Simon was Ash's new "friend." Her parents and his were apparently friends, and he was from her hometown and had just moved into the area.
So they'd been meeting up for coffee and lunches and dinners for the past month or so, getting to know each other.
I hadn't been aware that he had a business he was trying to get off the ground, but then I tended to tune out when she was talking about him because...
Well. I wasn't really sure why.
Well. I had an inkling, but I didn’t really want to poke at it too closely.
There was something about hearing about Simon and how much time he and Ash were spending together. Something that got that prickly feeling in my stomach all riled up again, making me want to know what they were doing exactly, and not know at all at the same time.
Ash kept using the word ‘friend’ to describe him, and maybe they were just friends. Maybe the two of them were just bonding over being from the same place and working to get by in the city. Maybe it was all because Ash’s mom had asked her to look in on the son of a friend, and as much as Ash complained about her parents sometimes, she would do almost anything for them.
But the fact remained that there was nothing in the contract to stop her from dating him if she wanted to. Extramarital affairs were worked right into the whole thing, added on the assumption that we weren’t going to get along and would want to have outside people to go to after we got done fighting our way through sex or whatever.
But we did get along for the most part.
Better than we had before, at any rate, when I felt like everything that came out of my mouth made her want to hit me in the face. We had sex, with varying levels of kink, and we hung out and had dinner together, and it was becoming a nice little routine.
I didn’t much like the thought of someone breaking that up.
That was all it was.
Ash was still looking at me, waiting for an answer to what she’d asked before, and I made myself focus on that. It was a business thing, and I was very good at those. “It would depend on what he’s got to work with,” I said. “Investors like business plans. Well thought out ones.”
She smiled. “He’s got one of those. He has a partner he’s working with, and they’ve drawn up everything in so much detail it makes my head spin when he talks about it.”
“Oh, did he come here with a partner?” I asked. “I thought he was alone.”
“It’s someone he did a workshop with. He was looking to start up a glassblowing business out here, so Simon came to meet him.”
So not a romantic partner, then, more than likely. I fought not to grind my teeth.
“Glassblowing isn’t really an essential sort of thing,” I told her. “Most investors like to spend their money on things that will be in demand enough to ensure they get a return.”
She nodded. “I know. And Simon knows that, too. It’s why he’s been hesitant to reach out to anyone about it. But this town does have a very thriving art scene. I’ve been trying to get him connected to people from school, because I know a lot of them have galleries or little side businesses. I’ve seen his work, and it’s really good. It’s amazing the kinds of things artists can make with their hands.”
It wasn't a slight against me or other people who tended to use their money to make things instead of their hands, but there was so much admiration in her tone that it was hard to take it otherwise, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from huffing with irritation.
"Well," I said. "Then I'm sure someone with more of an eye for art would be able to help him."
"Do you know anyone?" she asked. "That's your sort of circle, isn't it?"
"Artists?"
"People with money," she replied, rolling her eyes at me.
I sighed. "Well, yes, but I don't know how many of them have an eye for art aside from wanting expensive paintings to hang in their homes."
She chewed on her lip for a second, and I could tell she was close to asking me to do some research about it. Or to ask around. And it wouldn't be hard to do so. I knew plenty of people with money who were looking for up and coming businesses to support, but I felt petulant at the idea.
"You know, in six months, you could invest in him," I pointed out before she could say anything.
Ash blinked, looking surprised. "Oh. I guess I could, couldn't I? I should put all that money to good use somehow."
I nodded. "I can walk you through it, if you want. It's not hard to get the process started."
Her face lit up in a smile, and I swallowed hard, glancing down at my plate. Six months wasn't a short amount of time by any reasoning, but it was definitely seeming smaller and smaller by the day.
"Thanks, Killian," she said. "I'll take you up on that. I don't know if he'd want it from me, but it would be nice to have the option to help."
I nodded, giving her a tight smile, and we went back to our meals.
Once we'd finished eating, and I'd paid and tipped, we headed out together. Usually we came together and left together, and Ash came to my apartment after we ate.
She was glancing down at her phone was we walked out, and I lifted an eyebrow, watching her fire off a quick text.
"The usual tonight, then?" I asked. "I can drive, or you can follow me."
"Oh, I actually have plans tonight," she replied, not even looking up from her phone.
"Plans."
"Uh-huh. I figured I'd just come over to your place tomorrow for 'the usual.’" She didn't
