His Town

by Ellie Danes

  My eyes scanned the small crowd as I set myself up behind the desk, laying my files on the flat surface. Avery hadn’t arrived yet. I wasn’t exactly surprised—Harper’s roommate seemed to have an agenda of her own most of the time.

  The big oak door rapidly swung open as Avery rushed in. She gave Natalie a familiar smile and stood at the back of the room, taking everything in.

  When Avery’s eyes caught mine, she waved and offered a similar smile. I nodded to her, watching as she leaned over to Natalie. “When is Asher going to arrive?” I heard her ask in a whisper.

  I shot Natalie a warning look as she looked over at me, opening her mouth a little, as if she was about to say something. She closed her mouth instantly as she observed my expression, chewing on her lower lip. I could tell she was torn about what to do, but ultimately she knew who was in charge here. At least, I hoped she did.

  She quickly looked back at Avery. “You’re late, Miss Gaines.” Her voice was smooth, completely at ease. “Would you care to take a seat with the other girls?”

  Avery’s face fell as her eyes traveled to the ground. She obeyed Natalie instantly, looking around the big room. The other girls sized her up, flicking their eyes over to her as she sat, crossing her legs.

  Her eyes met mine, her brow furrowing in confusion.

  “Now that you’re all here, we can get started.” Natalie’s voice rang out in the room, and she instantly had the nervous women’s attention. “We’re going to walk you through the evening so you know exactly what’s going on.” She looked to me, her expression not betraying a single thing.

  I nodded to her, feeling the eyes of our small audience on me now. I bent over, putting my hands flat on the desk and staring right back at them.

  “Tonight, our bachelor Henry will be narrowing down his selection again. He has chosen each one of you to be here for this stage. The festivities for the evening are going to be pretty simple and should be very fun. You’ll get to really know Henry, and he’s going to get to know you.” I watched as the five women nervously stared at each other. “It’ll just be you five and Henry. Throughout the night, Henry will have fifteen minutes alone with each of you. By the end of the evening, we’ll have Henry narrow his selection down to two girls. The two finalists will get dates with Henry—real dates, away from here. We’ll give those two girls more instructions later on. But for now, all you have to do is be your charming selves and get ready to have a really fun time. You all know the drill. Any questions?”

  I could see Avery shift a little in her seat, her eyes now taking me in suspiciously. She didn’t raise her hand, though, even as one of the other girls raised hers.

  “Yes?”

  The young woman, Katherine, a tall, athletic blonde, laughed easily. “Any rules for tonight?” The way she asked her question told me that she wasn’t particularly nervous at all.

  Her question earned a few more, half-hearted giggles from the women.

  I gave her a smile. “No. Tonight, you use your own judgment. You no longer have to impress us, you have to impress your date.”

  Based on the expressions some of the women now had, I could sense that a few would likely take a more cut-throat approach to winning Henry[‘s attention. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen in the past, though it was a tactic that didn’t usually work out well.

  I cleared my throat. “Good luck to all of you tonight, ladies. If you have any questions, Natalie, Hunter, and I will be here to help you. Hunter will now escort you back to your rooms so you can fully prepare for the night ahead.”

  Katherine stood up first to leave, shooting me a sly, mischievous smile. Henry would certainly have a time with her and her bombshell attitude. She gave Hunter a similar look as he held the door open for her, grinning.

  I looked away, thinking of Harper. Our afternoon had been one of the best dates I’d ever had. Seeing her dressed down in jeans and a plain shirt, her hair in a tangled mess after we had reached the vineyard—everything about her set my mind and body on fire. A slight smile of my own tugged at my lips as I thought about her giving that little twirl, taking in her surroundings with the curiosity of a young, innocent girl. Her lips on mine had been sweet, so sweet.

  “Hi, Mason. Good to see you again.”

  Avery stood in front of me now. I watched her, trying to figure out her expression. “Good to see you, too, Avery,” I replied, keeping my face unreadable. “Are you ready for tonight?”

