Page 170 of Twisted Truth

“You’re a hell of a lot more than my employee.”

“Yes, but when it suits you to shift things and treat me like an employee, you do. I askedyou, Asher, not Mr. Langford, tohave my back yesterday and to give me a chance to find another solution, and you didn’t. You pushed our relationship, or feelings, or whatever the hell this is aside, and you expected me to go along with your plan, because you are in the position of power. At the end of the day, you’re still my boss and I’m still your employee. And when you are forced to choose between your business and me, you choose your business. I can’t fault you for that—I just don’t want to engage with it anymore. So, I’ll remove the choice. Your business can come first, and I will keep myself out of it, except as my role in the PR team.”

“Fuck, Ella. That’s the last thing I want. I’m so sorry about yesterday. I was sick about it all night. You’re right. I got scared from the threats from the board and I didn’t listen to you. I paid the price for that, believe me. I was out of my mind with worry. And then I nearlylostmy goddamn mind when I finally tracked you down, got a call from you, and heard your fucking ex threatening you with a gun. There is only one other time in my life that I’ve been that scared, and I never want to feel that way again.”

“You won’t have to. Kyle is in jail.”

“And what about the other security threats? I am sorry about how I dismissed you yesterday, but I’m still furious with you for running. If you hadn’t run off, Kyle could never have gotten close to you. I hate that this is your life now, but it is. You can’t just go out and about without security anymore.”

“I know. I’m sorry for that, believe me. I know that was stupid. But I needed space. Yesterday you reminded me forcefully that this is an arrangement. Along the way, I got swept up in the two of us, and I ignored that fact. But you clearly haven’t. This is a PR stunt for your image, and when it runs its course, we’ll go our separate ways.

Asher is silent.

“Unless you’ve changed your mind about ending things eventually.”

“I . . .”

“It’s okay. You were honest up front. You don’t do relationships, and you’re not looking for a future with me. But no matter how hard I try to tell my heart that, I can’t stop it from falling for you. And I can’t keep doing this to myself. It hurts too much.”

“Ella . . .”

“Please don’t make this harder than it already is. I care about you so much, Asher. And if I get in any deeper this is going to destroy me when it’s all over. I need to walk this back before it’s too late.”

“What do you mean, exactly, by walking it back?”

“I’m moving back up into this room, and I’m going to look for a place of my own. I’ll find a secure building, I have the money for it now, and we’ll go back to how things were in the beginning. We’ll go to events, and we’ll do what we need to for the cameras, but in real life, I can’t be anything more than your employee.”

“Please, don’t do this, Ella.”

“I have to. For my own sanity, I have to.”

Asher’s phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and silences the call.

“You should take that.”

“I don’t give a fuck about the call. But I do give a fuck about what you’re saying. You can’t just move out. We can’t just . . . end things between us.”

I finally turn and face him. I place my hand on his cheek. “We have to. Because if we don’t, I won’t make it through when things really do end.”

Asher drops his forehead to mine. “Ella, I don’t want to be without you.”

“There was always a future without me. We just forgot about that and got swept up in the moment and with each other.”

I place a gentle kiss on his lips and scoot out of his embrace.

His phone rings again.

“Please go,” I whisper, my voice quivering with unshed tears. “You’re needed in the office, and I need . . .”

I don’t even know what I need. But I can’t keep myself together for another minute.

“Dammit, Ella, don’t do this,” Asher croaks.

“You know it’s for the best.” A tear slips free. I brush it away and stand, putting more distance between us. “Please go.”

Asher’s eyes look at me with such hurt and defeat that I almost launch myself at him and take back every word I’ve said.

But I can’t.