Page 34 of Obsession on Repeat
"Yeah, right. He came in there to see how much drool he could get out of you."
I frowned, looking back at the man in question. "I mean, he’s attractive, but he’s just a guy." I looked over to find her staring at me, her mouth hanging open. "What?"
"You think Asher Lark is just a guy?" She laughed. "Oh, that’s priceless. Vanessa is going to fucking love that."
"I’m missing something, aren’t I?"
"Double Edge?"
"Double what?"
"Piston?"
"Isn’t that in an engine?"
"Girl, you better be yanking my chain. Do you not watch movies at all?"
"Obviously not," I remarked dryly. I crossed my arms and tried to squish the sick feeling that had started to eat at my insides. "Let me guess, he’s an actor."
"Bingo."
"How did he end up co-owning a nightclub?"
"Vanessa and Asher met years ago at a Hollywood party her uber rich parents were hosting. They cooked up the idea to open a nightclub as a way for her to become independently wealthy. He agreed to help finance in exchange for co-ownership, and ta-da, Euphoria was born." She studied the topics of discussion and chuckled. "Pretty sure they were fucking, a lot, but realized they were better off as friends and business partners."
With a groan, I rubbed my forehead. "Remind me later why I needed to know that."
"I figured you would want to know all the dirty details. Besides, you said he was hot."
"He’s our boss!"
She shrugged, unbothered. "Sure. Technically. But this whole thing? It’s Vanessa’s baby. If it crashes, she’s got nothing but old family money and pride to fall back on—and she’d swallow glass before admitting failure." She flicked a glance at me. "He’s got a dozen other projects lined up. Movies. Endorsements. He’ll land fine."
I crossed my arms. "Then why was he still here?"
"He loves to meet new hires, especially the interesting ones."
"Lucky me," I muttered.
Before she could say something snarky in return, Vanessa’s voice cut through the space, sharp and magnetic. "Alright, team!" She clapped once, and the room stilled. "First off, I want to officially introduce our new DJ, Rory, also known as DJ Fetish."
The team clapped on cue. I nodded stiffly.
"Secondly," she continued, "if you have any supply requests, make sure they get to Gina by tomorrow morning. We open in a few hours, so finish your checks. Any issues, come to me or Asher. Let’s have a great night."
11
Ispuntheheavytempo track, watching as the crowd happily danced along. It had been two hours since the club opened, and the entire building was packed wall to wall. The song transitioned into another one, the bass almost rattling the glass around me. Hearing the door open and shut loudly, I turned, surprised to see Asher holding a bottle of water. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Not long. I figured shutting the door would get your attention." He lifted the bottle. "I thought you might be thirsty."
"Oh, thank you." I accepted the bottle, opening it to take a quick sip. "I thought you’d be gone by now."
Chuckling, he approached the glass and looked down at the crowd. "I’ve got nowhere better to be at the moment."
"Surely you have some glamorous party or premiere to attend?"
His eyebrows rose. "So, you do know who I am."
