Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Asher

It’s late on Friday night when I shuffle into Drake and Easton’s office. I spent the first part of the evening wandering around the second-floor club. There were plenty of female options I could have chosen to play with, but I wasn’t feeling it. I’m only here because my obsession is working on the first floor tonight, and I can’t resist getting a glimpse of her.

Earlier, I headed to my private apartment on the third floor just before closing and spent some time looking around the room, collecting my thoughts, wondering what the hell I could do to shake myself out of my funk.

She’s surely left by now. I should go home, too.

“Hey, Asher,” Easton says, lifting his gaze from the monitors in front of him. “I was just about to text you. You need to see this.” He points at one of the monitors. “Your girl seems to have fallen asleep in the breakroom downstairs. ”

I round the desk, grumbling, “She’s not my girl.”

Easton chuckles. “Okay, sure.”

I set my palm on his desk and lean in closer. Holy shit. Sure enough, Brynn is sound asleep. She’s sitting at the break table; two textbooks and a notebook are open in front of her. But she’s draped over all of it, her cheek pressed to the notebook.

I glance at my watch. It’s two-thirty. The club closed half an hour ago. I rise, run a hand through my hair, and look at Easton.

“You’re going to take care of this, right?” he asks, a smirk on his face.

I sigh. “Yes.” My mind is racing as I leave Easton’s office and make my way down the back stairs. The first floor is quiet. Everyone has gone home. Except Brynn. What the hell am I going to do or say?

I have ideas. None are good, but I can’t stop them from crowding my head. “Asher…” I warn myself. But it’s too late. I know exactly what I’m going to say. Damn the consequences.

Brynn doesn’t flinch when I enter the quiet breakroom. She’s sound asleep. It’s no wonder. The woman doesn’t get enough rest. How could she? She will now . She’s in for a rude awakening.

I choose to sit in the chair across the table from her to keep from touching her. I set my elbows on the table, thread my fingers together, steeple them, and clear my throat. “Brynn…”

She jerks awake, lifts her head quickly, and meets my gaze with wide eyes. “Mr. Bennett?” She glances around before looking at her watch. “Shit. I fell asleep.”

I cringe. I don’t like hearing her cuss. Keep your head on, man. Now isn’t the time to reprimand her. “Why are you studying here in the middle of the night?”

She looks down as if just now remembering what she’d been doing. She quickly gathers her books, shutting them and stuffing them into her satchel. “I, uh… It’s quiet here. My manager said he didn’t mind me studying here after closing until he left. He’s still in his office, I assume.”

Ah, that was possibly true. I didn’t look in the office first. I came straight here.

“It’s so noisy at my house. My roommates don’t have a care in the world. They party on weekend nights. Hell, they party on week day nights, too. They have parents who foot the bill, and—” She jerks her gaze to me again. “Sorry. I have no idea why I’m telling you this, sir.”

My cock jumps when she calls me sir . I wish it had the capital S of respect when she says it, but I still like it. I watch as she scrambles to push her pencil, notebook, and phone into her satchel. When she pushes her chair out and stands, I finally find my voice. I’m pretty sure I’m going to kick myself in the ass later, but here goes nothing. “Sit down, Brynn.”

She sucks in a breath and hitches her satchel up on her shoulder. Her blouse is askew. The opposite side almost hangs off her shoulder, allowing me to see her bra strap. How the hell could a plain white bra affect me like this?

“I’m so sorry I fell asleep here,” she says. “It won’t happen again. I should get home. It’s late.”

I lean a few inches forward, not altering my posture. “Brynn, sit down.” The command in my voice is strong enough for her to obey me this time, and damn, more than just my cock is affected when she drops back onto the chair .

“Am I in trouble?” There’s a tremor in her voice. “I need this job. Do you work here or, uh, own the building or something?”

I lift a brow, fighting the urge to chuckle. “No, Ms. Flores. I do not work here or own the building. I own a lot of buildings, but not this one.”

She licks her full lips.

I want to bite them, but I focus on her eyes. “Why are you working two jobs, Brynn?”

Her nostrils flare as she inhales deeply. “I’m a student. I need the money, sir.” She pats her bag as if to bring attention to her textbooks.

“How can you possibly do well in your classes if you’re working mornings at The Grind and nights here at Edge?” I know the answer. She does just fine. She does better than fine. She’s impressive. But she needs money. Badly. And I’m just idiotic enough to offer her a way out of her current situation.

She sits taller, her spine straightening. I’ve insulted her. “I do fine, sir. I promise.”

“How old are you?” I already know the answer, but I want her to tell me.

“Twenty-one,” she responds with a tilt of her chin.

“How many semesters do you have left?”