  She nodded, eyes still intently on me. “I am. I have to say, I was a little surprised that he picked me. He didn’t seem to like me all that much the first time we met.”

  “Well, sometimes people remember things differently. Henry labored over his choices.”

  She shrugged, crossing her arms. “It’ll be...interesting, to say the least. So, when do we get to meet Asher?” Avery looked around the room as if she expected him to bust through the door at any moment.

  “In time.” I kept my tone neutral. “You had better go get ready. I know Harper is excited about helping you out.”

  Avery gave me a cold smile. “Yeah, I know. Talk to you later, Mason.”

  The second she left, Natalie strode over to me. “When the hell are you going to tell Harper, Asher? You can’t just string her along under false pretenses.”

  Her eyes glimmered with frustration as she stared at me, probing for answers. I looked straight into her gaze.

  “Tonight. I’m going to tell Harper the truth tonight.”

  “Why do I get the feeling shit’s about to hit the fan?” She asked, just as Hunter entered the room, closing the door behind him.

  “Because it is,” I finally replied. “I’m going to tell Harper the truth. I’m going to tell her everything.”

  “Just remember,” Natalie chided, “we’re on a tight timeline tonight. You better be careful, Asher.”

  I thought of Harper. She trusted me, looked up to me in a sense. I had no idea how she was going to react, but I knew that keeping everything from her had begun to take a toll on me. An overwhelming feeling of guilt weighed me down.

  She had been hurt before, countless times, and I didn’t want to ever be the reason for that hurt. I had even told her that I wouldn’t be, and now I seemed to be in this over my head.

  Chatper Three

  Harper

  I stopped looking at myself in the mirror. My dark lavender dress, cut short just above the knee with a slight slit on the right thigh, hugged my curves tightly. It wasn’t often that I felt I looked perfect, but tonight was definitely one of those nights. What would Mason think? He had seen me dressed up and dressed down, and not dressed at all. But I still wanted to impress him, to make him desire me. There was nothing compared to the thrill of Mason wanting me.

  The door swung open as Avery made her way into the room, her face flushed. “Something just isn’t right, Harp.” Avery said by way of her greeting.

  “What’s up?” I turned to her, concerned.

  “I don’t know, he just seems suspicious”

  “He who? Asher?”

  “No, Mason. There was this girl in there, a blonde, who was obviously trying to flirt with him, and you know what he did? Gave her a big smile and I swear he was trying to flirt right back.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Avery, that’s his job. He has to make people feel comfortable.”

  “I don’t trust him.”

  I bit my lip, deciding to change the subject. “What was Asher like?”

  “I didn’t see Asher,” she complained. “Mason did the introduction for us. I even asked both him and Natalie where he was. They both blew me off.”

  “Maybe Asher couldn’t make it.”

  She sat down on the bed in a huff, crossing her arms. “Just seems off to me.”

  “What are you trying to get at?”

  A knock on the door interrupted us. Hunter’s voice echoed through the door and I could feel my face flush, remembering our embarrassing encounter at the pool this morning. “Harper, we need you out downs
tairs.”

  “Coming!” I yelled, and then turned to Avery. “Do you think you can handle everything yourself? I’m not sure I’ll have time to come back up.”

  “That’s fine.” She paused, looking me up and down. “You look hot, girl. Just be careful, okay?”

  I frowned at her as I opened the door, leaving her behind to find Mason waiting in the hallway. He had changed into his suit, complete with a tie. He looked a lot like he had the first night I had seen him, handsome and mysterious as ever. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

  I grinned, feeling a bit timid for some reason as I fumbled for the right words. “I’ll try not to spill wine on you tonight.”

  He chuckled. “I wouldn’t care if you did. Are you ready for this?”

  “I think so.”

  “You’ll be fine.”

  His reassuring smile comforted me. I wanted to touch him, but didn’t dare as I glanced at the dark tinted camera mounted on the ceiling. I wondered if Asher was watching now.

