Page 16 of Chasing Sophia

“Mr. Kaufmann, I have a special invitation letter for the New Year’s Gala. I was wondering if you could share with me the name of the performers we’ll get to hear in the event.” The special invitations are usually given to only a handful of people, which should at least tell him I’m a person of power.

“I’m sorry, sir, but it’s a huge list. Plus, it’s a surprise. I can assure you that our selection committee is very thorough, and you’ll have a great time.”

My jaw clenches hearing his straight refusal of my request. “Mr. Kaufmann, I’m Ashcroft Miller. I’d—”

“Mr. Miller, sir. Why didn’t you say that before? I can send the list over to your office.”

“No.”Fuck.“I’m just interested in the names of the selected pianists,” I rush to add.

“Of course, sir. Give me a second.”

The longer I stay on hold, the more my conscience screams at me that this isn’t right. I’m about to tell Mr. Kaufmann to drop it, when he’s back on the line. “There are two solo pianist performances, Mr. Miller. One is Nicoleta Wilson and the other is Sophia Jones.” He pauses and hesitates before asking. “Is this all right, or would you like us to change—”

“No. That’s it.”

A smidge of guilt dampens my happiness upon hearing Sophia’s name on the selected list. But I tell myself that I didn’t twist the results. I just inquired about them. What’s the harm?

“Is it not good?”I ask as Sophia plays with the gnocchi prepared by my chef. After he’d packed it in plastic containers, I brought it with me to her home.

Startled, she looks between her plate and me. “No, it’s delicious. But you didn’t have to bring takeout, Asher. I could have cooked for us, you know.”

“I know. But I don’t want you to think I’m seeing you every night for free food. Although some things are very delicious.” I kiss her hand with a brassy smacking sound.

“You’re just… too much.” Finally, I get to see the small hint of a smile on her face as she snatches her hand away. “I’m nervous about the results. They’ll be announced tomorrow afternoon, and if… I’m in, there’ll be a few days of practice before the gala.”

“What if I told you that I know you’re in.”

“Knowing and hoping are different things, Asher.”

“I didn’t say hope, Soph, I said know.” My carefree tone, which only makes an appearance when I’m with her, slips and morphs into a voice of the fierce businessman that I am.

“Wh-what… are you saying?” I don’t like her stutter. I love the fiery Sophia, and that’s the reason for my slipup. I hadn’t planned on sharing the news with her, but now the cat is out of the box.

“You are in. I have a friend who knows someone at the planning team, and they saw your name on the list.”

She goes quiet, forgetting the dinner before us. “How did he get access to the results?”

The suspicion in her slow voice irks me. I’ve never had to answer to anyone in my life, and I take pride in the fact that I’m an honorable man, but with Sophia, neither of those hold true.

“What is it, Soph? Now you don’t like people who are friends with the rich?”

She’s taken aback by my words. “I… I…” she stutters, unable to complete her sentence.

I know, given her past, she has every right to be careful of wealth, but her inability to look beyond this has me believingthat there’s no universe where Sophia and I will be happy together.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

I hate the conflicted expression on her face. “I understand you keeping a wary eye, but not every rich man is evil, the same way not every struggling man is worthy. I don’t think there’s anything as an absolute good or bad person. People are never black and white, Soph. We’re all some shade of gray based on situations in life.”

I watch her struggling to believe that fact, which she possibly presumes to be true.

“I’m not upset… but scared.” The foreign word feels heavy in my mouth. “If someday you learn that I did something wrong—perhaps lied to you—I’m nervous you won’t give me a chance to explain.”

“You’re a righteous man, Asher.”

“In every righteous man’s life, there’s a day when he’s the most immoral, and I dread mine, because I feel like I’ll lose the one thing that is slowly becoming most important in my life.”

She digs her teeth into her bottom lip and circles the table. I push my chair back, and it makes a scraping sound before Sophia slides onto my lap. “I don’t like the way I think,” she whispers and buries her face in the crook of my neck. The touch of her lips always has my heart racing. “But it’s hard to stop believing something you’ve trusted all your life.”

---