“Two, maybe three.” She keeps her head high. She looks like she’s about to cry, but she doesn’t let herself. She’s strong.

“Depending on what? Are you not going to pass all your classes?” I taunt.

She gasps, her mouth hanging open, eyes wide. “Mr. Bennett, I’m a very good student. I will pass all my classes. I’m just not made of money. Sometimes, I have to take a semester off to save up.”

Another thing I know about Brynn is she has no debt. She’s very smart and wise. Damn, she’s fucking amazing. And she needs me. She’s hemorrhaging cash.

I smile at her. “Sounds like you could use some extra money.”

She swallows hard but doesn’t respond. If I were a decent human being, I would write her a check for fifty thousand dollars and walk out of this room. I would have done a very good deed for a very deserving person and made her life much easier.

But I’m not that guy. I’m a greedy bastard. “I have a proposition for you.”

She draws in a sharp breath and leans back as if putting a few extra inches between us will erase what I’ve just said. “Sir…”

“Stop looking at me like that, Brynn. I’m not a pimp, and I’m not offering to pay you for sex.” I’m slightly irritated she would even think such a thing, but it’s my own fault. I didn’t word the opening line of my offer well, mostly because I’ve created this insane idea on the fly.

“Sorry, sir,” she murmurs.

“You need some extra cash, and I need a fake girlfriend.”

Her eyes bug out of her head. “Pardon me?”

“You heard me.” What the fuck am I doing? I’ve lost my mind. “Do you have any idea how many women approach me every day? It’s maddening.” I sound like a prick.

Based on the way she’s staring at me, I am a conceited asshole.

I wave a hand dismissively through the air. “I’m not suggesting I’m some kind of catch. No one cares about my looks or my personality. All they want is my money and prestige.”

She licks those full lips and actually smirks. “I hate to tell you this, sir, but they definitely care about your looks and your personality. Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

I chuckle. When was the last time I chuckled?

“In addition, you’re kind and generous.”

I flinch, taken aback.

She rolls her sexy blue eyes. “Oh, come on. I’ve seen you hold the door at The Grind for old women who weren’t even close to it. I’ve seen you drop a tip on another waitress’s table when her customer left without doing so. You’ve paid for people’s coffee anonymously. Last week, you sent sandwiches to a homeless man on the corner.”

I’m so shocked I can’t respond. How did she know all of that? The most important thing I gleaned from all that was how much attention she has paid me. Finally, I clear my throat. “So you’re saying I’m handsome and kind, and that’s why women hang all over me?” I tease.

She giggles. Jesus. Fuck me . “No, they’re after your money. I was just checking to see if you were aware of your other attributes.”

I can’t help but smile. “So, you find me attractive?”

Another eye roll. “Sir, I’m not blind.”

I lift a brow, wanting her to say it.

She sighs dramatically. “Fine. You’re so handsome it’s a wonder the sun manages to shine past you, but maybe that’s because the rays can’t get around your ego.”

I chuckle. She’s sharp. I’ll add that to the list of characteristics I’m learning about Brynn Flores. I lean forward again. “Back to my proposal. The one that isn’t for sex.” Not yet, anyway .

“I’m listening.” She’s also clenching the strap of her bag tightly enough to make her knuckles white.

“Like I said, I need a fake girlfriend. I think you’d make the perfect fake girlfriend for me.”

Her cheeks turn pink. I love it when they do that. “And what would that entail exactly?”

“It would mean I’d want you to be available to attend functions and parties with me. Sometimes, meetings. Any place I need to go where there may be women present to hit on me.”

She looks stunned. Her blue eyes are truly gorgeous, and they’re so wide I can see every speck. “Sir, I barely have time to get my homework done, attend my classes, and work my two jobs. I only sleep about four hours a night. I couldn’t possibly accept another job. I wouldn’t be able to fit it in.”

I give her a slow smile. “Brynn, I’m asking you to quit all those other jobs. In fact, I would also need you to move out of your current living situation and into my penthouse.”

Her reaction is that she stops breathing and stares at me without blinking. “You can’t be serious.”

“Very serious. We can negotiate all the specifics, but basically, I’m offering to pay you two hundred thousand dollars to move into my home and become my arm candy for one year. You would stop working at The Grind and Edge. That would free you up to focus on your classes and homework. I promise I will never ask you to miss a class or test. The number of hours I would require you to be by my side would be far fewer than you currently work.”

“You are serious.”

“Very.” I didn’t plan this. I hadn’t even fully formed the idea in my head until I sat down at this table. But I’m deadly serious, and I’m pretty proud of myself for coming up with the proposition. It’s the perfect solution to both of my problems.

