Page 28 of The Master

I glancedat the clock for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour. I’d wanted to talk to Ashlee last night, but Jailene had advised against it. She’d said that if I felt like I absolutely needed to talk to my girlfriend, I should do it via messaging since that’d make a paper trail. This was going to be my new life, at least until we had a better idea of where things were going.

Fuck.

Less than twenty-four hours had passed since I’d been given those instructions, and I hated them today even more than I had yesterday. Ashlee wasn’t accusing me of anything, and I wasn’t technically her boss anymore, so it was really no one’s business what was going on between us.

I didn’t need to have evidence that my relationship with Ashlee hadn’t been coerced. She and I knew what we were. Who we were. Strengths and weaknesses. The good and the bad.

I wanted to see her.

No, Ineededto see her.

Fuck.

I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. This was not how today was supposed to go. I should have been relaxed – if not rested – after spending a great weekend patching up my relationship with Ashlee. I’d given Flora the fucking money she’d demanded, and that should have been it. She was pissed, whether just because she’d been fired or because I hadn’t wanted her, I didn’t know. Quite frankly, I didn’t care. She was out for revenge.

Calah and Roma should’ve known better. I might not have been as clear with Calah back then, but Roma had no excuse. This wasn’t about them being hurt because they cared about me. For the two of them, it was wanting to hurt me because I wasn’t interested in either of them anymore.

Or maybe it was because they both knew that I’d never cared about them even a fraction of the amount I cared about Ashlee.

I pulled up my email and wrote one out to Jailene, asking where she was with the press release she was supposed to be putting out in response to the rumors. That was step one of her strategy to discredit and destroy.

I might’ve been the one who’d added ‘destroy’ to the plan. In my head. Not to Jailene. That would’ve gotten me one ofthoselooks, and as intimidating as I could be, I didn’t want to cross her.

Except I was considering doing just that by going against her order not to see Ashlee until she said it was okay. I’d never taken orders well, but if they were in line with my self-interest, I’d follow them. I could see the wisdom of this particular direction, but it chafed.

While I waited for Jailene’s response, I pulled up my messages on my phone and read Owen’s text for the twentieth time.

Miss Webb has been handed off to building security. No contact with media made. Returning to apartment building to speak with manager regarding new security measures. Will return at end of work day to retrieve Miss Webb unless otherwise notified.

She was safe, and that was what I needed to keep reminding myself. Owen was a good man, and he’d make sure nothing happened to her. Building security had already been notified by Finley yesterday regarding tightening specific measures. Chris had stationed guards directly inside the doors for immediate ID check. They had instructions to turn away anyone who didn’t have a valid work ID, and anyone who tried to sneak in would be detained until police arrived.

Pictures of Calah, Roma, and Flora had been distributed to every employee housed in the building. If any of them stepped foot on my property, they were to be held while the police were contacted. I had every intention of filing trespassing charges against anyone who didn’t have a valid reason to be on the premises. Determined to prevent as many avenues inside as possible, I’d even promised each company that I’d personally provide catered lunches for everyone until this issue was resolved so no one would have to order in.

Maybe it was overkill, but I wasn’t about to let anyone hurt Ashlee, not when I could prevent it. What point was there to having money if I didn’t use it to protect the people I cared about?

My computer dinged, alerting me to a new email. Jailene’s response was brief.

The press release was distributed at noon today. Both your PR and HR departments have been alerted. Attached is a copy for your records. It remains in your best interest to avoid contact with Miss Webb until I learn the extent to which she has been involved. Should this prove impossible, I strongly encourage you to limit your interactions to avoid being seen together.

I hated this. I hated feeling as if there was something wrong with what Ashlee and I were doing. We were two consenting adults who wanted to be together. We had nothing to be ashamed of, had done nothing wrong, and yet we were the ones who had to skulk around as if we needed to hide.

Fuck that.

I would be smart about it, but I wouldn’t let Ashlee doubt for a second that I wanted everyone to know that she was mine…and that I was hers. That last part was new, and it made the previous part different. In the past when I’d been possessive, it’d been about control. Now, it was about being proud of the woman I’d somehow lucked into having. Well, okay, some of it was being controlling and possessive, but I could feel the difference, even if I couldn’t explain it.

There had to be something I could do that would keep her safe but would still let us be together. I would accomplish whatever was on my agenda for the day, but in the back of my mind, I’d be chipping away at the problem until I found a solution.

Twenty

Ashlee

Some people might’ve beenupset, or at the very least frustrated, if their boss had given them a list of detail-oriented tasks to complete when something crazy was going on in her personal life. In this aspect, I was definitelynotmost people.

I’d been pleasantly surprised by how well Mr. Hancock knew me because he’d given me things that could still be done from home, but none of them were busywork. With all of the rumors and accusations, I needed to feel as if my contribution to Manhattan Records was legitimate. Even if no one outside of A&R saw what I was working on, I’d know that the people whose opinions mattered to me saw me as valuable to the label.

A few people had looked surprised to see me, but the memos everyone had gotten when they’d first arrived had made it clear that any discussion of what was going on would be dealt with swiftly and firmly. The majority of people had already heard the women’s side of things, so even though the memo had mentioned only Calah, Roma, and Flora by name, most of Manhattan Records – if not the entire building – knew that I was involved too, if only due to my relationship with Nate.

All of that had fallen away when I’d started to work. No one bothered me, so as I got into the rhythm of my projects, noise faded to the background and all of the chaos in my head calmed. I didn’t think about the reporters waiting for me at home or the fact that I was probably going to have security with me for the near future. I pushed aside thoughts of all the gossip going around, even if it was mostly outside the building, and reminded myself that Mom was strong enough to handle anything that came her way.

---