The CEO That Won My Heart

Chapter 2~The Unknown Plan...

Asher’s P.o.v

Harper and I laughed as she poured us another glass of wine each. We were having a great time and it had been a while. A long while...

Andrew had never liked Harper and hated that we were friends. I remember he constantly tried to convince me to fire her and stop speaking to her... Which I could never do.

After all, I came here after that shock because she was the closest thing to family I had. I couldn't stay there with him when he felt he wasn't wrong for sneaking around with Bella. I couldn't be near someone who felt okay with shattering someone else's heart like that. He had hurt me deeply, and I was not going to forgive it.

So many times he tried to take me from my friends that I had made...

So many times he told me where to be at industry parties...

It was always for control...

My body shakes slightly as I remember these things...

Andrew had never been good for me... Or to me at that...

He never cared to celebrate holidays with me - I was always alone for those...

“Well, I'm sorry Harp, but that’s it for me after this glass. Andrew still expects me at work tomorrow—on time,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Besides, the more shoots mean a better chance of making it into the Top 5.”

"Even though I want to get away from Andrew, Bella, and Emperor Entertainment altogether, Andrew is right about one thing—I am still locked in a contract for the next year. The only way out is to pay a $1.9 million cancelation fee. I can't afford that, and he knows it. I am stuck, and he knows it. He loves it. Harp, it's like he's relishing this pain."

"Asher, I think he is. He and Bella definitely have an agenda. We need to get ahead of it. First and foremost, don't argue back in public. I know that's going to be hard, but it will just make them look good."

Harper’s phone vibrated, bzzzz bzzzz.

She picked it up, and she glanced at the screen before turning to me, her expression shifting slightly.

“Okay… there’s something you should know,” she said hesitantly, her eyes shooting down. She was worried.

Suddenly, my anxiety was up again.

If Harp was worried, I would become worried.

We had a connection in that way. Sympathy pains we called it- emotional, physical, and mental...

My stomach tightened, as if it was in a knot. “What is it?”

This was bad news and I knew it... It was only a matter of what the bad news actually was... The knot tightened more.

“Well… two things.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “First, Andrew and Bella have just announced their engagement—and they lied about what happened between you and him.”

I stiffened, my pulse quickening. “What do you mean? What did they say?”

She held up a hand. “We’ll get to that later. You can look at the company email when you're ready for that fully. The second thing—do you remember how I mentioned my brother was really important and respected?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. Why?”

My stomach was turning to the point of nausea now. That was hard to swallow. What had they said about me, Andy, and Bella? My brain was going in circles trying to absorb all the events.

Harper smirked slightly. “Well, he invited both of us to his club tomorrow night.”

I exhaled, forcing my thoughts away from Andrew and Isabella’s announcement. “Sweet. Hell yes.” I grinned, taking another sip of wine.

“Party weekend, then?” she teased.

I nodded, my mood lifting. “Definitely.”

She suddenly gave me a knowing look. “Actually… did you happen to peek at your schedule for this upcoming week?”

I narrowed my eyes. “You know damn well I didn’t. I ever do.” I laughed.

Her grin widened. “Well, thanks to my contacts, like jewelry, clothes, and even make-up—and Evey’s magic—you just scored a photo shoot with Claire Boutuer.”

I gasped. “Boutuer Jewels?! Are you serious?” My excitement bubbled over. “Harper, how do you do this? Where do you even get these connections? It's like magic.”

She shrugged, looking pleased with herself. “Former model perks. Well, that and my brother has helped over the years.”

Lucky. She was one of the lucky ones. Connections like that were everything in this industry. Any model who had connections was well known and respected.

“The Boutuer shoot will take up to three days,” she continued. “You’re only ‘in the office’ on Thursday, but on Friday, you have a runway show booked. It's for Zarule'. ”

I leaned back in my seat, satisfied. “Sounds good. The more exposure, the better.” Top 5 here I come.

Finishing off my wine, I grabbed some pajamas from my bag—out of the ones Harper had brought in for me earlier.

“You remember where the guest room is, right?” she asked as I did this.

I nodded, waving goodnight to her as I headed upstairs. "I'll look into the Andrew and Bella fiasco in the morning before we get to the office."

I still had a toothbrush from my last girls’ night here, so I went straight to the guest room, changed, and brushed my teeth. Finally, I climbed into bed and switched off the lamp on the nightstand. I knew tomorrow would be a s**t show, but for now, I needed to relax and get my beauty sleep.

Andrew and Bella were not going to succeed at bringing me down, and I knew that Harper would help me. The first step was ignoring them in the public eye.

Next, we would do my shoots and runway appearances with grace and professionalism. The focus was on us from the judges of the "Top Model Award" and I was going to make sure they saw me as graceful, professional, and most of all, beautiful.

They thought what they were doing would hurt me, but they were simply teaching me to be careful of who I trust. I've been through enough to know I have the strength and will to push on and do my best. Losing my entire family when my parents passed away proved that to me.

I was strong.

Resillient. Capable. Beautiful. Prepared.

I knew what I had and knew that I could get to the top. All I had to do was push on and bust my ass. Like my adopted father taught me, if I put my best effort in, I can accomplish anything I want to.

He was a wise man who was almost always right. He had even been right about mine and Andrew's relationship...

Now I was learning the hard way for ignoring wise words. And I wished desperately he was here now to help kick my ass to get it together.

I sigh and take a few deep breaths. Tomorrow I would look at the company email to see what they put out, and deal with work.

As soon as I closed my eyes, sleep came quickly.