Asher's smile lingered, that infuriating mix of mischief and confidence— too familiar, too practiced. But Jade had had her own cup of sure people. She had dealt with worse. And now, Charisma didn't rattle her. Neither did ego. Not anymore.
With a controlled breath, she allowed circled the desk. Her heels clicking softly with every step. "Have a seat, Mr. Cross," she said coolly, motioning to the sleek chair opposite hers. "We will start with a structured session."
Asher didn't move at first. He just studied her with that unreadable look as if weighing his options. Then, with a lazy kind of grace, he sank into the chair, spreading out like he owned it. One arm draped over the side, legs apart, posture deliberately casual.
"Structured," he echoed, like the word amused him.
But Jade ignored it. She rather settled into her own chair, crossing her legs. And flipping open her notebook without giving him a glance. With her pen poised above the first clean page.
You know what he is, she reminded herself. A storm in expensive clothing. Don't get pulled into the eye of it. She mentally cautioned.
"Let's begin," she said, her tone clipped and professional. "Today, I'll just be asking questions. Which you'll answer honestly. No calculated answers. I won't be analyzing or unpacking anything just yet. This is for baseline observation."
"Sounds sexy," he murmured. His face obvious with those devious smile of his.
But she still didn't look up. "If at any point you can't handle the process, feel free to say so. But note, walking out on this means consequences with your board."
A low chuckle escaped Asher's lips. "You always open with threats?"
She finally met his gaze, sharp and unwavering. "Only when I expect the subject to test boundaries."
That silenced him for half a beat.
And it was enough.
"Let's start with something simple," Jade said, flipping to her first note. "Describe your daily routine. Not your PR life. Not your nightlife. Just the hours between waking and sleep."
Asher leaned back, studying the ceiling for a moment like it might entertain him. "Wake up... Occasionally alone, sometimes not. Workout... Meetings I half-listen to. Emails I don't answer. Maybe a lunch? Always followed by something stronger. Evenings? Pick your poison."
"And sleep?" she asked, still pening her observations so far.
Asher tilted his head. "Rare. Short. Unremarkable."
She wrote that down as well. And then, went on to ask the next question. Without sparing him a glance. "Do you ever feel lonely, Asher?"
That, at last, made him pause. It seem to drum home lots of emotions. His smirk faltered— barely. But Jade caught it. She always did. Being the vigilant type.
"You're not wasting time," he muttered.
"I don't have time to waste," she replied evenly.
He watched her for a long beat. "Lonely's a strong word. Don't you think?" He answered, trying to be sacarstic.
"It's a common one," she said.
Asher didn't respond. And Jade didn't push— not yet. Instead, she shifted slightly in her seat, mentally drawing the lines she wouldn't let him cross.
You're not here to get pulled into his orbit, she told herself. You're here to hold the line.
But even then, as she flipped the page and asked the next question, she could feel it— the undercurrent. Like static just waiting to spark. If not of his escapedes, he was just her type. Her kind of man.
And Asher Cross? He was all lightning. Jade's pen hovered, waiting for the answer which never seem to come. She looked at last, studying him as if she could see straight through the cultivated arrogance.
"Describe your childhood." She asked, her gaze fixed on him as she adjusted the lenses on the bridge of her nose.
Asher's smile came quickly, almost too quickly. "Privileged. Expensive. The usual billionaire origin story minus the cave and the trauma."
Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't ask for your sarcasm. I asked for facts."
He shrugged, fingers drumming lazily against the armrest. Like it's some form of recitals. "Boarding schools. Tutors. Nannies who were paid more than most doctors. My parents were… busy."
"Distant?" she asked.
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
That earned her a flicker of something— his gaze cut toward her sharply, like she had stepped too close to a raw edge.
But in the next second, the grin returned, smooth as smoke. "Let me guess. Now you'll say I have abandonment issues."
"I don't assume," Jade said evenly. "I observe."
"Right." He leaned forward a little, resting his elbows on his knees. "And what are you observing now?" He said, staring into her eyes.
Jade didn't answer right away. She watched him instead—closely. Something about the way he shifted in his seat, the too-loose posture suddenly a bit too calculated. The shadows beneath his confident expression. There was a flicker. Not weakness. Not yet.
But something like... grief? Whatever it was, he buried it fast.
"Let's talk about relationships," she said, changing direction with surgical precision as averted her gaze to the notes before her.
Asher rolled his eyes. "You're relentless."
"I'm effective."
He smirked, but the lines around his eyes tightened. "What do you want? Names? Numbers? A spreadsheet?"
"None of that matters," she replied. "I want to know if you've ever been in love." She was point blank with her question.
There was a pause. A full beat of silence.
Then, "Define love." His voice was quiet now. Not playful— cool, almost clinical.
Jade tilted her head. "Avoiding the question doesn't make it disappear."
"I'm not avoiding it," he said, more sharply than she expected. "I'm just not convinced it exists the way people think it does."
She studied him, waiting.
"I've felt connection," he said finally. "Obsession. Chemistry. Need. But love?" His smile curved again, slow and dangerous. "That sounds more like a myth people use to justify why they stayed too long."
And still— there. Just for a second. She saw a crack in his composure. His voice had hardened, his jaw clenched too tight. That glint of darkness wasn't an act. It wasn't calculated.
It was real.
And it passed so fast, anyone else would've missed it. But Jade didn't once again. She was getting somewhere after all.
Intuitively, she tapped her pen once, then set it down slowly.
"Has anyone ever broken your heart?"
Asher didn't move. Didn't blink. He stared at her with that unreadable gaze again. And then, with a low chuckle, he stood.
"Session over?" He said, pointing to the clock that hanged on the right corner of the wall.
Jade stood too, matching his energy. "It's only just begun."
He looked at her with something more sinister this time. Less challenge, more... caution. "You're not like the others," he murmured.
She held his gaze, unwavering. "Neither are you." There it was again. That flicker. Not something she could name yet. But it was there. And she was going to find it. Even if he fought her every step of the way.