked like he couldn’t bear to watch. "And there you go, flexing again."
"..."
Leah Sinclair really wanted to say, ’Can we please drop this topic?’