"Also, don’t forget this," Jael handed him his phone, saying nothing more despite knowing well that Asher had left it behind in the car on purpose.
"We need to leave before noon," His second-in-command let him know before slipping out of the bedroom.
Asher turned around and headed for the closet, he was honestly surprised that Jael was letting him have the morning off.
Caspian stepped into the closet just as he was done dressing, and he came out noticeably missing the delicate socks, much to Asher’s disappointment.
"Are you really staying home today?" Caspian asked with bright eyes, finger combing his damp hair.
Asher really wanted to say yes but he would be lying and cruelly raising Caspian’s hopes up.
"Unfortunately, I’ve got to go into work at noon," He said gently, reaching out when his words made Caspian slow down on his way to him.
The Omega’s smile dimming even while he tried to valiantly keep his smile on his face was crushing.
"T-That’s fine, at least this time, I’ll be sure that you eat breakfast." Caspian said bravely, closing the distance between them.
Asher was seated at the edge of the bed while Caspian stood in front of him mentally canceling all the plans he already made.
"I’ll take a day off soon," Asher was quick to add, wrapping his arms around Caspian’s slender waist.
He would have given him a definite date, but he didn’t want to raise his hopes again a second time.
He would have Jael give him his schedule for the week, and even if he had to work twice as hard to get a day off, it would be worth it.
There were busy periods where he couldn’t leave just the running to his men, and it just had to fall at the same time that his relationship with Caspian was going so well.
"You don’t have to push yourself," Caspian sank his hair in Asher’s hair, "And that reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about something."
Asher had to lean back a bit to hold eye contact, his hazel gold eyes narrowing. "What?"
"What do you think about providing meals for the men at the mansion?" He suggested carefully.
Asher had tensed up when Caspian said they needed to talk about something, instantly realizing when it was something so mundane.
"I doubt they would mind," He said, putting thought into the question as he tried to give a proper answer.
Yeah, the men would definitely not mind, but he worried if it was something the kitchen could handle by themselves, and he would hate to give Jael more responsibility.
Maybe he should consider hiring a butler or something...
"Yeah, I think that’s a great idea." He said bluntly, the fact that Caspian had actually been worried about his men taking some time to sink in.
Caspian’s smile returned again, genuine and bright. "Really?"
"Yeah," Asher reassured him, his brows furrowing lightly. "But I might need to get a butler-"
"I’ll handle it," Caspian cut him off.
"What?""I said I’ll handle it," He repeated, his voice firm.
That was a major part of the reason why he had asked Asher, he wanted to be in charge of it.
Caspian was already braced for Asher to turn him down, so he already had several arguments and convincing speeches prepared.
"Sure," Asher shrugged, "If that’s what you want."
"What?" It was Caspian’s turn to say that.
Asher held his waist to put some distance between them, because Caspian was literally hugging him, and he was beginning to get a twinge in his neck from looking up at him.
"Isn’t... that what you want?" Asher asked carefully, starting to think there was a miscommunication of some kind during their conversation.
"No, it is," Caspian corrected in a hurry, "It’s just..."
It had been way too easy... but he wasn’t going to tell Asher that. He had no plans of giving the Alpha a chance to change his mind.
"Then it’s decided," He said in conclusion instead of completing his previous sentence.
He sat on Asher’s legs, he was a bit disappointed that Asher wouldn’t be spending the day like he previously thought but the way things had turned out more than made up for it.
Not only would Asher take a day off for him, but he didn’t even have to fight to get Asher to agree to his suggestion.
Caspian looked at Asher to find the Alpha focused on him, they were more or less at eye level now that he was seated on him.
Asher’s heated stare made his face feel warm, and it felt like he was falling towards the Alpha.
A knock on the door made him jump, shattering the intimate atmosphere between them.
The door opened to reveal Jael who looked unfazed at their current positions.
"I’ve been waiting for you two to show up to breakfast," He announced dryly, standing intrusively in the doorway until they both got to their feet.
He pretended not to see Asher giving him the evil eye, Caspian the first to walk towards him.
"Did you sleep well, Jael?" Caspian asked, his interest genuine.
Jael had actually slept through the night without waking up in cold sweat even once, he had even slept in.
He couldn’t say if it was because he had been exhausted the night before, or it was because Caspian had looked after him the night before.
He had a feeling it was a mix of the two, but Caspian’s efforts were really why he had slept through the night.
"More or less," He muttered, ignoring the weight of Asher’s glare on the back of his head.
The Alpha walked behind them while Caspian stuck to his side, making small talk as they heading to the dining room.
"I just spoke to Asher about it, but I wanted the kitchens to make meals available to the men at the mansion," Caspian was saying.
He wanted to tell Jael in person because he wanted the Beta to take back whatever he said to the kitchen staff that had them jumping whenever he stepped into the kitchen.