“We’re going here…?” Daphne asked, raising her eyebrows at the five star hotel in front of them.

  Not only am I way underdressed, but did I perhaps misjudge him? She looked down at her business casual clothes. There was a thread that had long since been pulled out right over belly button, and her pants were in desperate need of a hemming.

  Asher let out a ugh. “It’s not what you think,” he said, holding his hands up. “My friend is the owner of the restaurant inside. I figured if I was going to treat you to dinner again, I might as well treat you to the best of the best.”

  Daphne felt the tension in her shoulders loosen. “Oh,” she replied, letting out a heavy breath. “The restaurant. Of course.” She turned and looked at him, a grimace forming on her face. “But aren’t I a bit underdressed for that?” she suggested.

  He grabbed one of her hands, intertwining his fingers between hers. “If you’re underdressed, than so am I,” he said. He gestured to his outfit with his freehand. His outfit was probably most accurately described as comfortable business casual. He wore a button up shirt with no tie, and scks that looked closer to colored jeans than true dress pants.

  She nodded sharply at him. “Right,” she said. Her heart was running wild with the sensation of their fingers touching.

  Hopefully my hands aren’t too sweaty.

  “André is one of my oldest friends,” he informed her as he gently tugged on her hand, pulling her towards the hotel. “And I’ve always introduced all of the women I was considering dating to him before I committed,” Asher told her as they entered the lobby.

  She looked over at him puzzled. “Why?” she asked.

  Asher smirked. “André cims he can smell crazy,” he joked. He chuckled a little. “But you’ll see why,” he replied.

  They walked up to the restaurant, and Asher promptly told the hostess that they had a reservation. They were quickly escorted to their table and handed the menus.

  Her heart thudded in her chest, unsure of what to expect from either Asher or André.

  I hate tests like this. She scanned the menu, the pressure growing in her stomach. There were no prices on the menu, increasing the weight in her belly. Asher may come from money, but that doesn’t mean I should just blow all of it.

  She looked up at him, reading his own copy of the menu. She studied him closely. She couldn’t help but pout at him, despite the swirling emotions inside of her. At the end of the day, she was just happy to spend time with him.

  “I missed you,” she murmured. “It’s been hellish the past couple of weeks, not seeing you at all.”

  Asher looked at her over the edge of his menu, and she noticed the color of his cheeks deepening. His brown eyes met hers. “I missed you too,” he murmured softly. “It felt like forever.”

  The waiter came up and took their orders. She noticed that Asher had completely put his phone away. It wasn’t even on the table. She followed suit, grateful that he wasn’t the type to be glued to his phone.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but your card has been declined,” the hostess loudly excimed at the front of the restaurant. Daphne wrinkled her brows.

  “What do you want me to do?” a man’s voice asked. “Regurgitate the food?” He sighed heavily. “That’s the only card I have. My wife must have maxed it out again.”

  “Well, I can’t let you leave the restaurant without paying,” the hostess replied sharply.

  Daphne bit her bottom lip, overhearing the conversation. She looked over at Asher, who’s brows also seemed to be furrowed.

  Daphne waved down their waiter as the racket at the front of the restaurant continued. “How much is that gentleman’s bill?” she asked, gesturing to the front of the store.

  “It’s sixty-six dolrs, ma’am,” the waiter replied with a smile.

  Daphne chewed on her lip. That’s kind of expensive. Can I really afford to cover someone else’s bill after my shopping trip with Holly?

  “What’s on your mind?” Asher asked. Daphne looked at him. He was looking at her pensively.

  “I guess I’m just not sure what happens if you can’t pay your bill at a restaurant,” she admitted. “So, I was thinking about paying his bill for him, and if I could afford it,” she said, gesturing over towards the man at the entrance with the hostess.

  Asher’s face blossomed into a smile. He looked over at the water. “Tell André she passed the test.”

  “Yes, sir,” the waiter said with a small bow and a cat-like smile on his face.

  Daphne’s jaw dropped as she watched the waiter walk away. “That was André’s test?” she asked.

  Asher chuckled, his ugh deeper than usual. “It was,” he replied. “It’s a test to make sure you’re not just after me for money,” he said. “As I figured you would, you passed with flying colors.”

  Daphne blushed, wringing her hands under the edge of the table. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

  Asher’s smile widened. “I told you it wouldn’t be. You didn’t seem like the type.”

  Daphne looked over at André, who saluted Asher before disappearing back into the kitchen.

  “I’ve always just wanted to be self-sufficient,” Daphne replied with a small smile. “All I wanted was to get away from my family and find happiness.”

  Asher looked at her quizzically. “Are you not on good terms with your family?” he asked.

  Daphne shrugged. “We were on worse terms before recently, but no, otherwise.”

  He nodded. “My mother passed away some time ago,” he said.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Daphne replied. “My father also passed away a couple of years ago.”

  Asher nodded. “I was never a really big fan of my father, especially with how he treated my mother. But I’ve been working closely with him tely.”

  She nodded and then turned her head off to the side a little. “It’s the same with my mother,” she said. “She treated my father terribly. It was never something I could get over with her.”

  He nodded, his eyes meeting hers, filled with mencholy.

  In her stomach, Daphne suspected that Asher might be someone who could understand the pain she felt with her mother. I’ve never met anyone who could understand the painful parts of my life.

  “You said you’ve been working closely with your father tely,” Daphne said, turning the conversation back to Asher. “Is that why you’ve been so busy tely?”

