Page 48 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
When we got to the corridor outside the ballroom, the space was full of people. The ballroom doors were closed.
“Guess they are going to call us one by one,” Damian said as his eyes scanned our competition.
There was a waiting area with chairs and tables filled with water bottles and a coffee station. Immediately, my eyes went to Asher, who was in the corner with Cooper. The men were speaking in hushed tones with their heads together. My mouth went dry as I studied my former Mate. He was wearing all black today, including his tie. His light-brown hair was artfully arranged, and his brown-green eyes held a look of worry.
I smoothed down my black pencil skirt and checked the collar of my black blazer. With a jolt, I realized that Asher and I were matching in all black.
Just like we had matched in all white the night we made love.
As if Asher could read my thoughts, he glanced up. Our eyes met, and when he saw me, a look of immense relief crossed his face. The worry lines on his face cleared, and his mouth bloomed into a bright smile.
Has he been worried about me since the attack?
That thought made the ice around my heart crack slightly.
Even though Cooper seemed to be in the middle of a sentence, Asher began to stride across the room, headed right for me. His eyes never left mine, and my entire body flushed as his eyes slowly traveled down it.
“Are you two going to stand there all day?” a loud, obnoxious voice said from behind Damian and I. “Move over to the side so that other people can get into the room.”
With effort, I tore my eyes away from Asher and looked behind me to see a vaguely familiar-looking man with salt and pepper hair.
Damian frowned at the man’s rudeness.
I gestured to the side of us that was full of open space. “We’re not blocking anything,” I said.
The rude man ignored this and glared at Damian and I. “Don’t waste your time here, kids. This account is as good as mine.”
With that, he left us and walked over to a woman with her hairslicked back into a severe bun who looked like she hadn’t smiled a day in her life.
“Who was that?” I wondered out loud.
“Silas Shepard,” Asher answered.
I spun back around, and my stomach swooped. Asher was closer than I had expected, and his nearness made all of my common sense disappear.
“He’s one of our direct competitors for the account,” Asher continued as his eyes scanned my face. “The woman he’s talking to is Ginger Howard. They are working together on the project. Just like we should be.”
Damian stepped in front of me, blocking Asher.
“That’s not happening,” my brother snapped.
“I was talking to Ivinia,” Asher responded coldly, then looked back at me. “How are you feeling after the attack? How is your injury healing?”
Before I could answer, Damian stepped directly in between us, completely cutting off my view of Asher since my brother was so damn tall.
“Back off,” Damian growled.
Asher’s expression darkened, and he opened his mouth to retaliate, but the ballroom doors opened.
“Asher and Cooper,” Anya called from the doorway. “We are ready to see you now.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Asher said in a gentle voice that made my pulse quicken.
All I could do was stare at him. I was so torn about my feelings for that man. As I watched Asher walk away, my heart ached as the distance between us grew.
Stop right there.
I needed to remember all the reasons I had not to trust Asher. And why was he being so nice to me? Was he just trying to use me to get the Alpha king account? I wouldn’t allow him to use me just to reject me like he had done all those years ago.
