STAY MINE // Harry Styles

To The Boy Next Door

I really love this chapter and I hope you do, too :)

ANNOUNCEMENT: The last chapter was supposed to be released on July 1, BUT I have two final exams on that same week, so I'll have no choice but to move the schedule forward.

Last My Girl update: July 8, 2020. (July 3: Tumblr preview and full chapter on Patreon).

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"Come in."

When Asher entered the room, Gemma almost didn't recognize him. He'd got a beard now, and he wasn't wearing a suit. If she hadn't known the charming Asher in the past, she would be so shocked to find out he was the CEO's son. Too bad she didn't care enough to wonder what had happened to him after his business had gone bankrupt because his father had refused to finance it. Now he was just a regular accountant.

His eyes went wide when he saw her sitting with his dad in the CEO office.

Hello, Asher, she thought, yet gave him nothing but a polite nod as if they were meeting for the first time.

"Asher, I suppose you remember Gemma?" asked his father with a sigh.

"Yes," Asher mumbled, his gaze falling to the floor.

Of course he remembered her. Abusers always remembered their victims.

His dad looked from him back to Gemma. Hands folded on the desk, he said, "Gemma is our new COO. I hope you will have no trouble working for her."

Asher's head jerked up as if he'd just heard a gunshot. And Gemma, of course, was the one holding the gun.

She relished his astonishment and cracked a smile as she rose from her seat and walked toward him. She extended her hand, but he didn't take it.

"Working for her?" he asked his dad, who replied with a stern expression.

"Yes. She's your new boss."

Gemma broke into a smirk, still holding out her hand in the space between them. Asher's eyes had grown so big they nearly took over his entire face. "You," he hissed at her, "I can't believe you weaselled your way into this company."

"Oh, no." Gemma frowned pretentiously and dropped her hand down to her side. "I've been a shareholder for almost a year. I've done more for this company in that short amount of time than you have your whole life."

He thinned his lips and glared at her, unable to muster a single word.

She hated him but respected his father. And what was better as revenge than making sure she took everything he wanted? First, his father's affection. Soon, his father's company.

"I don't want to make this unpleasant for you, Asher," her voice dropped so low as she leaned in so only the two of them could hear. "Or maybe I do. So you better be a nice employee, because I wouldn't be sorry to kick you out of here."

His face dimmed as she stepped away. If there was a camera, she'd take a picture and put it in a frame. Though she doubted this would be the last time she got to see that defeated look on his face.

"See you around, Ash," she said, placing a hand on her hip as she breezed right past him out of the room.

Two interns, a blonde and a dark-skinned girl, rose from their cubicles and rushed up to her as she was heading for the lift.

"Excuse me," the blonde said timidly. "Are you...our new COO?"

"Y-Yes, yes, I am." Gemma worked up a smile and the girls giggled to each other like teenagers.