Filed to story: The Alpha and His Nanny Luna (Tiffany & Asher) Book PDF Free
I threw the cash on the ground and stood, cursing under my breath as I realized how soaked and dirty my clothes were. I’d have to go home and see if I could scrounge up some change to take them to the laundromat so I could continue job hunting tomorrow, but admittedly for now I just wanted to drown my sorrows.
I walked for a few blocks, finally spotting a bar that seemed nice and quiet.Taking a deep breath and smoothing down my stained shirt, I walked through the doors and approached the bouncer.
The bouncer narrowed his eyes at me and looked me up and down, taking in my dirty appearance sniffing the air in front of me.
“No humans allowed without a member escort,” he growled, folding his arms.
I frowned. “Member?” I asked. “I’m a paying customer. Just let me buy a drink.”
The bouncer shook his head and began to usher me toward the door like I was some sort of nuisance.
“Is this even legal?” I said, raising my voice. “You can’t just discriminate against humans like this! Is my money worthless here just because of–“
“She’s with me,” a stern and clear voice suddenly said from behind.
The bouncer and I both looked up and turned to see a man in a suit standing on the stairs.
Asher Sterling.
Tiffany
“She’s with me.”
The bouncer whipped around to face the man standing on the stairs. I stood there, my eyes wide, as I realized that the man who was mysteriously helping me get into the bar was the same man who had almost hit me with his car on the street and then promptly threw me a wad of cash like I was a beggar: Asher Sterling, CEO of WereCorp. I considered just turning around and leaving, but before I could, Asher came down the stairs and waved the bouncer away, fixing his steely gray eyes on me.
“Come on,” he said, peering around me to look out the door and onto the street. “It looks like it’s going to rain again. You don’t want to be walking around in the rain, do you?”
I felt as though there was something a bit condescending in the wealthy werewolf’s tone, but he was right: it had been raining for most of the day, and had already begun to sprinkle again. I didn’t want to walk home in the rain and get more soaked than I already was, so I silently followed Asher up the stairs.
“You’re still wearing those dirty clothes,” Asher said in a somewhat cold tone of voice as we reached the top of the stairs. “I gave you money to replace them. Why didn’t you use it?”
I frowned.
“I may be a human, but I won’t take money from rude and arrogant people who throw cash at me out the window of their car like I’m a beggar on the street.”
Asher sucked his teeth and looked me up and down for a moment before curtly turning to a woman who stood nearby. She seemed a little older than me and wore a plain black staff uniform. He muttered something to her that I couldn’t quite make out and she nodded, turning to me and smiling with one arm outstretched.
“Right this way, miss,” she said as Asher turned and disappeared into the main room of the bar. I glanced over my shoulder at him one last time as the woman guided me away, leading me upstairs to a private room. As she unlocked the door and opened it, my eyes widened. The room was full of racks of expensive clothing, shoes, and accessories.
“What’s this?” I asked, turning to face the woman.
“We like to provide the best for our patrons,” the woman replied with a smile. “This room is specially designed for our female patrons to come and freshen up, touch up their makeup, or perhaps change their clothes in the event of a wardrobe malfunction. It’s not normal practice to allow a… human to use our facilities, but seeing as Mr. Sterling owns the majority share of this club, you’re welcome to wear whatever you like. Take your time.”
Before I could say anything else, the woman closed the door and left me alone.
I looked around at all of the expensive clothes and fine jewelry with a puzzled expression on my face; was Asher Sterling not so arrogant and cruel as I thought? Did he feel badly about our encounter in the street and wanted to make it up to me, or was this all some sort of sick joke?
Either way, I was still too distraught over discovering my boyfriend with his mistress earlier, and this seemed to be my ticket to having a good night…
I eventually emerged from the room wearing a simple black dress that reached my ankles. It was made of a soft silk, with thin straps and a plunging neckline. I also picked out a pair of strappy black heels and a clutch purse.
When I came down the stairs with the woman, I felt my heart start to race as I noticed Asher look up from his table. His eyes lingered on me for a few long moments that felt like an eternity before he looked back to continue his conversation with the other man who was sitting with him.
“To compensate for the accident earlier on the street, Mr. Sterling has agreed to cover the expenses of the evening,” the woman said. “That includes any drinks and food you order, as well as the clothes. Please feel free to take a seat at the bar.”
I looked down at my dress, feeling my face go a bit hot. Something like this was so far from what I normally wore, and now it was mine? I glanced up to ask the woman if she was sure I could keep the dress, but she was already gone.
Swallowing, I walked into the main area and slid up onto one of the barstools.
“What would you like to drink?” the bartender said.
“Um… Gin and tonic, please,” I replied, fiddling with the clasp on my purse as I glanced around at all of the other bar patrons. Most of them seemed too preoccupied with their drinks and their conversations as a woman in a red gown softly played the piano on a small stage.
The bartender returned with my drink a few moments later. I muttered some words of thanks and swirled the liquid around in my glass as I attempted to settle into my seat and try not to act too out of place.
“What’s a beautiful girl like you doing sitting all alone?” a male voice suddenly said from beside me. I jumped a bit and turned to see a middle-aged man in a suit leaning on the bar next to me with a drink in his hand. He had salt-and-pepper hair, a somewhat stocky build, and smelled strongly of whiskey.
I couldn’t come up with an answer, so I awkwardly laughed and took a sip of my drink in the hopes that the man would get the hint and leave me alone, but he persisted. Despite Asher Sterling’s burst of kindness in letting me into this bar and paying for everything, I was still uninterested in doing much more than having a drink or two and going home for the night. After finding my boyfriend with another woman, I wasn’t interested in conversation.
“Let me buy you another drink,” the man said, leaning closer to me. “Something better than gin and tonic. I’ve got plenty of money, being a beta and all; you can have anything you want…”
“Oh, I’m fine with this,” I said with a weak smile, trying to hide my disgust overhearing the word ‘beta’. “Thanks anyway.”
“Nonsense,” the man said, either not noticing or not caring that I wasn’t interested as he sat on the stool next to me, his body uncomfortably close to mine. “I’m Mark, by the way. Mark Schaffer.” He stuck out his hand for me to shake, and when I did, his palm was a bit sweaty.
“Tiffany,” I muttered, pulling my hand away as soon as possible.
“Interesting name,” he said. “You know, I’m the Beta of…”
My mind went blank as Mark continued to prattle on about his money, his lineage, his multiple vacation homes, this and that… I tried my best to appear polite, but eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore.
