Page 25 of Ruthless Heir

“No, he had to work. His assistant will show you around and take care of you. Asher will be back by dinnertime.”

Well, at least I have a few hours to get used to the place without him.

I follow Josh through the massive double doors and into a foyer that looks like we just stepped into another world.

Cool marble covers the floor and hand-painted murals run along the walls. This place is a masterpiece. And I guess it shows just how grown up Asher is.

We move further inside and into the living room, where an elderly lady with a bouffant meets us. She has dark-rimmed glasses and a Cruella Deville look about her that makes it difficult to imagine her ever smiling.

“Hi, Olga,” Josh greets her.

Olga. Yes, that name definitely suits her. I can’t think of another that would.

“Hello, there,” she responds in an accented voice that sounds Eastern European. Maybe Polish or Russian.

“This is my sister, Harper. Harper, this is Olga, Asher’s assistant.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Olga extends her hand to me and I shake it.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“I will get you something to eat then show you around when you’re ready.” Her tone is very professional. I can see why she’s Asher’s assistant. I imagine he must be extremely busy to be worth billions.

“Thank you. I’d love that,” I tell her.

“Very well. I’ll get Fred to unload your things and take them up to your room and leave you to say goodbye to your brother. Come and find me in the kitchen when you’re done.” She points to a hallway to the left of us.

“I will.”

“Thanks, Olga,” Josh says with a curt tip of his head.

To my surprise she gives Josh a thin smile.

I watch her leave then I turn back to Josh, feeling my heart grow in my chest with the weight of saying goodbye to him. With the exception of the last few days we haven’t seen each other since before Christmas when the shit went down with Nick. Josh flew to L.A. and was with me for the entire month.

Saying goodbye to him now feels like back then but worse.

“You’re going to be okay, kid.” He gives me a playful punch on my shoulder.

Although I’ve been willing myself not to cry, a tear rolls down my cheek. “Thanks for everything. I’m so sorry I wrecked your plans with Lisa and?—”

“It’s okay. We’re past that. I want to hear good things when I see you again.”

I nod, hoping good things could really happen. It’s been a while since I had anything of the sort and right now the forecast doesn’t look good. “I’ll be okay. Good luck for tomorrow but you know Lisa will say yes, right?”

“Believe me, if I didn’t know I wouldn’t be proposing.” He laughs. “She’ll be happy then I’ll be gone for nine months and virtually uncontactable. That’s not exactly how I planned to start our engagement.”

“But it will be okay. Lisa will be even more excited to see you when you get back.”

“I hope so.”

I met Lisa a few times and she’s exactly the kind of woman I hoped Josh would find.

“You can call her if you want.” Josh smiles with hope in his eyes. “You know she’d love to hear from you.”

“Sure. I’ll call her. Be careful, Josh. I always worry about you.”

“You know I’ll be fine. I was born to be in the Navy. It sounds weird but I love going on the sub missions. It’s like being in a whole other world.”

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