Asher didn’t leave and Jael didn’t come to drag him off.
They ate breakfast together, getting comfortable on the couch with the curtains thrown open.
Caspian would usually have stopped by the kitchen by then, but he didn’t, playing games and watching movies all morning.
By the time dinner rolled around, Caspian felt sated although he had eaten less throughout the day than he usually did.
In the morning, Asher kissed him goodbye before he left, and everything was perfect once more.
Well, except for one thing...
Caspian managed to keep it out of his thoughts better and better as the days went by.
It had been a week since he started feeding the men, and at first it had been easy to cook three different large meals daily.
But as the days went on, the men were unlikely to show up at mealtimes because of their unstable work schedule.
So having meals ready all day round worked much better, both for the kitchen staff, the men working at the mansion, and the few that dropped in for meals.
A buffet style meal worked perfectly because most were satisfied with dropping in for food once daily, especially those that had shifts at the mansion.
He was currently headed to the kitchen because the chefs had informed him that they had interviewed some accountants and needed his approval.
Caspian would have been perfectly fine keeping the records but the chefs, Katya especially ended up doing most of the work when he tried to help out.
He would rather they worked with someone who could shoulder the responsibility of tracking the records properly.
He popped into the kitchen study to find a Beta setting stiffly on one of the delicate couches.
She was all alone, dressed in a button off and a pencil skirt. She looked professional in contrast to the maids and the kitchen staff who just wore whatever they wanted.
Caspian had been expecting to see more than once person, as she startled at his appearance, he wondered if the plan was to have him meet the potential accountants separately.
"Hi," He greeted pleasantly, stepping into the study. "I’m Caspian, and you are?"
"Patricia but everyone calls me Patty," She answered nervously, stumbling over her words.
Caspian beamed, he had expected to find any one of the chefs to explain things further to him when he showed up at the kitchen, it was why he had confidently walked up to the study.
"Have you met the chefs yet?" He found himself asking, a little lost but carrying on the conversation smoothly.
"Y-Yes! They told me to wait here."
Caspian frowned at their inconvenient absence, he knew next to nothing about Patty, and he didn’t like how nervous she looked.
"Give me a moment," He excused himself, stepping out of the study.
"Where are the chefs?" He asked the first kitchen staff he saw when he left the study.
"In the storeroom, I’m sure." She quickly supplied, "Do you need me to check?"
"No, it’s fine." Caspian waved her off, "I’ll just drop in myself." He said as he walked to the storeroom.
He did find all three chefs lounging around in there, Roy munching on an apple.
Caspian did a double take, they did not look surprised to see him, almost like they expected his presence.
"So, what do you think of the applicant?" Katya asked immediately.
She had been the one to call him down to the kitchen.
"W-What?" He blinked, "There’s only one."
"Very few people are allowed to work in the mansion," Roy said casually. "Jael always does a background check and gives his approval before they can even get past the gates."
"There was another applicant, but he looked like a creep," Katya added, her dark eyes narrowing in disapproval.
Caspian smiled at that, "Patty seems pleasant. I was about to give you all an earful for leaving her unattended."
"We wanted an introduction between you two without our influence." Scott explained helpfully.
"And if I don’t approve of her?" He asked, leading the way out of the storeroom.
"Then we’ll do without an accountant until there’s a new set of applicants." Katya said like it was no big deal.
"She’s pleasant but can she do the job?" Caspian asked seriously as they walked across the kitchen.
"If she couldn’t, she wouldn’t be here."
That was enough for Caspian, besides if there was a complaint, they could easily do without an accountant.
"I guess we’ve got our new accountant..."
Patty was still standing when they returned to the study, her dark hair tightly bound back in was had to be a painful ponytail.
She shifted her weight nervously from one leg to the order, waiting her verdict when the returned.
"The boss’ missus approves of you," Katya said in a distantly polite tone.
Patty smiled for the first time, the expression just as nervous. "T-Thank you."
Caspian wisely ignored the title used for him, he had heard the house staff and Asher’s men throw it around, it wasn’t often said to his face though.
And they meant it in a respectful manner, so it was difficult to be upset at the odd title.
"Come to me if you need anything," He told her kindly, walking out when his phone rang.
"Hi," He said in a lilting voice, a smile stretching out on his face.
There was an odd thumping sound that made him frown.
"I hope you’re not calling me in the middle of a shootout."
Asher’s tone was teasing as he responded, "Worried I’ll be distracted?"
"Asher," Caspian warned.
The Alpha always seemed to be in a good mood when he was in danger, so he really couldn’t tell if he was currently in the middle of a shootout or not.
"I’m not," He admitted, a low chuckle threading his words. "I’m at the front door."
"What?" Caspian whipped around like he expected to see Asher right away.
"Yeah," Asher’s grin was audible, "I came to take you out for lunch."
Caspian immediately changed directions, getting to the top of the stairs just as Asher was halfway up.
He had forgotten about the call in his haste to get down to him, pausing at the top, his smile returning.
"You’re really here."
Asher also stopped, "Do you want to have lunch at the mansion?"
Caspian moved now, "I don’t mind eating out, as long as it’s not one of your restaurants." He tagged on, wrinkling his nose.
Asher met up with him halfway, "Not even one at a hotel?"
Caspian’s eyes widened, he had been thinking more along the lines of a homely, small restaurant where they wouldn’t draw too much attention.
"A hotel?" He repeated, a little suspicious of the option.
That sounded way too classy for the outfit he had on.
"We can get a private room," Asher went into detail.
That made him even more suspicious, "I’ll need to change."
They were still standing on the stairs, standing close to each other.
Asher slowly appraised his outfit, and for the first time in days Caspian remembered that they still hadn’t talked about the lingerie situation.
"You look fine to me," Asher shrugged, not a single hint of judgment in his voice.
"You wear massive fur coats with every outfit, I’m not trusting you." Caspian said, making a move to go up the stairs.
Asher caught him with an arm around his waist, "What do you want to change into?"
Caspian froze, swallowing slowly. "Something that’s not a printed shirt and sweatpants."
"I’ll come with you," Asher invited himself.
Caspian tried to make out why they were having this conversation. He needed to know why Asher was so interested in what he was going to wear all of a sudden.
He had too many hidden secrets to not be cautious.
"I’ll even take my fur coat off," Asher said as they made their way to the closet.
Caspian watched his muscles flex through the shirt he wore as he took the massive coat off.
"You don’t need to," He said fondly, "It makes you look cool."
Asher glowed from his compliment, and he really contemplated putting it back on.
"It’s just going to be a casual date," He tossed the heavy coat to the side, hazel-gold eyes focused on Caspian.
Caspian reached for the bottom of the shirt he had on, pulled it up halfway and then froze.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch me?" He had to ask, Asher was too focused, it was concerning.
He had the nerve to move closer and perch on the edge of his vanity table, "I could help you pick out an outfit."
Caspian gave him a look, not buying his self-confident offer. "You?"
"Sure, anything is fine but the outfit you wore to the function."
Caspian found his serious tone amusing, rifling through his wardrobe without taking his clothes off.
"And here I thought you liked it." He tutted.
He hadn’t been thinking about that outfit but now that Asher brought it up, he could feel the mischief spark.