I really do have an annoying number of unwanted advances. Brynn would not only eliminate that problem, but she would also help me flush her out of my system. Win-win.

She’s a stunningly gorgeous woman. Surely, if I spent enough time with her, I would learn all her faults and remember why I don’t date. If I move her into my home, I’ll be able to free myself of my Brynn Flores obsession in no time.

I would never kick her out, of course—I do need her by my side—but at least within a few days, or maybe a week, I will have flushed my aching need to be inside her body. Soon, she will become just an annoyance.

I realize she’s still staring at me. “Sir…”

“It’s the perfect solution for both of us, Brynn. Surely you can see that.”

“Two hundred thousand dollars?” Her pitch goes up an octave as though that’s a lifetime supply of money. It’s nothing to me. And then she says something that makes my chest tighten. “I only need about fifty thousand to get through the year. If I didn’t have to pay rent, and my tuition was covered…” She looks up and to the left as if she’s calculating. “I could graduate in a year. Fifty thousand would be enough.”

I’m so stunned I’m speechless. Is this girl telling me I’ve offered her too much money? “Two hundred thousand, Brynn. That’s less than I pay my secretary. I’ll want you to stay for one year. When you graduate, you’re off the hook. That buys me one year of deflection. It sounds like a bargain to me.” I’m not kidding. I’d give half a million for a year of avoiding women pawing at me.

She’s shaking now.

I don’t need to sweeten the deal or add to my requirements, but I do so anyway. “Of course, I will include a full wardrobe, a regular stylist for your hair and makeup, nails, massages, and spa treatments—whatever it is women need.”

She narrows her gaze. “Women do not need those things. I don’t have any of them. Rich women do those things because they’re bored or they feel like they’re in competition with other rich women. We’re not all that shallow. I’ve never had a manicure, pedicure, massage, fancy clothes, or a single spa treatment. I get my hair cut for ten dollars once a year when it gets too heavy.”

I smile again. “So, you’re saying you would gladly do the job without all those extras for only fifty thousand?”

Her jaw drops. Then she sits taller. “I guess I am.”

“Two hundred, Brynn.” What an interesting girl. “I’ll warn you, I’m not an easy man. I’m a clean freak. I’ll expect you to keep your room tidy and presentable.”

“I’m not afraid of housework,” she responds.

I shake my head. “I have staff to clean my house. I’m talking about making your bed, hanging up your clothes, putting the cap on your toothpaste.”

Her brows lift. “Wow, you are intense. Are you going to come into my room and inspect it like a drill sergeant?”

“Maybe. Are you going to be sassy with me?”

She arches a brow. “Maybe.”

I snicker. I think I like this sassy side of Brynn. I’ve never seen it before. I stand. “Do we have a deal?”

She hesitates. “What if it doesn’t work out and you can’t stand to be around me? What if I suck at being a pretend girlfriend?”

“If I decide for any reason to terminate the agreement, you will still be paid in full.”

“What if I decide to terminate the agreement?”

I set my palms on the table and lean across it. “I don’t see why that would happen since I’m so easy on the eyes and kind. But if you find you can’t tolerate me, I will still pay the rest of your tuition and whatever housing costs you need between now and graduation.”

I won’t need to since I will pay her tuition bills and transfer two hundred thousand dollars into her account tomorrow morning. She will not be hurting for money, no matter what happens.

She draws in a breath and holds it. She has something else to say. This ought to be good. “Do you, uh, expect me to sleep with you?”

“Would that be a dealbreaker?” I ask, mostly because I’m curious.

“Yes, because it would make me a whore, and I’m not a whore.”

“No, Ms. Flores, you are definitely not a whore. And no, I do not expect you to fuck me. I will provide you with your own bedroom. Let’s leave sex out of this arrangement. It complicates things. I wouldn’t want you to start thinking of yourself as though you really were my girlfriend. It’s a business arrangement. Nothing more. Vanilla women tend to get greedy, jealous, and whiny after I take them to bed. This will be strictly business.”

She hesitates again. I think perhaps she’s disappointed, and that does nothing to help my cock. It’s been hard since I saw her on the monitor upstairs. It’s turned into a blue-balls situation now .

“I would need to give notice to my employers.”

Fuck me . She’s going to say yes. “I know the owners of Edge. I’ll talk to them. You don’t have to worry about this job. Consider tonight your last night.”

“Okay, but I would never quit The Grind without notice. I’m not that kind of girl. You’ll have to let me finish my two weeks there.”

“Done. But you’ll move into my place tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Her voice rises.

“Yes. Ten o’clock. Bring whatever you need from your apartment. I’ll have someone go in and pack up the rest of your room next week.”

“Wait, I can’t just move out. My roommates are counting on my rent money.”

