An hour went by, and there was still no sign of Asher.
Caspian had stopped pretending to watch the television at that point, staring at the door with worry.
When it became clear that Asher wouldn’t be returning, he decided to try calling Jael. If just to reassure himself that Asher wasn’t in danger.
"Is something wrong?" Jael immediately asked, picking on the first ring.
"Well... I hope so," Caspian said slowly, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts."What?"
"Asher said he had some business to deal with, and he’s been gone since dinner ended... Is-Is he alright?"
There was a brief pause on the call, "Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s just cooped up in his home office." Jael said quietly.
Caspian was too relieved to hear that it was nothing dangerous to pick up on Jael’s odd tone.
"Oh alright, thank you."
He hung up with a sigh and tossed his phone on the other side of the couch he was seated on, his brows furrowed.
There was no way he could watch something without Asher, and it was pretty close to midnight already, so it was just better to go to bed.
Caspian fell asleep although he had instinctively tried to wait up for Asher, and that was because the Alpha never returned.
He was woken up the next morning by a soft warmth on his forehead, his vision blurry with sleep.
"Asher?" He whispered, his voice a little hoarse.
"Go back to sleep," The Alpha replied, already heading for the door.
Caspian couldn’t do that even if he tried, he sat up in time to watch the door close behind Asher, catching a brief glimpse of his red hair.
He glanced at the bed, to find that Asher’s side was perfectly laid, the Alpha’s scent nonexistent.
Asher hadn’t slept in the bed.
Caspian’s frown remained on his face as he got down from the bed, the steam from the shower doing nothing to ease the tension in his shoulders.
He needed to talk to Asher now more than ever but he was wary of striking up the conversation they very much needed to have.
Maybe he was just overreacting, and Asher was really busy. He was a Mafia King after all...
Caspian had an early breakfast to distract himself from his dark thoughts.
It was also in a bid to find a distraction that he went traipsing in the woods with his bodyguards again.
But all the creek did was remove the things distracting him from hyper-focusing on his thoughts about Asher.
So he was asking to leave shortly after they got there, his plans to relax by the natural body of water backfiring.
It was still late in the morning when he got back to the mansion, the only activity on his schedule already over.
Asher was notably not waiting for him in front of the mansion when he got back, and his bodyguards had been less stressed on the walk.
He had gotten what he wanted, they were beginning to get used to him doing mundane things.
Caspian couldn’t sit in the mansion all day doing nothing, he would drive himself crazy overthinking.
His thoughts of going to a pool reminded him that the only swimwear he had were two-piece bikinis...
Even the threat of getting shot would make him agree to wear it.
So shopping it was...
Caspian mapped out a plan over lunch, he had absolutely nothing to his name, he barely had an identity, much more a functional bank account.
He could just go out shopping regardless and have his bodyguards cover the expense, or make a quick call to Jael.
But he wanted to ask Asher, in person. He would seize every opportunity he had to see the Alpha.
So after lunch, he was getting dressed, and dragging his bodyguards on another impromptu trip.
Caspian stared at his trimmed nails, frowning at the sight of his nail polish chipping... he needed a new coat.
He didn’t tell either Jael or Asher that he would be coming, walking across the parking lot looking out of place in his jean overalls and pale pink top.
Caspian was easily let in through the back, the men guarding the back exit nervously greeting him.
He waved at them... they were always so nice.
The duo of men in front of Asher’s office looked a little alarmed, hesitating to open the door for him.
"Is Asher in?" He had to ask, starting to think that maybe he should have called before showing up.
They shared looks over his head, asking Keith and Peter for help with their eyes.
The already constantly-stressed bodyguards just pretended not to see, choosing not to get involved in whatever was going on.
One of the men guarding the entrance to Asher’s office cleared his throat, and then reached to open the door.
"He is," He said gruffly as he opened the door.
Caspian took a moment to process what was going on inside, Jael had a heavy boot on the side of a groveling man’s face, Asher’s gaze chilling as another man stared down the barrel of his gun.
They both froze at the sight of him, and he was really starting to wish he had called ahead.
He couldn’t just stand at the door, so he walked in, noticing that there were a handful of men hovering in the background of the very cliche scene.
Ready to step in at the slightest order.
"You don’t have to stop on my account," He smiled awkwardly as he went over to Asher.
The Mafia King’s eyes lit up like a fireplace on fire as he approached, it took away some of the awkwardness he felt.
Asher doing his job didn’t bother him, although it was the first time he would see Jael do anything violent.
Caspian perched on the edge of the desk, right next to Asher, ignoring the fact that he had brought the entire room to a standstill.
"Can I go shopping?" He asked casually to the confused question in Asher’s eyes.