Chapter 87: She’s Just Used to You
But Asher Keating remained stone-faced, making no move. Just as one of the women couldn’t resist and was about to make a move on him, Riley Sterling coughed and sent all of them out, leaving the three of them alone in the private room.
Ethan Shaw refilled Asher’s glass and handed it to him. "Asher, what’s going on? Did you and Leah have a fight?"
"Do I look like the type to argue with a woman?" Asher sullenly took the glass and downed it in one gulp.
"No, that doesn’t sound like you. So what is it? Did Leah piss you off?"
Riley Sterling poured him another glass. "Spit it out. We can help you analyze the situation."
Asher scoffed. "What could you two possibly analyze?"
"Tch, Asher, us two! We’re seasoned veterans, you know? We’ve seen every kind of woman there is. You think we can’t figure out what’s going on with yours?" Riley Sterling pointed back and forth between himself and Ethan Shaw.
Asher himself had never been in a real relationship, but Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling? It was impossible to count how many women they dated in a year.
He remained silent for a moment before speaking. "Second Master Keating leaked our arrangement. Now everyone at the company knows I’m keeping her."
"What the hell? Is Second Master Keating out of his fucking mind? Targeting a woman?"
Ethan Shaw spat out a mouthful of his drink. People like them had been through a lot, but in any of these power struggles, they never, ever dragged their women into it.
But this time, Second Master Keating had gone too far. Leah was a young woman who had just graduated. How was she supposed to keep working at Aevon with the entire company knowing about this?
"Heh. He’s trying to use this to stir up controversy. I’ve already purged most of his people from Aevon, and he probably knows the Southwood project will never be his," Asher said calmly, taking a slow drag from his cigarette.
"So what does that have to do with Leah? She’s just a junior employee. So what if you’re keeping her? Second Master Keating keeps several women himself, and some of them work at his company, right?" Riley couldn’t connect the dots.
"She’s in Department One."
Though Asher had only said that one sentence, Ethan and Riley understood immediately. For the longest time, Department One was the only place without any of Aaron Keating’s people.
By doing this, Aaron Keating wanted to create controversy within Department One first. Leah was Asher’s woman. Regardless of whether she got the job on her own merit, it would make anyone with a suspicious mind assume Asher had arranged her placement there.
From there, the narrative would be that Asher, before he had even officially taken his post as president, had already installed his little Canary in such a crucial department.
It would be a massive gossip storm, both within Department One and throughout the entire Aevon Group.
On top of that, Asher had fired a lot of people recently, yet no one from Department One had been touched. Employees in other departments didn’t know the real reasons for the firings; they would just assume Asher was showing favoritism because Leah was there.
Ethan spat in disgust. "Fuck! That’s so shameless."
After cursing, he looked puzzled again. "So what happened with you and Leah? She’s a reasonable person, isn’t she? Surely she wouldn’t throw a fit over this."
"When I went home today, I was planning to end our arrangement. I was going to ask if she wanted to just be with me for real. But instead... she gave me a card." As Asher thought about it, his anger flared.
"A card? What kind of card?" Riley was completely lost.
Asher let out a cold laugh. "It’s the money I spent to buy her out. I had just asked if she wanted to end our arrangement, and she handed me the card."
"..."
"..."
Ethan and Riley exchanged a look. After a long moment, Ethan finally broke, unable to stifle his laughter. "Wait, Asher... why do I get the feeling you just got paid for sleeping with her? Like she was paying you for your services?"
Asher shot him a withering glare. In truth, the moment she’d given him the card, the exact same fucking thought had crossed his mind. ’What the hell? I’ve been toiling away for nearly half a year, and this is my pay for all that sweat and labor?’
"Hahahahaha, seriously, what was Leah thinking? I can’t—I’m going to die laughing." Riley slapped his thigh, unable to stop laughing.
"Are you done laughing?"
Asher snatched a throw pillow and hurled it at him. After it flew, he couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh himself.
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop laughing. But I was thinking, maybe Leah... well, it’s just..." Riley snuck a glance at Asher.
"Just what?"
"Do you guys remember what Zion Sawyer said? When Leah went back to her hometown, she went with Second Master Hale. Asher, I don’t doubt your charm in the slightest, but..."
"...with the kind of arrangement she has with you, she must feel insecure. But it’s different with Second Master Hale. They don’t have that dynamic. If—and this is just a hypothetical—if Second Master Hale decided to pursue her, I think Leah might actually be tempted."
"She wouldn’t. I’m the one she cares about. I know that." Asher had never doubted Leah on this point.
"We know that too. The problem is, Asher, you need to get one thing straight. Leah knows perfectly well that she isn’t your girlfriend. She’s just the little Canary you’re keeping. She probably doesn’t even dare to dream of being in a real relationship with you."
"Think about why she cares about you. You were the one she met during her most difficult time, right after she finished school and had to deal with her grandmother’s situation. Then, to avoid Morgan Sterling, she ended up in this arrangement with you. You’ve been the only one by her side this whole time. She hasn’t had the chance to meet anyone else."
"But what if none of that had happened? Do you think someone with Leah’s personality would ever willingly be kept by a man? Asher, don’t get mad at me for being blunt, but have you ever considered that maybe Leah doesn’t actually like you... she’s just used to you?" Riley said it all in one breath, then watched Asher apprehensively.
Ethan couldn’t stand to hear it. "Tch, Riley, that’s a little harsh."
But Asher remained silent. ’He’s right,’ he thought. ’With Leah’s personality, if she hadn’t fallen into that trap at Azure Bay in the first place, she would never have accepted being kept by anyone.’
He had also forgotten that Leah had never been in a real relationship before. He was her first man. For almost half a year, she had been with him. ’Could it be true? Could she not even realize it herself, that she’s only just gotten used to me?’
Asher pressed his lips into a thin line, then stood up, agitated. He grabbed his jacket and started to leave. Ethan shouted after him, "Asher, where are you going?"
"Silverwood."
After Asher left, Ethan and Riley could only sigh in resignation. They had watched the whole affair between Asher and Leah unfold from the very beginning. This was the first time in so many years that Asher had been genuinely interested in a woman.
They both knew it, but they had no idea what advice to offer. This was something the two of them had to sort out on their own; no one else could interfere. The two friends called for more company and resumed drinking.
"Tch, Riley, you’re wrong. I still think what you said was wrong," Ethan said suddenly, after they were halfway through another round of drinks, grabbing Riley’s arm. "Back when she was dealing with Morgan Sterling, she wasn’t with Asher. They had absolutely nothing to do with each other back then."
"She was free to be with anyone she wanted. Morgan Sterling’s status is higher than Asher’s, isn’t it? So why didn’t she choose him?"
"It’s because she didn’t like him, plain and simple. She rejected him completely! But what about Asher? For his sake, she drank herself into a stupor and still gritted her teeth and refused to admit she had any connection to him. She absolutely, one hundred percent, likes Asher!"