“I doubt your roommates need your five hundred dollars a month, but I’ll pay it until they replace you.”

She narrows her gaze. “How do you know how much my rent is?”

Shit . “You said you’re sharing a house with other students. I’m not ignorant about local rent rates. I assume it’s about two thousand a month.” I’m bullshitting, and I need to get better at it.

She sighs. “Fine. But take it out of my pay.”

I chuckled. “Not going to happen, Brynn. Ten o’clock.” I realize she needs my address. I nod toward her satchel. “Give me a piece of paper and a pencil, Brynn. I’ll write down my address.”

She lowers the bag to her lap. Her hands are shaking as she pulls out her notebook and a pencil, sliding both over to me.

I quickly jot down my address and phone number before returning it to her. “Go home and sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” I tap my watch. “The night is half over. Get moving. I don’t want you so exhausted in the morning that you can’t focus on my rules and requirements.”

“Yes, sir.” She tucks the items back into her satchel and hesitates before turning and fleeing the room.

“Brynn,” I call out to her from the doorway to the breakroom.

She spins around, “Yes, sir?”

“Do you have a car?” I know she doesn’t.

“No, sir.”

“How are you getting home?”

“I’ll walk. It’s only a few blocks.”

I step through the door and approach her slowly. I’m super close to losing my cool. “Not a chance, Brynn. My driver will take you home and come back for me. He will also pick you up at ten in the morning. And from now on, the only walking you’ll be doing is between classes. You don’t step one foot off that campus to walk anywhere, not even a block. Do I make myself clear?” I’m behaving like a caveman, but dammit, it’s not safe for a woman like her to be walking alone. Not during the day or the night.

“Sir, I’ve been walking around Seattle for four years. I’ve never had a problem.”

I lift a brow. What I want to do is take her over my knee, pull that short skirt of hers up to her waist, tug those tights down, and spank her ass until she thinks twice about arguing with me about safety in the future. I can’t even believe I’m considering it. I’ve never spanked a woman outside of the club in my life. When I’m in my element, I’m a firm Dom, but Brynn is far too innocent for the kinds of things I’d like to do to her right about now.

Her shoulders slump, and she mumbles, “You mentioned rules. Is that one of them?”

“Yes. Hard rule. There will be others. But, Brynn, that’s a common-sense safety rule. And don’t mumble. That’s another rule. When you speak, I want to hear you.”

She licks those fucking perfect lips.

My instinct is to wrap my hand around her neck, pull her body against mine, and kiss her so thoroughly that she forgets her name. And, again, I’ve lost my senses. I don’t kiss women.

“Yes, Sir.”

Did she just use a more submissive tone with that last Sir ?

My fucking cock is furious. I whip out my phone and text my driver, Charles, to let him know I need him to take Brynn home. When I lower it, I meet her gaze again. She’s chewing on her bottom lip. “My driver is out front. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I dismiss her by turning and heading in the opposite direction, not because I want her to think I’m an asshole but because I’d rather turn around before she notices my cock. Plus, I’m concerned about my self-preservation when she’s around.

I take the stairs up to the third floor two at a time and head into Drake and Easton’s office. They’re both there now, and I drop into the armchair across from them. I need to catch my breath, not from climbing the stairs but from the total loss of all common sense.

Easton is sitting right where I left him. He’s smirking, and I realize he just watched that entire interaction. “Took you a long time to wake her up,” he jokes, leaning back in his chair.

I groan and run my hand down my face. “You’ll need to add her to my approved guest list on the second and third floors.”

Drake spins around. “What did I miss?”

Easton’s brows shoot up his forehead. “You’re serious.” He sounds just like Brynn. Apparently, no one thinks I’m behaving like my normal self.

Easton and Drake are two of my best friends. Both have recently settled down with their own women. Easton fell hard for Faye, a woman he knew in high school but reconnected with when she came to the club for a BDSM 101 class. Drake met Lily here, too. Good for them. I’m not interested in settling down. Meeting the right woman is not easy.

Except, now, I’ve met Brynn. It doesn’t mean I’m going to keep her. I’m under no illusions that I’ll fall in love with her or anything. It’s just that we both have needs, and it turns out we can help each other out.

I might as well give it to them straight. They’ll find out soon enough, anyway. “Yes. I just convinced her to quit both jobs, move into my home, and become my fake girlfriend for a year. I’ll pay for her college tuition, and she’ll keep the vultures from climbing all over me everywhere I go. Sorry for the short notice, but can you replace her on your staff immediately?”

Drake nods as his eyebrows shoot high on his forehead.

A slow, devilish smile spreads across Easton’s face. “Fake, huh?”