Page 14 of For Your Consideration

Quinn came over and gave me a hug. “Thanks for coming with me, Sutton.”

“It’s my job,” I reminded her as I pulled back.

“I know but I’m still grateful for you.”

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and ignored the eyes of all the men in the room.

“I’ll walk you out.”

I waved her off. “No, it’s fine. Stay here.”

“I’ve got her,” Asher said, stunning the room into silence.

He hadn’t said anything else aside from a few grunts of agreement or disagreement, I wasn’t sure. I’d been avoiding eye contact with him but there were moments I could feel him watching me.

“I think I can walk down a flight of stairs without incident.”

I finally got the courage to look at him. He was standing now, his arms crossed over his wide chest, and his eyes were on me. He had one eyebrow raised, almost daring me to argue. Which I wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure how.

“I can walk you down if you prefer.” Noah wiggled his eyebrows with a big grin on his face. Asher looked at him, and something must have passed between them because Noah’s smile only grew bigger.

I didn’t bother feeding the fire either way.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said to Quinn rather than be the center of attention any longer.

As I walked out of the room, I was extremely aware of Asher’s intimidating presence behind me. When we made it to the stairs, I couldn’t stand the heavy silence any longer. Mostly because Asher made me feel on edge—maybe in a good way? I didn’t have the time to dissect that.

“Your office is cool, very industrial. I read an article once about the way open-plan layouts encourage collaboration, but you have a lot of offices too which is a great balance. People can get away and work quietly because an open workspace isn’t for everyone but collaboration is still an option.” I cringed at how silly I sounded. Maybe I needed to talk to more adults since outside of work, I only talked to Iris, who was honestly a loose cannon at times, and Sophie, who couldn’t talk back. “Does the office in London look the same?”

He grunted in what I could only assume was affirmation.

“Bye, doll.” Shelly winked at me as I passed her desk.

“I’ll call you for that recipe.”

“Of course. Just get my number from Quinn!”

I waved as I walked out the door that Asher had held open for me. I could still feel him watching me.

“You really don’t have to walk me out. My car is parked close.” I wished I had something to fidget with.

As I was about to say something, I made the mistake of meeting his eye when he fell into step beside me. I locked onto their unique color. They looked more golden today.

My distraction caused me to trip over my own feet. I tried to reach my hands out in front of me but my bag was tangled on my shoulder. I tensed, ready to hit the pavement as I let out a squeal. Then an arm wrapped around my waist and I was able to find my feet again.

Once he was sure I was steady, he dropped his arm and looked at me with an impassive expression. “Thought you could make it without incident?”

My cheeks were a little flushed, both from embarrassment and from the intensity this man wielded around him like a shield. I smiled sheepishly but when he didn’t lose the expression, I adjusted the bag on my shoulder and faked some confidence I didn’t have. “I’ve survived a lot worse than a tumble on the pavement.”

I regretted the words the second they were out of my mouth, especially as his eyes narrowed on me. “Explain.”

Waving him off, I just shrugged. “Nothing.” I cleared my throat. “Thank you for stopping me from getting a bruise. Guess I shouldn’t be so cocky about my walking abilities.” I took a step, my car just ahead of us now.

Asher’s gaze was still burning into me as I dug my keys out of my purse and unlocked my car. Before I could open the door, his hand was there, pulling it open for me. “Thanks.” I smiled as I stepped around him to get into the front seat.

“Drive safe, sweetheart,” he said in his gruff voice a second before he shut the door and stepped back onto the curb.

I fumbled to get the keys in the ignition and reverse, sending a wave over my shoulder at him. He stood there watching me drive away. I saw him still there in my rearview right before I turned the corner.