Filed to story: The Alpha and His Nanny Luna (Tiffany & Asher) Book PDF Free
Asher shrugged. I could tell that he was struggling to come up with an answer, but his brain was too tired from stress to spit out the right words; in fact, as I watched him pour vodka into his glass and walk over to the couch before slumping down into the cushions, I actually started to feel a small amount of pity toward him. I sighed, setting the bottle of whiskey down, and grabbed my glass of warm milk before walking over to him.
“What are you doing?” he asked as I took the vodka out of his hand and replaced it with the warm milk. I got down on my knees in front of him then, not answering, and slipped off his shoes.
“You know,” I said as I began to rub his feet, “if you’re trying to create a good image for your company, scaring little children who are trying to show their gratitude won’t help any,” I said.
Asher was silent for a few moments. I didn’t look up, but I could feel the tension releasing in his feet as I rubbed them, followed by the sound of him swallowing a mouthful of warm milk.
“I know,” he replied. His voice was low and gravelly from exhaustion. “I should’ve just taken the damn card.”
I nodded. “Yes, you should’ve; but you didn’t. So, what are you going to do to make up for it?”
Asher simply shrugged.
Sighing, I set his foot back down on the floor and looked up at him. I was surprised to see that he was looking at me, and his gaze didn’t have its usual bitterness behind it.
“Here’s what you’re going to do,” I said, standing. “You’re going to go to the orphanage tomorrow — in person — and you’re going to publicly apologize to those children. Then, you’re going to take some nice photos to show that you might actually have the tiniest drop of compassion in your body.”
Asher’s gaze widened for a moment, but then surprisingly, he nodded. “Alright,” he said, then paused for a moment before speaking again. “You know the director, right?”
I nodded in response.
Asher took another sip of his warm milk. “Then you have to come with me.”
Tiffany
The very next morning, I called Sophia as soon as I awoke.
“Sophia, it’s Tiffany,” I said into the phone. “Do you have a minute to talk?”
Sophia was quiet for a moment. I could tell that she was hesitant; I had just informed her only a couple of weeks prior that I was working for the very man who frightened the orphans, and she no doubt had a suspicion that I was going to ask for something after how he acted.
“Yes,” she finally replied. “It’s good to hear your voice.”
I smiled, relieved that she was at least willing to talk to me. “You, too,” I said. “I know this might seem a bit contrived, but I wanted to ask if Mr. Sterling and I could come to the orphanage today. He wants to speak to you and the children after what happened yesterday.”
“Really?” Sophia responded, sounding a little surprised. “He doesn’t seem like the type to talk much.”
“Really. He wants to apologize.” Sophia was silent again. I grew desperate. “Please,” I said. “I’d really appreciate it if you gave him another chance.”
“Alright,” Sophia finally agreed. “When will you be coming?”
I glanced at the clock. “We’ll be there by noon.”
…
At noon, almost on the dot, Asher and I pulled up to the orphanage. He was wearing a gray suit and tie that was almost as stiff as his demeanor, which was a sharp contrast from my light blue sundress. It was a scorching hot day; I was surprised that he was even breathing dressed like that.
The driver pulled up to the curb and let Asher and I out. I glanced over at the Alpha billionaire over the top of the car, noticing how his image seemed to wiggle a bit behind the heat haze coming off of the black car. He took a deep breath and straightened his tie before brusquely turning on his heel and storming up to the entrance of the orphanage as if he was on a mission, where Sophia stood with the children as they waited for him. The children had made a banner that they were all holding, which read: “Thank you, Mr. Sterling!” I couldn’t help but smile as I saw all of the little handprints on the long strip of paper that they held between them.
Sophia, smiling, came down the steps as Asher approached.
“Welcome,” she said, her eyes squinting in the sunlight. “We’re happy to have you.”
Asher merely nodded and replied in a curt tone of voice, “Thank you. Where is the photographer?”
Sophia squinted even harder. “Photographer?” she asked.
“Well, I’m here for a photo op,” Asher said, looking around. “Didn’t you hire a photographer?”
I stepped in, placing my hand on Asher’s arm before he could say anything else that was offensive. “I have my cell phone.”
Asher scoffed. “You can’t possibly expect cell phone pictures to make it on the front cover of any magazines.”
Sophia frowned, glancing over at me with a disappointed look on her face before looking back up at Asher. “Perhaps you’re not here for the right reasons, Mr. Sterling,” she said. “While we appreciate your donation, all of the funds have been allocated toward taking care of the children. We don’t have the money to be hiring photographers.”
Now, it was Asher who looked over at me with a disappointed look on his face. He stepped away, waving me over to him, and I threw an apologetic glance at Sophia before following.
“You didn’t hire a photographer?” he snarled.
I shook my head. “It’s not about the quality of the photos,” I responded, keeping my voice low. “It’s about the message behind them. And I didn’t want to make the children uncomfortable by having another stranger here to take their pictures.”
Asher glanced over at the children, who looked like they were broiling in the summer heat. One little girl’s bangs were glued to her forehead with sweat. “Fine,” he said, his tone of voice cold as he straightened his tie again. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Before I could stop him, he walked back over to Sophia. He said something to her that I couldn’t make out from where I stood. She nodded and they walked over to the stairs; Asher waved for me to follow again, and I did, this time jogging to catch up.
“Alright, children,” Sophia said, walking up the stairs to stand behind them while Asher stood off to the side. “Mr. Sterling is going to take a picture with us now.”
“Hi, Mr. Sterling,” the little girl with the sweat-soaked bangs said.
“Hello.” Asher didn’t even look at her; he only stood off to the side with his arms folded, impatiently waiting for the picture to be taken.
