揑 do, Dad,?is Oliver抯 hasty answer.
Our father nods. 揋ood. Now, we need to go over the team for the Warner Communications transition. I was planning to have Crew oversee everything, but he抣l be busy over the next few months, before and after the wedding.?
My brain homes in on the phrases few months and after the wedding. 揟here抯 a date set for the wedding??
揘othing official yet. We抣l let the engagement announcement settle for a few days before announcing one. The wedding planner said she could pull something together by early June.?
June? 揓une??It抯 mid-April. I抦 not opposed to marrying Scarlett. Mildly intrigued, even, following our conversation at Proof on Friday night. But six weeks feels close梒laustrophobic. I wonder if her father has even told her we抮e officially engaged yet.
揟his agreement has been in place for nearly a decade, Crew. If you had objections, we抮e far past the point to raise them. The press release is going out tomorrow.?I love how my father makes pushing your sixteen-year-old into a future engagement sound normal. I don抰 even remember what our conversation back then consisted of. Probably lots of nodding on my part.
揑抦 not objecting, Dad. Just asking.?
揓osephine Ellsworth is handling the wedding logistics. Scarlett is her only child. I抦 sure she抣l keep you appraised, probably with more than you want to know. Now, what do you think about assigning Billingston to lead Warner? He had the experience at Paulson with厰 My father continues to talk through the strengths and weaknesses of all the executives not currently on assignment. I lean back in the chair and scratch notes on a legal pad to refer to later.
Eight fifteen a.m., and I抦 ready to call it a day.
I walk into my office and stop. Take a few steps back. Glance at the nameplate. 揊or a second, I thought I had the wrong office. But no. This is my office.?
揟hat joke gets funnier every single day you do it, man.?
揙ff.?
Asher Cotes doesn抰 move his feet from the corner of my desk. 揋ood morning to you too.?
揑 mean it, Cotes. I抦 not in the mood.?
揥as Roman thirty seconds late to pick you up again??my best friend teases.
I snort as I stalk toward my chair. 揑 was late for a meeting with our entire accounting division on Friday because of that delay.?
揟oo bad your name抯 not on the letterhead. I抦 sure they chewed you out.?
They didn抰， and we both know it. The vice president actually apologized, thinking he got the time wrong. I don抰 tell Asher that.
揟hat抯 how my dad runs things. Not me.?I unbutton my suit jacket and take a seat behind the massive mahogany desk.
Asher settles back in one of the leather chairs facing me. Feet still up. 揥hat pissed you off this morning, then??
I pick up a Montclair and spin it around one finger, debating on what to say. Fuck it, he抣l find out soon enough. 揗y engagement is getting announced tomorrow.?
Asher抯 eyes widen to a comical size. 揟o Scarlett Ellsworth??
I nod. Set the pen down, then pick it back up. 揝he was at Proof on Friday night.?That fact won抰 be included in the engagement announcement. I don抰 know why I say it.
揇amn,?is Asher抯 initial reaction. 揑 knew I should have skipped dinner with my folks. How did she look??
Like a fantasy. 揊ine.?
揟hat good, huh??Asher isn抰 being sarcastic. His tone has turned admiring. He may not come from the sort of money Scarlett and I do, but his family is still wealthy. He抯 attended events she抯 been at before. He抯 seen the thick dark hair and the perennially red lips and the figure that hijacks rational thoughts.
I don抰 want to be married to a woman every guy I know is lusting after. A woman I抦 attracted to. It抯 a complication I don抰 need or want in a part of my life I抳e always kept simple and easy.
Scarlett Ellsworth isn抰 simple. She抯 most definitely not easy. She抯 smart and fiery and determined and sassy. And wherever she goes, she抯 always the most stunning woman in the room.
She抯 the sort of woman men go to war for, yet I didn抰 have to do a single thing to win her. Our fathers decided our fates for us nearly a decade ago. I could fight it, but for what? The Ellsworths and the Kensingtons are the two wealthiest, most prominent families in the country. Marrying anyone else besides Scarlett would be marrying down.
揑 talked to her,?I admit as I spin the pen around my pointer finger.
I抳e avoided conversation with her for years. We抳e exchanged small talk. Pleasantries. Compliments, like she pointed out. Nothing of substance. Nothing about us. We both knew it wouldn抰 change anything.
Asher抯 eyebrows shoot upward. 揜eally??
揥hat I just said, isn抰 it??
He rolls his eyes at my sarcasm. 揝he came up to you??