Page 8 of Emergency Exit
This time, Ash felt confident in his answer.
“Irreconcilable differences. Turns out her definition of the truth is different from mine.”
“Ouch. But, well, breakups happen. Why does anyone care?”
Ash paused as a waiter walked by and wondered if he should have tried to have this conversation someplace more private.
“For one thing, she’s Van Lanken and no one breaks up with a Van Lanken.”
“What’s a Van Lanken?” asked Harper, leaning closer to him and resting her chin in her hand.
“I love you so much right now. Maybe we should skip dating and just get married.”
Harper shook her head, disbelief all over her face. Across the room, a group of women laughed uproariously at a story one of them was telling. It was one of the reasons Ash liked the bar. It always seemed more like a hang-out for friends than a date night spot. He clung to that impression and tried to keep his eyes off Harper’s lips.
“The Van Lankens are one of the twentieth-century robber baron families that built railroads and libraries or some shit. You’ll see their names on buildings and histories of Congress.”
“Doesn’t that just mean that they killed a bunch of immigrants, bribed some politicians, and paid loads of money to get their names over a door?”
“Uh... Yeah, that’s what it usually means,” said Ash, who hadn’t previously thought about it like that. “But they’re related to the Roosevelts, Vanderbilts, and everyone who has shaped politics for the last century and a half.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure that being so inbred you could be classified as a sandwich is really a plus.”
Ash froze with his drink halfway to his mouth and tried to decide whether to laugh or gasp in shock. “Are you sure you don’t want to get married?”
“I’m concerned for your mental health. Why does being married to me sound appealing?”
“Because then I could follow you around and watch you traumatize people with the truth. It would be hilarious.”
“You can do that without a ring.”
“Legally, though?”
Harper chuckled and took a sip, her eyes twinkling over the rim of the glass. She was beautiful, but she clearly didn’t get what dating a Van Lanken meant to his social sphere. She would never agree to his plan if she didn’t understand the need. Ash looked for the right words. This was what he was good at.
“Ever since I broke up with Emma, everyone treats me like I’ve gone insane. I didn’t realize it then, but there was the perception that I had the old money seal of approval and the deep pockets that go with that. For the record, their pockets aren’t that deep—old money runs out eventually. And maybe I could ride it out, but I’ve got a couple of big projects dropping soon, and for the first time, I’ve been asked to vet the purchase of a firm with the US government. I know that doesn’t sound big, but I’m not a lawyer, and I had to go through some base-level Top Secret Clearance bullshit to even get on the team. Also, I’m pretty sure my brother had to swear on a stack of Bibles and the Marine Corps handbook that I’m not a terrorist.”
Harper looked confused.
“My older brother was in the Marines. He owns his own Security firm now. But the point is, now is not a good time for people to think I’m not with it.”
Ash didn’t add the part about industrial espionage. He could not afford for anyone to know about that, and while he was crazy enough to ask Harper to fake date him, he wasn’t crazy enough to reveal the company-sinking secret to a near stranger.
“But short of posting my financial records online and getting a letter from a psychiatrist swearing that Asher Valkyrie is totallysane, there isn’t much I can do to convince everyone that the company is fine. Investors are a finicky lot. I can’t afford the aura of instability. I need to look normal.”
“Valkyrie... Wait a minute... Your brother owns Valkyrie Development?”
“Yeah! That’s Forest. He builds stuff. My oldest brother Rowan is Valkyrie Security. They provide security for businesses and people.”
Harper stared at him, her expression puzzled. “Um…No?”
“No?”
“That is not factually accurate.”
Asher didn’t think anyone had ever told him he was being inaccurate about his own family before.
“Yes. Those are their companies.”