  Asher nodded. “It is,” he said. “My father is getting ready to retire.”

  Daphne’s eyes widened. “I didn’t realize he was that old,” she said.

  “He’s not,” Asher replied, pursing his lips. “But he seems really busy and distracted these days. I think he may have found a new woman.” He sighed and shook his head. “All that to say, he has been training me to take over his position.”

  Daphne’s mouth fell open again a little. Her heart sunk in her chest. I guess it is almost that time when he quit before.

  “Oh,” she murmured. “I see.”

  Asher nodded, looking sad. “So, I am thinking that I will likely be quitting soon. I suspect it will be right around Thanksgiving.”

  Daphne pressed her lips together hard, and nodded slightly. Her heart sunk into her chest further, and her stomach started to get twisted up. “That’s soon, then,” she said.

  I hope he doesn’t leave before we get a chance to define…whatever this is.

  “Are you disappointed?” Asher asked, his face earnest.

  “A little,” Daphne admitted with a small, nervous ugh. “I really enjoy getting to see you at work,” she added. “It feels like my day is a brighter when I get a chance to see you.”

  Asher’s ears turned red, and he looked at the table, a cute grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “I feel the same,” he murmured.

  It was Daphne’s turn to redden. “I hate that you’re leaving,” she muttered.

  “You’ve been talking about leaving yourself, though,” Asher pointed out, his eyes meeting hers. “So it was bound to happen eventually, One of us was going to leave.”

  Daphne pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, nodding. “You’re right,” she said. “But I hope you know I’m looking for a different job because I can’t stand Trevor. Not because I don’t like seeing you at work.”

  Asher chuckled. “How could I not know that?” he asked. “How is all of that going anyway? Have you gotten any interviews?”

  Daphne shook her head. “I haven’t really gotten contacted at all,” she replied, twirling her fork around on the table. “With the exception of a few rejections here and there.”

  Asher frowned, his eyebrows drawn together. “That’s really surprising,” he said. “I figured someone would want to snatch someone of your caliber right up.”

  Daphne shrugged as the waiter came up with their food, gently pcing the ptes down in front of each of them. “Anything else I can get the both of you?” the waiter asked.

  “No thanks,” Asher said with a polite smile. “We’ll let you know if we need anything.”

  “Great,” the waiter replied. “Enjoy.”

  He walked away, and Daphne picked up her fork, looking back at Asher. He let out a deep breath. “What would you think about coming and working for me?” he asked.

  “Hmm?” Daphne asked, putting a forkful of her food into her mouth as he asked the question. Her heart stuttered in her chest.

  I never even considered that I might be able to work for the Hawthorne Company.

  Asher was biting his lower lip in the corner. Cute.

  “We have a project manager team that could use someone as capable and dependable as you,” he said. “Plus you wouldn’t be required to work super long hours, and you wouldn’t be overloaded with project work.” His smile was stretching across his face, looking more and more gleeful. “You wouldn’t have to deal with Fiona either.”

  Daphne swallowed her food, still surprised by his offer. “But what if people found out the nature of our retionship?” she asked. “Then it’s going to look like you gave me a position just because you like me, isn’t it?” She pressed her lips together tightly to stifle the smile she could feel growing. She was happy he had offered in the first pce.

  “Even if that’s true, you’re competent enough that I’d offer you a job even if I didn’t have feelings for you. You’re competent enough to blow any rumors like that out of the water.”

  She let the smile blossom across her face. “Thank you for the opportunity,” she said.

  “Would it still be alright if you interviewed with the team?” Asher asked. “I just want to make sure that it’s at lest less likely you will be seen as a biased hire, even if our…retionship…were to become public. Plus, I’m sure the manager over that space will insist on it.”

  “Of course,” Daphne said with a nod. “I think I’d prefer it that way anyway.”

  Her heart felt lighter in her chest. We may not be working in the same department anymore, but there’s at least an opportunity that we’ll get to see one another at work. Her heart started to balloon in her chest at the thought.

  “Alright,” Asher said, taking his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll set up the time and let you know.”

  He wrote a few things on the screen before the phone slipped back into his pants pocket. Daphne let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding. He is nothing like Gary. What a relief.

  She continued eating, considering who else she might be leaving to follow Asher to his company. Holly and Landon… What will happen to them? She remembered how upset Landon seemed earlier that day. I’m sure me leaving will make that friendship hard to continue. It’s already hard enough to continue because of his feelings for me.

  She swallowed hard, thinking of Holly. I promise to do everything I can to maintain a friendship with her. I really enjoy the time I spend with her.

  In spite of all of the positive changes that were coming into her life, she felt a pit growing in her stomach. With how much things have changed, it’s hard to know what is going to be coming next. Will the killer still be after me, even if I leave the company?

  She swallowed hard and looked at Asher again. His eyebrows were drawn close together, and he was studying her closely. “Are you alright?” he asked.

  Daphne nodded. “I was just thinking about how sad it will be to leave Holly,” she answered.

  Asher nodded. “It seems you both have gotten close.”

  Daphne smiled, forlorn. “We have,” she agreed.

  Even if I don’t know what’s coming, there is one thing I do know for sure.

  “After we’re done eating, would you like to go on a walk with me?” Asher asked, a smile growing on his face again.

  “That sounds lovely,” Daphne replied, smiling back. Her heart warmed, skipping beats in her chest.

  I’m happy. I’m happier than I think I’ve ever been.

  She felt a grin on her face as she took another bite of food, her heart aglow in her chest. I could get used to this.