and me. Next, I call Graham. His phone barely rings before he picks up.
“Tell me how it went,” he orders as I sit in my chair and gaze out at the clear blue sky.
“Better than I had anticipated. Linda is, as we speak, making herself at home in my penthouse, where she has agreed to stay for the next three months,” I say with a smug smile.
He’s silent for a moment. In fact, he’s quiet for so long, I pull the phone from my ear to check that the call didn't drop.
“Are you sure about this? You don’t know anything about her, and it's clear from what you’ve said about her financial situation that you have far more to lose in this scenario than she does,” he points out.
But then I haven't exactly been forthcoming with my wife, now, have I?
“I’m having Baxter draw up a contract as we speak. Honestly, I don’t think I have to worry about her bleeding me dry. I had to push her into this. She is not my biggest fan,” I tell him with a self-deprecating laugh, although I haven’t missed the way she watches me when she thinks I’m not looking.
“Hmm...just be careful, okay? But I guess this means we can put in our formal application now, at least with Peterson.”
“It does indeed. Send it over, and let's see what happens,” I answer, the excitement evident in my voice.
“There are a couple of charity galas coming up. The first one is next week, to raise money for the local hospital. It might be worth getting seen out and about with your new bride,” he says wryly.
“I’ll talk to her. I don’t want to throw too much at her too soon because if I fuck this up now and she walks away, I’m screwed.”
“Maybe start with dinner somewhere you know you’ll get seen then. It's a little less in your face.”
“That's not a bad idea. I’m pretty sure, at the very least, I owe her a date,” I muse, pondering where to take her.
He sighs like I’m a lost cause. “If you pull this off, Asher, I’ll give you twenty grand out of my own pocket.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, asshole.”
“And you owe her more than one date,” he adds with a laugh.
If I get my way, I’ll give her a lifetime of dates.
Fourteen
Linda
As soon as he left, I snooped. I couldn’t help it. I’m going to be living with this guy, and yet I don’t know him at all. I let him inside my body once and it backfired spectacularly. I need to know what kind of man he is before I let him inside my heart.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I don't find anything interesting beyond an extensive collection of comic books and superhero movies. Certainly not anything that sets off any warning bells. No porn stash, which, to be fair, is likely on his laptop anyway. No hidden sex dungeon and no apparent shrines worshiping Justin Bieber. I don't know if I’m relieved not to find anything juicy or disappointed.
It doesn’t take long for the boredom to set in, especially as I’m not one to usually sit around and do nothing. Normally, I would head off to paint, but my supplies aren’t here yet, leaving me with itchy fingers. Fuck it, I could just go and fetch them or I’ll drive myself crazy.
Decision made. I head out, hoping the guy at the front desk will let me back upstairs when I return. He’s trying to calm an angry woman when I make it to the foyer, so I decide to leave instead of adding to his problems. I won’t be long, and if for some reason he can’t let me back up, I can just wait downstairs for Asher to come home.
I hurry to the subway, thankfully knowing the route well. Having a car is a luxury I can’t afford just yet. Besides, parking a car outside my old building would have just been asking for it to get stolen. I’m surprised it wasn’t stolen that first night he visited me
I find the platform I’m after, happy to see I only have a five-minute wait, and hop on when the train pulls in. The journey itself is uneventful. Seeing crying babies, tired parents, and the commuters traveling home from work with their heads buried in their laptops is all the norm for me, and I take comfort in its familiarity.
It's quiet when I get to