Chapter 57

Watching Asher lower himself in the seat opposite hers was like watching a poisonous snake get comfortable right in front of her. Tapiwa stiffened.

Pushing the ice cream away from her, she darted a glance around, wondering if the tension she was sure was hanging over her head like a dark cloud had attracted the attention of the few other people in the small establishment. Unfortunately, it hadn't. Everyone remained oblivious to the fact that Tapiwa was facing a nightmare.

"Aren't you going to eat your ice cream?"

The question and casual tone in which it was asked startled Tapiwa. Considering how pissed off he had been the last time she saw him when he discovered she was now living under Jadon's roof, she'd expected much of the same reaction. But the man was unnervingly calm.

Tapiwa stared down at her ice cream regretfully, knowing she wouldn't be finishing it. Pushing the cup away, she picked up her bag, ready to make her escape. Whatever game Asher was playing; she didn't want to be a part of it.

But before she could stand up from her seat, Asher leaned across the table and snagged her wrist. "Not so fast, baby," he hissed.

Somehow, the sudden show of aggression calmed Tapiwa. This was what she had been expecting. Still, her jaw tightened as she hissed back, "Let go or I'll scream."

Asher blinked, as though surprised by her threat. Thankfully, he released her, but he wasn't done with her. "Job hunting?" he asked in a taunting voice, a sneer plastered on his face. "My pathetic brother can't even afford to provide for you for a week. You already have to roam the streets for employment."

Tapiwa ground her teeth together, refusing to rise to the bait and be dragged into a shouting match in such a public, small place. She tried to pull out of Asher's hold, but he tightened his grip until it was painful and Tapiwa knew she would bruise. Still, she fought to get free.

"I want you back."

The words startled Tapiwa long enough to stop her struggles. Her eyes snapped up to meet Asher's gaze in shock. "What?"

Like a switch suddenly flipped, Asher's entire demeanor changed. His hold relaxed a little as he began to rub his thumb over her soon-to-be bruised skin in soothing circles. The taunting in his voice was gone, replaced by seriousness and a hint of desperation.

"You were supposed to be with me," he said, his brows furrowed deep in a frown as he looked at his fingers around her wrist instead of her face. "Jadon has always been jealous and I know he seduced you and tried to take you away from me just to hurt me. I won't let him win. I want you back." He looked up then and added with earnest. "We can still make a great thing out of this. Just give us a shot."

Tapiwa shook her head, not sure if she should ask Asher if he'd lost his mind or was just delusional. "No," she managed to croak out at the same time she finally pulled free from his hold. "No," she said more firmly.

A dangerous, crazed look flashed in Asher's eyes. "Your life will only get harder if you continue to be with Jadon. I can promise you that, Tapiwa."

Tapiwa didn't wait to see or clarify what Asher meant by that. She abruptly turned before he had a chance to grab her again and practically ran out of the ice cream shop.

An hour later, covered in sweat and breathing as though she had just run a marathon instead of the half-mile between the bus stop and Jadon's house, Tapiwa tumbled through the front door and moved to immediately shut and lock it. Her entire body trembled, whether, from anxiety, exhaustion, or just adrenaline, she wasn't sure.

Before she could catch her breath and wonder if she'd seen Jadon's car or his friends out in the driveway, she found herself staring at the answer to the question she never asked as Jadon came rushing down the hallway toward her, concern etched on his face.

"Tapiwa?" He looked over her shoulder at the locked door and then back at her. "What happened?"

Tapiwa tried to speak but what came out was a cough. Her lungs burned, and she just needed a moment to catch her breath. Somehow understanding this, Jadon quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her into the kitchen where he helped her onto a stool and brought her a bottle of water and a towel from the laundry room to mop up some of the sweat she had rolling down her neck and face.

After a few minutes, when she looked calmer and had stopped shaking, Jadon finally sat next to her and held her gaze. "Can you now tell me what spooked you? Did you see the man again?"

The edge in Jadon's voice made Tapiwa feel a little better. She knew he was concerned about her safety and she was sorry she had caused him to worry. Thankfully, she was now able to answer his questions.

So she did. Tapiwa told Jadon about her run-in with Asher and everything the man had said. When she was done, she studied Jadon's tense muscles. He wasn't happy and with good reason, but unfortunately, she wasn't done. "I think Asher might be behind the blackmail and everything," she told him. The idea had been spinning in her head from the time she'd run out of the ice cream shop.

Jadon paused for a second as though contemplating the possibility and then shook his head. "I don't think so. He was ready to kill me when he realized we had slept together. And you just mentioned he thought I seduced you." He shook his head again. "I agree the idea had crossed my mind at some point, but I don't think Asher would have had the guts to do it and put up such an Academy Award performance to throw us off."

Tapiwa threw her arms in the air in obvious frustration. "Well, regardless of who is behind it, my life is screwed. I can't even get a job as a cleaner with our pictures all over the damn internet."

For a beat, Jadon didn't respond. He scratched at the five o'clock shadow on his jaw. Finally, he said, "Then you will work for me. Well us. Kaelo and Ezra will be part of it."

Surprised but curious, Tapiwa gave him her full attention. "Work for you how?"

For the next ten minutes, Jadon explained what he and his friends were trying to do. Tapiwa listened with rapt attention. When he was done, her mind was spinning with possibilities. A kennel of hope and excitement began to bloom in her.

"And you have the funds to get this off the ground?" she asked tentatively.

Jadon nodded. "We all do. We have been hoping to do this for some time, so we each saved up some money just in case we ever got around to actually doing it and getting away from our families. I may have lost the CEO position, but I am not hurting financially. At least, not yet."

"That's good to know," Tapiwa responded quietly, a frown forming between her brows because now that she thought about it, in as much as she might have wanted to work with Jadon and his friends, it had sadly come to Tapiwa's realization that she wasn't qualified to do anything else other than stack books in a library.

"What's wrong?" Jadon asked, his hand reaching out to cap her cheek.

Tapiwa drew a sharp breath but didn't pull away. They stared at each other for a long beat as though both surprised by the move and unwilling to pull away. The sexual tension that had been humming just under the surface seemed to grow hotter.

"Uhm." Tapiwa searched her mind for what she had been thinking about but drew a blank. All she could do was dart her eyes between Jadon's gaze and his mouth. She wanted to kiss him and the thought slammed into her with the force of a freight train, stealing her breath.

At her gasp, however, Jadon seemed to snap out of whatever trance they had been in. He blinked, dropped his hand, and pulled back as though he had been burned. It was like a bucket of ice-cold rejection.

Suddenly, Tapiwa didn't want to be in the same room as Jadon anymore. She remembered what he'd told his friends that morning. He didn't have feelings for her. Yeah, Tapiwa thought with a sinking heart, she had to get out of there. "Uhm. I think." She looked away and got off the stool. "I need a shower."

"Of course," Jadon readily agreed, not even looking at her. That just further compounded the hurt in Tapiwa's chest.

Unable to come up with anything more to say that wouldn't make the situation more awkward or give away how much she was affected, Tapiwa left the kitchen.

It was only as Tapiwa stood under the spray of the shower twenty minutes later that it occurred to her that Jadon might just be honoring her wishes again. Tapiwa groaned and leaned her back against the wall. That stupid rule she had stated. Damn it!