“Yeah. I seem to have a habit of stressing people out. Not all, but some.” I sighed.
As soon as the car pulled up to the hotel, Asher stepped out and extended his hand to me. It was best I didn’t take it.
“Thanks, but I don’t need help.”
“Are you sure?” His brows furrowed at me.
“I’m sure. See.” I grinned as I stepped out of the car without his help.
We entered through the large revolving door of The Remington Hotel and made our way to the elegant five-star restaurant called Bliss.
“Good evening, Mr. Remington. Follow me and I’ll take you to your table.”
We followed the blonde hostess with the big brown eyes towards the back of the restaurant. I could feel the light touch of his hand on the small of my back and my body trembled, for I’d always found that sexy. We were seated in a private booth. An intimate spot where privacy wasn’t an issue.
“Here are your menus. Franco will be right over to serve you.”
“Thank you.” Asher smiled at the young hostess.
Within a few moments, Franco walked over to the table and poured us each a glass of water.
“Welcome back, Mr. Remington. What may I bring you to drink?”
“Everly?” Asher gestured.
“I’ll have a glass of Pinot Grigio, please.”
“And for you, Mr. Remington?”
“Just bring the whole bottle.”
After Franco brought our wine, we placed our order and handed him our menus. Asher picked up his glass and held it up to me.
“Thank you, Everly, for everything.”
“I was only the messenger.” I smiled as I tapped my glass against his.
“The messenger. Right.” He slowly nodded his head. “Now that everything is over with, why don’t you just tell me how you and my father knew each other.”
“Why is it so hard for you to accept the truth?” I asked as I took a sip of my wine.
“Because your truth isn’t the truth. It doesn’t exist. I’ve read articles and I know people who claim what you do are total fakes. They’re scam artists who prey on people who are desperately seeking answers in their life.”
“You’re right. There are people out there who are complete fakes.”
“So I’ll ask you again. How did you know my father?”
I wasn’t in the mood to go around and around with him. No matter what I’d tell him, he wouldn’t believe me.
“Is this why you asked me to dinner? So you could interrogate me?”
“One of the reasons,” he spoke in a serious tone.
“See that couple over there?” I pointed.
“Yeah. What about them?”
“The waiter is going to bring out their dessert which will be a cheesecake with strawberries on it. There will be an engagement ring hooked around one of the strawberries on her piece. She’ll see it, start to cry and he’ll get down on one knee and ask her to marry him.”
“Whatever you say, sweetheart.” He rolled his eyes.
“To answer your question, your father came to me in a dream. He showed me what would happen to you if you went ahead with the merger. That is the truth. Now, I’m sorry you are having such a hard time believing the truth, but I’m not wasting anymore of my time, and I certainly won’t sit here and be called a liar. I make no apologies for who I am.” I took the napkin from my lap, set it on the table and stood up.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.
“I’m leaving. Because frankly, Asher, you’re the one who’s stressing me out tonight.”
Suddenly, we heard a screech. Asher looked over at the couple I pointed out only to find the woman crying and the man down on one knee proposing to her. I began to walk away and felt his hand wrap around my wrist.
“Wait.”
I turned and looked at him.
“Stay. I’ll have Franco deliver our dinner up to my suite. We need to talk in private,” he spoke in a calm voice.
I stared at him for a moment while his hand was still wrapped around my wrist.
“Fine. But just so you know, the only reason I’m staying is because I’m hungry.”
His lips formed a small smile as he signaled for Franco.
We took the elevator up to his suite. As soon as we stepped inside, I set my purse down while Asher took off his suitcoat and threw it over one of the chairs.
12
Asher
I couldn’t wrap my head around any of this, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Our dinner was promptly delivered to the suite and I motioned for Everly to take a seat while I sat down across from her.
“How, Everly?”
“I know you want some scientific explanation, Asher, but I’m afraid there isn’t one. This is something I was born with. My grandmother has it, my mother had it and I have it.”
“Your mother had it?” I narrowed my eye at her.
“She passed away when I was five. She couldn’t handle it, so she drank and took pills. She discovered the more she combined the two, the more the dreams and visions stopped. One night, she took too many pills and drank way too much.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I appreciate that. Thank you.”
“What about your cousin? Can he—”
“No.” She interrupted. “And honestly, I’m happy he doesn’t have it. My grandmother calls it a gift, and sometimes it is. But it can also be a curse.”
“Why is that?” I asked as I picked up my drink.
“Because some of the things I dream and see aren’t like the couple down at the restaurant. I also see a lot of bad things. Things nobody should ever see. That was what my mother couldn’t handle. I have no control over anything I see. It just happens. Like with your father and you. Your father couldn’t be at peace until he knew you were going to be okay.”
“How does it work?”
“I don’t know.” A small smile crossed her lips. “It just happens.”
“Now that I know about your mother and grandmother, tell me about your father?”
“I don’t know my father. He took off when
