“I…” I hadn’t told anyone this, didn’t intend to tell him, but it slipped out. “I do book reviews,” I said all of a sudden. “Nothing formal, but I really enjoy it. I have a website dedicated to it, kind of like a blog, and I read books in my spare time and then write up a review. I can usually get one done every week, or sometimes if it’s a longer book it takes a couple. I could do more, but I need to work, too. I don’t think… I don’t think it’s a very profitable business, but…”
Asher grinned. He held out a sushi roll for me on the end of his chopsticks and instinctively I opened my mouth to receive it. Only when he let it go as I held it between my teeth and let it slip into my mouth did I realize what he’d just done. Feeding me like… like a pet? Or something more, something different?
“The way I see it,” he said, “you obviously need to do something involving what you love. Books are a passion, but sometimes you need to make concessions in life, too. Have you thought of reviewing something else, or perhaps some other kind of book? A more popular genre, perhaps? Something more recent, like what’s on the Amazon Kindle Best Sellers lists? What kinds of books do you prefer? Not everyone enjoys writing as literary as Dante’s Inferno, you know?” He grinned a wicked grin.
“Asher, I’m so terribly sorry about that again. I really didn’t mean to ruin your book. I still feel badly.”
He waved away my concern. Then he scooted further to the side and patted the cushion next to him. “Sit here. It’s easier to discuss things if we’re closer.”
Was that it? Yes, it made sense to some extent, but not really. Still, I went. I would have gone no matter what. I didn’t know what it was about him, but I felt like I should hang on his every word, wait for him to demand something from me, and then do it as best I could. And not for any particular reason save for the fact that he seemed like the type of person who would never lead me astray. Why did I think this? What was it? I felt guarded and unsure around him, but I also felt a sense of trustworthiness.
When I went to sit next to him, moving slowly as if in a dream, he brought out a pen and pad of paper from his suit coat. As a random observation, I added, “You’re still wearing your coat.”
He gave me a quizzical look, then laughed. “I am, aren’t I? Well, there’s no need for it. I guess I just feel more comfortable in it than out of it.” He took it off, revealing the rest of his silver shirt, and put the coat at his side.
“The way I see it, and I don’t know much about this business so forgive me any mistakes, but there’s many ways to become successful when dealing with something like this. First, reviewing something that sells is…”
“Asher,” I said, interrupting. “I know you mean well, but…”
“I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?” he said.
“No, it’s not that, but…” I didn’t know how to say this gracefully, so I just let it loose. “I’m not a very good drinker.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t do it too much and…”
“Yes, sake has a decently high alcohol content.”
“I’m not drunk, but…”
“We can discuss business another time,” he said with a grin.
“What do you do?” I asked, suddenly. I don’t know why I asked it, because I knew what he did. He was the CEO of Landseer Enterprises, running numerous different entertainment and vacation holdings. Resorts, mostly, with a few casinos, and there were rumors they had share in other places, but that information was kept carefully secret. Why? I didn’t know. I wasn’t a billionaire, or else I’d probably keep billionaire secrets, too. That didn’t stop me from wanting to know, though.
“Besides running a multi-billion dollar company, which makes me seem much more extravagant than I think I am,” Asher said, “I like photography.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “Photography?” I asked.
“Yes, but…”
“But?”
“I won’t tell you the type.”
“Please?” I begged. Like some foolish girl I tugged on his shirt sleeve. It was the alcohol, I told myself, except I really just wanted to touch him, to be closer to him.
He leaned close to me, whispering into my ear. “I trust you’ll keep a secret. I enjoy photography of an intimate and female sort. I don’t share this information with many people.”
I looked at him as if he were daft. “So you take sexy pictures of scantily clad woman?” I asked.
“You make it sound so artistic,” he said, rolling his eyes.