For The Love of All That Isn't

I want to co-adopt

And Asher would have offered Alex a nice thank you gift, even a potential job offer and probably left their pleasant acquaintance at that, had it not been for the hell that broke loose just one week after he had closed the deal with Agro Foods.

As the circumstances had unfolded, Asher had found himself the principal participant in a particularly appalling scandal that had unfolded itself to the public. His very much 'consensual' relationship with an 'employee' or 'ex-employee'- a relationship which he himself wouldn't consent to had he known his partner's affiliations with his company- had blown up into a warped monstrosity.

As the ever lovely brown-eyed Laura had cried to every ear that paid heed about how Asher had fired her following their break up, every upstanding spectator expressed outrage at how this entire affair was a 'direct abuse of power' on the part of the 27-year-old CEO.

No one cared to listen about how Asher had first met Clara at a bar on an occasion completely unrelated to business affairs or how Clara had driven herself to dismissal because of her frightfully poor work performance. Neither did they care about how Asher had congenially, at least on his part, ended their brief week-long tryst the instant he'd learnt of her association with Knight Enterprise well over a year ago. Even if not, they would've gone up in flames not long after.

To add to the grief- Laura wasn't ever an actual employee. She was a contractor who had been let go of by her bosses, while on a 50% assignment at Knight Enterprise.

Asher had almost forgotten all about Clara until he had been woken up by a call from his older brother nagging endlessly about how he should've known better and the morning business news splashed with the worst photos they could find of him.

But his brother wasn't wrong about him having to know better. When you're in the youngest 99 percentile that is at the helm of a billion-dollar enterprise all it took was rubbing one person the wrong way to be buried alive.

And this was one such instance.

All the world cared about for the time being were the words of a hysterical brown-eyed Laura and Asher was left with no avenues but to find humour in the fact that she at least hadn't topped the sordid affair with the ultimate cliche of being 'with child'. Of course, he did so carefully in a very private setting, lest the world found out and claim him to be the ultimate swine.

Of course, his legal department would shut her down soon enough and the truth would come to light eventually, but regardless some irreversible damage would be done.

"Ash, I get that you're pretty young and want to have fun" his brother patronized as Asher rolled his eyes, "but all you had to do was warn me that this was coming."

"If I'd known!" Asher wanted to snap back but he he bit his tongue. "I'm sorry, Lee! I never thought she knew who I was. Besides, she seemed nice enough and I never thought it'd come to this"

"Regardless Ash.."

"I know, I know" Asher cut him off, as he scrolled carelessly through his gallery. He knew he'd messed up and he truly felt sorry for his brother who'd be left dealing with a lot of the aftermath.

But Liam chewing him out wasn't helping especially as he mentally prepared, amidst other miseries, to deal with the geezers on his Board of Directors breathing down his neck whilst the stock prices sank like a stone.

But then his finger stopped mid-swipe on a photo, the gears in his head turning. 
"I might just be able to fix this," he said, dropping the call before Liam could get in a full "What"

There were reasons Asher Knight was as successful as he was within his circles- being resourceful and quick-thinking were among them.

He took up his business phones to make a few calls to people who wouldn't admit they'd ever had the said conversations. And whilst the world continued to revel in its newfound obsession, and his screen of his personal device still lit up with a photo Aleksandra Baker, he expeditiously poured himself over every little aspect of her life.

And after she had turned out clean in every aspect he'd cared about, with some strange unexplained hope, he approached her.