FORMERLY

Chapter 3

I groaned at the light that pierced my eyes and covered my face with one of the pillows.

What happened last night was clear in my head and I smiled. I'm sure that James will be giving be a very generous tip for how generous I was last night.

I got out of bed to look for James since he was not in bed and did not leave a note. I went into his washroom and took a quick shower and changed into one of his dress shirts. His shirts always hung just below my bottom, and any movement made it ride up to a scandalous length. But James never seemed to mind, and his wife and children lived in a different house than this one.

I knew his house well, and I knew that James would be in his office this early in the morning, so I made my way there, barely clothed, and makeup free.

His house never ceased to amaze me. His wife had designed it to replicate a Greek castle, and I admired her good tastes. Even as I walked to stand in front of his office was I gawking at all the furniture.

I went ahead and opened the door without knocking. However, I wasn't expecting that another man, more exactly Asher Chase, would be seated across James. Both men turned to stare at me. James with a smile, and Asher with furrowed brows, almost in confusion.

"Oh. I'm so sorry James, I didn't know you had company." I blurted. Standing there with my wet hair and barely decent outfit.

James gave me a smile and I was surprised that he wasn't mad at me for exposing myself. "I'll just head upstairs."

"No, no, dear. Stay. I would like to introduce you to Mr. Chase." He then turned to Asher, "This is Ms. Cartaro," James said, still sending me a warm smile. Asher suddenly froze.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Chase, I hope to get to know you better perhaps another time. I don't think that this is a...decent situation. I'm sorry Mr. Chase." I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks.

"That's fine Laurielle, you can head back upstairs." James said.

And with that, I bolted into the kitchen. For some reason, Asher made me feel guilty about being here with James. It was probably the fact that he had seen me with Lionel last night and the fact that James was married and a father.

Pushing those thoughts away, I walked to the kitchen and asked James' chef to whip something up for me. I then returned to the counter to wait for him to finish.

I heard the door open and I knew that it was James.

"I asked the chef to make an All American, your favourite." I said. James placed his hand on either sides of my waist and leaned against me.

"I like European, not All American." said a low voice, which, to my surprise, was not James'.

I spun around at lightning speed and pushed myself away from him.

"Mr. Chase" I whispered, still caught off guard at how close he stood to me. "What a surprise."

He grinned. "I couldn't miss the opportunity to introduce myself after missing it last night and again earlier." I blushed for the second time this morning at the mention of last night. "I'm Asher Chase, it's a pleasure to meet you."

I was still caught off guard. "I...I'm... uh, Laurielle Cartaro. Nice to meet you" I replied. Asher wore that weird expression on his face again.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you spell that? Cartaro, I mean." He asked.

"Uh, C.A.R.T.A.R.O. Why do you ask?" I questioned.

He was frozen for a second before putting back his grin on his face. "It's just that you remind me of someone I used to know. Don't worry about it."

He moved closer to me again and I ended up with my back against the counter. The way he was staring at me was unnerving and it made me feel exposed.

"So," He dragged on while moving his hand to play with the ends of my shirt. I held my breath "are you James' new plaything? Heard he hasn't gone to visit his kids in more than a year. Are you trying to be their new step-mom? You can do better than that."

I scoffed. So he's trying to humiliate me for doing my job.

"No, Mr. Chase, I'm an escort. My relationship with James is nothing more than professional," I glared at him with as much hostility as I could. "and I have no desire to form any type of relationship with his kids."

"An escort?" he said under his breath. "Like a prostitute?" He seemed stunned. I would be too if I were him. I mean, he just found out that one of the richest men in the continent resorts to hiring escorts.

I let out a laugh. I was not offended by being called a prostitute. "Yeah, like a prostitute. Are you interested in my services Mr. Chase?" I said jokingly.

Instead of stepping away from me like I thought he would, he placed his hands on either sides of my waist and smirked.

"When are you free Ms. Cartaro. I'm very interested." He asked.

This time, it was my turn to be stunned. That was not a response I was expecting. I was waiting for him to step away in disgust.

"What do you want?" I asked suspiciously. "Men like you don't need escorts, I'm pretty sure that the women you know are willing to do much more than I am."

He moved his hands up to caress my cheeks while searching for my eyes.

"You remind me of someone I used to know—someone I used to love who's not here anymore. Even though you two couldn't be more different, you still remind me of her. Spending some time with you would basically be like being with her. That and the fact that you must be good at what you do. Lionel and James in less than twenty-four hours? I don't want to miss out on the fun" His tone suddenly changing from nostalgic to joking.

"That's awfully honest of you. So you want my service because I remind you of someone else?"

"Glad you understand. So, what do you say? Are you free?" He asked again.

"Mr. Chase, I assure you that you have never met anyone like me before, and the answer to your question is no. I'm not interested in fulfilling your emotional attachments." I said angrily before walking out of the kitchen leaving a stunned Asher behind. Although I was a prostitute, I was above being treated as a replacement. Not only that, but thinking and pretending that I am his dead lover will definitely mean that he'll get attached. I don't do attachment.

The nerve of this guy to try and get me to fulfil his messed up memories. I almost pity him.