Page 87 of In Case You Didn't Know
“There’s the man!” Ben says, shooting upright like he’s a jack-in-the-box. He rushes to shake Hudson’s hand. “I was just telling everybody about the curve we need to make.”
His words fade into nothing, because Hudson isn’t alone.
Asher steps in behind him, tall and devastating in a fitted dress shirt. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, his jacket is in his hand.
His gaze lands on me, sharp and narrow, then moves to the chair Ben recently vacated and narrows even more. Like he’s trying to figure out how I ended up sitting next to him.
“You brought Asher,” Skyler says, her voice lifting like a woman on the edge. “You told me he wasn’t coming.”
Asher gives her a devastating smile. “That’s all my fault. I changed my mind at the last minute.” His gaze locks with mine again. “Don’t worry, I checked in with Martin. He’s making an extra plate.”
Skyler’s already standing up. “Let me grab you a chair.”
“No need,” Asher cuts in smoothly. He crosses to the end of the dining room and grabs a spare chair from the corner like a man on a mission, swinging it around to slide it in next to Hudson. Then, without hesitation, he slides into Ben’s seat like he can’t stand the thought of another man being close to me for one more minute.
“That one was taken,” Skyler points out. She gives me a sly look.
“Ben can sit with Hudson,” Asher says mildly. “Looks like they have a lot to catch up on.”
Ben is currently talking off Hudson’s ear about something. The man himself keeps looking at the table like he’s trying to find an out from a conversation that most certainly contains every buzzword in the finance bro book.
Hudson murmurs something I can’t hear, and Ben nods earnestly. He comes back to sit back in his chair and does a double take when he sees Asher sitting there.
“Oh. Uh, that was my seat.”
Asher looks at him with an infuriating calm expression. “It was, but I figured Hudson would love you to sit next to him. He was telling me all about your work on…”
“Equity yields,” Ben tells him, looking delighted.
“That’s it. He was telling me how he could listen to you talking about them all night.”
Skyler snorts into her sparkling water. Ben blinks, then turns to look at Hudson.
“Great, I have a lot of things I need to run past him.”
Before he’s even taken his new seat, Ben is rambling away at Hudson, who glances at Asher, frowning. He’s trying to work out what’s going on. Skyler looks at us all delighted, seeing Hudson starting to get payback for being late.
Asher pulls out his phone, grinning when he reads the screen. He turns it so I can see it.
Remind me why I invited you? – Hudson
Asher taps out a reply, still letting me watch.
Technically, I invited myself. – Asher
Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he lets his leg brush against mine. I lift a brow at him. We’re supposed to be playing it cool here.
But he smiles back, leans in, and whispers low enough so only I can hear:
“Missed you.”
Just two words. But they knock the air out of me more than any teasing touch.
“Dinner is served,” Martin says, opening the door to the dining room. He’s in his chef’s whites, that have somehow remained unsullied despite cooking for hours. Two of the wait staff from the hotel carry in the plates.
“Oh Ben,” Skyler says, leaning forward. “Tell Hudson about that podcast you listened to the other day,” she says brightly. “How long was it?”
“Three hours, but worth it.” He turns to Hudson. “It’s really hard to condense into a short soundbite.” He laughs. “This may take some time.”
