Chapter 3

Ultimatum 

The good thing was I didn't live with Asher, so I didn't arrive to a tensed home. 

I fell on my bed and got some sleep even before I realized that I hadn't freshened up. 

A call woke me up an hour later. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was my mom. 

"Hello, mom," I said into the phone in a sleepy voice. 

She noticed. "Sorry, did I wake you up?" 

"Yeah, mom. But that's fine. I slept off."

"Oh, was anxious to know how your day went. You know you told me all about the assessment and that it was today."

I smiled. Well, she didn't forget about that. "Yes, mom. I did. And I got the contract."

"That's amazing."

"Yeah, and my boss also gave me what you could call a promotion."

Elaina Monro gasped. "Oh, my god! That calls for a celebration. What are the both of you planning?" 

"The both of us?" I asked, not getting what she meant. 

"You and Asher, of course."

I sighed. "No, mom. We haven't planned anything yet."

"Oh. Why not?" 

I shrugged, even though she couldn't see. "We haven't spoken since the close of work."

"Maybe he'll surprise you. I'm counting on that."

I couldn't agree with her but I didn't want to argue anyway. "Did you get what you needed today, mom?" 

Elaina sighed on the other end of the call. "I did. But the man made some fuss. Eventually, he respected your father's name and granted me what was mine. Your father's name still has it uses, darling."

"Don't say it like that, mom," I said. 

"Say it like how?" 

"Say it like his name it's some kind of tool," I told my mother. 

"I had no other choice, Naomi. It was that or nothing. I had to go for the latter. Look, don't worry yourself too much about that. Now that we have the port, things will get better. It's been a long time coming, you know, and I was only too glad to accept to take the port. 

"Those men have just been skimming money off that place and I have done nothing about it. But that's going to be in the past now. We are in control. You just do your job and I'll do mine."

It was the one thing I loved about my mother. She could be the gentlewoman when she wanted to be. But trying to be in control was not one trait that she carried. In fact, it was a first. 

I only hoped it didn't bring more bad than good, just the way it was getting me. 

We ended the call on a good note and I peeled the clothes off my body and took a shower. 

Asher's call came in just as I was walked out clad in a white towel. I blinked twice and answered the call. 

"I'm at the door," he said. 

"My door?" 

"Yes," he responded. 

"Aren't you coming in?" I went ahead to ask. 

"Been knocking for a while."

"My door isn't locked, Ash," I told him. "And I was in the bathroom."

"Well, it seems you are out now. Come out and open the door for me," with that he ended the call. 

I wasn't sure if this was the same Asher I used to know. He was acting very strange and different. Asher always loved to come to my house when I wasn't even expecting, all in the name of surprising me. 

There was a time I had told him to limit the way he did such. Sometimes, it just scared the hell out of my bones. But he was strongheaded and wouldn't stop. 

Very surprising that he was asking me to go open the door for him, when he was just on the steps. 

I dropped my phone and went to the door. He walked in when I opened it, saying nothing. 

I found him in the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee for himself. 

"You don't want to sleep tonight?" I asked him. 

"I really don't care about sleeping right now," he replied, the cup covering his nose. 

"Do you have an assessment to work on?" I asked, remembering the one that Henry had asked me to look into. I wondered if it was the right time to bring that up. 

He shook his head from side to side. "I want us to talk about you." He folded his hands, still holding the cup of coffee. 

Maybe it was good I had slept for an hour because I had a feeling it was going to be a long talk. But it wasn't something I was prepared for. 

"You could have called me earlier, Ash. Told me about this talk you want us to have."

"I thought about it, you know. But it just sort of escaped my memory. I'm sure you understand how work can be now."

I nodded my head in understanding and sighed. "Yeah, I get it. So?" 

"Congratulations on your achievement today, love. I haven't told you that, and I'm sorry. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Ash."

"But there is also something that I want you to know, love. And it's going to do you a lot of good. Like saving your career."

I didn't know where he was going with all that. "My career."

"Yes. As a matter of fact, you are the center of attention right now. Not just because you got an early promotion, but because you are new. And the old takers do not want the newbies to dull their shine."

I said nothing. He came close to me. "The food chain, my love. Right now, you are at the bottom of that chain. The ones are the top are never going to let you climb to their private space, no matter what Henry Vance would do for you."

I was shocked to hear him say that. My heart began to beat fast. "Are you joking?" 

"This is no joke, Naomi."

"But you.. you are going to protect me, right? You won't let anything happen to me?" 

He gave me a warm smile. "Of course, I can do that. I can protect you. But you and I have to agree on one thing, Naomi."

"Anything you want, Ash," I said, unsure what he was going to say, but convinced that it wouldn't be something overwhelming. 

He held up a finger and went to refill his cup. Then he walked back to me, took a sip, and said," You'll have to stop whatever it is you are doing well, Naomi. "

It took me some moments to digest what he was saying. "Are you asking me to kill my ambition?" 

He did that nonchalant shrug of his. "If that is what you call it, then yeah."

"What?" 

"Look, I would never have asked you to do this if it wasn't for your own good."

"Ash, you and I both know how long we have been working on your career. Now it's my turn, you're telling me that I need to shut myself down?" 

"Hey, hey, don't get it all twisted. It's that easy. You get an assessment, you do a bad job. You don't do a good job. The board asks for a smart report from you, do it the other way."

"Like a fool? Then what would be my use in the company? Henry will kick me out."

"I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen, love. He just won't take you serious anymore. You'll still have your job, your career. Plus, you'll still have me."

That hit harder. "No, no, don't do that." 

"Don't do what?" 

"Don't tell me that you're not going to continue with this relationship if I don't agree to do this. I mean, this is preposterous!"

He shrugged, and gulped all the coffee. "This is the only way to stay at the company. It's your new reality, baby. The hardest choices are always the best. You have until tomorrow."