  “Harper,” he whispered in a low voice. “I need to tell you something, before this begins.” I froze, looking at him curiously. He seemed distant, withdrawn. His eyes traveled back over to me, his face serious. “Harper, I didn’t expect things to have gone the way they have, especially so quickly...”

  “Yes?” My heart stopped. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind as I stared at him, hanging onto his every word.

  “I think we need to talk about—”

  “We need to talk, now!” A flurry of cologne and testosterone dressed in a navy blue suit whirled past me, grabbing Mason by the arm.

  “Henry, what’s up?” Mason asked, his voice much calmer than the bachelor’s.

  I looked at Henry, only vaguely recognizing him. He was tall, with bleach blonde hair and a decent fashion sense.

  “Come with me,” he ordered.

  “Okay, one second. You go ahead.” Mason’s eyes lingered on me as Henry stalked away, waiting impatiently down the hall. “Listen to me, Harper. I just want you to remember this afternoon, okay? No matter what.”

  “What?”

  Mason gave me a crooked smile as he walked away, drinking in the sight of me. “It will make sense later, just remember.”

  The vineyard, the picnic, the wine. Every scent, sound, and sight came flooding back into my memory. I raced through the memories, trying to recall what I may have done wrong or what Mason may have thought that I missed. Why the mystery? Why the need for a serious talk?

  “Harper, come with me.” A voice behind me tore my eyes away from Mason as reality came in full force. “Are you ready to go?” Natalie’s bright purple hair bounced as she approached and quickly grabbed my hand, pulling me downstairs toward the main room.

  I hesitated, feeling nervous now that Mason wasn’t near me, helping me to learn the ins and outs of my new job. Natalie’s face was serious, all business. “Yeah,” I finally said as we approached the stairs. “What do you need me to do?”

  We walked down the stairs, our heels clicking on the smooth, polished wood. “It’s pretty simple. I want you to be part of the social, make sure everything goes smoothly. Listen into Henry and the girls’ conversations; if they start lacking, you need to help. Talk about anything, the weather, politics—anything to help them connect. Got that?”

  I nodded, tingles traveling up from my toes as my nerves increased. “Yes.”

  “Otherwise, you just need to observe, make sure everybody has everything, that sort of thing. We’ll be starting in about two minutes.”

  “Got it.”

  We had reached the foot of the stairs, where Henry and Mason were talking in a corner. Henry’s face had reddened a little as Mason spoke to him calmly. I tried to catch his eye, tried to figure out what was going on with him, but he was completely absorbed in his conversation.

  The girls milled about, holding glasses of champagne in their manicured hands as they spoke quietly to each other, casting glances over at the bachelor. Avery came down the stairs, giving me a grin. I gave her an inconspicuous thumbs up as she joined the other ladies. Wouldn’t it be kind of amazing if she found true love tonight?

  “Ladies,” Mason’s voice echoed throughout the room.

  I saw him on the stairs, his hands folded calmly in front of him as the girls and Henry gathered just at the bottom of the stairway.

  “So tonight’s the night. As I mentioned to you each earlier, Henry has picked each of you and you will each get to spend some time alone with him this evening.” Mason paused as he observed the group for a moment, giving them his million-dollar smile. “Afterwards you will…”

  “Alright, Asher,” Henry chuckled from the middle of the group of girls. “Enough already, let’s get to the good part.”

  I immediately searched the room and then realized exactly what I’d heard. Mason’s eyes met mine and I felt my stomach sink. In my periphery, I could feel Avery’s gaze flash my way as well, but I was too focused on Mason to look her way.

  “Yes, Henry, I’m getting to that.” Mason faked a smile as he held my stare. For the first time, I saw his face flush, almost embarrassed at what had just happened.

  My heart had stopped. I couldn’t breathe. Mason. Asher. Asher. The creep behind the cameras. The owner of this magnificent mansion, the mysterious man behind all of this. I heard his voice drone on, but I couldn’t listen. My mind raced as my heart beat out of my chest. A sickening feeling filled my stomach.

  He had connections, I had thought. Perks of working at the mansion. Everything that had gone on, everything that he had done with me; he had told me it was nothing. Never once had he mentioned that this was all his, Even worse, I had been suspicious of him from the start, but his words had seduced me. I had wanted to believe him so much that I had disregarded the truth right in front of my eyes, just as I had in every other relationship I’d ever been in.

  He had lied to me and I had fallen for it willingly. Just so he could get what he wanted.

  Angry, hurt tears filled my eyes and I quickly wiped them away so the small crowd wouldn’t notice. He had acted so much more righteous than Jake, but was he really any better? How many times had he told me to trust him, to trust that he would never hurt me in this way? If he had known anything about me, anything at all, he would have known how much I hated lies, how much I needed honesty and truth.

  And, the worst question was still yet to be answered: What else had he lied about?

  Suddenly everyone was moving. I blinked the tears out of my eyes. I wouldn’t let him see me cry. Hell no. Avery caught my eye, trying to keep her attention on Henry while she mouthed, Are you okay? I nodded, not wanting to spoil her evening.

  “Harper, I can ex–”

  I turned to see him standing beside me, a pitiful, remorseful look in his eyes. He knew exactly what he had done. “You bastard.”

  He frowned, cocking his head a little at the tone of my voice. “What’s wrong?”

  I could immediately tell he was trying to play it all off. It reminded me of Jake’s response after accidently calling me by his ex’s name. “You’re Asher.”

  He shrugged. “Mason, Asher. I’m still the same person you’ve come to know.”

  “Yeah, sure. Except you outright lied about who you really are.” I could feel my face begin to redden with anger.

  He stepped closer and lowered his voice, but he didn’t touch me. “Harper, that’s not true. I just wanted you to know me for who I am, before you knew about the money and all of this,” Mason opened his arms and motioned around the room. “I’m still the same person.”

  “Do you think I’m an idiot?” I barked, sobs attempting to bubble through. I wouldn’t let them. “You lied, you intentionally deceived me. How could I ever trust you again, after this? How do I know our whole relationship—or whatever the fuck this is—isn’t a lie? You’ve been in control since day one, and you didn’t even have the decency to…”

  “Harper, settle down, you’re making a scene,” he interrupted me,
his tone calm.

  “Fuck you. I’m leaving.” As I walked away, I could already feel hot tears beginning to seep out the corners of my eyes. I made my way up the stairs to grab my things before making a quick exit.

  Chapter Four

  Mason

  “Harper...” My words were no use as I watched her take off up the stairs.

  I could feel Natalie’s eyes burning a hole into me. I didn’t dare meet her gaze and see the classic I told you so look. Thankfully, most of the main group hadn’t noticed the outburst. They appeared to all be happily engaging in small talk with Henry. Of course, Avery glanced over at me, daggers in her eyes. I couldn’t blame her for feeling upset with me, but Harper’s opinion was what mattered the most.

  Henry caught my eye, and gave me a nervous smile. I hadn’t given him the attention he needed to prepare for this event. He appeared to be a fish out of water and I knew he needed my assistance, but I just couldn’t focus. I was floundering myself.

  “That didn’t go so well.” Natalie didn’t look smug or calculated. Instead, she looked at me with worry, twisting up her mouth a little in the way she always did when she was stressed.

  “You think?” I let out a short, clipped laugh, though right now I definitely didn’t feel like laughing. “I think Henry needs some help.”

  As I moved to walk over to him, Natalie held me back with a firm hand. “I’ll take care of things here. Go after her, Asher. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

  I took a deep breath, giving her a grateful nod. She was right. As hard as it was going to be, I needed to face Harper and talk to her privately. To get her to understand why I had done what I did.

  I walked up the stairs, trying not to appear to be in a rush, even though my heart told me to run. As I opened the door to the room, I knew what I was going to say.

  Harper had already packed up most of her things. I shut the door behind me, but she didn’t—wouldn’t—look at me. “Harper, listen. I’m sorry.”