Resisting Asa

RESISTING ASA EMILY ROSE Copyright © 2022 by Emily Rose All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Epilogue Afterword Also by Emily Rose Chapter One ASA I don’t purposely get up in the morning intending to mess with her day. It just happens. She probably thinks I have some little book somewhere that lists all the shit I’m going to do to piss her off, but I’m not that committed. Especially not in the morning after staying up late worrying about the company’s latest campaign. Or without coffee. I’m smart, but I need coffee to get me going. Still, I can’t lie and say that I don’t get a surprising amount of pleasure seeing her glowering face behind her desk. Some might get offended that a beautiful woman smiles at everyone else but them, but not me. I don’t take it personally. Instead, I grin at her slowly, watching with delight as her dark eyes narrow in suspicion. Like she’s expecting me to do or say something to annoy her. I’m going to because I just can’t help seeing her all ruffled and irritated with me. I’m a glutton for this kind of thing. I should probably seek therapy, but this is far too much fun, and I don’t need a shrink messing that up. “Good morning, Sunshine,” I say brightly, a nickname I’ve given her that she absolutely despises. “Mr. Lincoln,” she says, voice strained as if being polite and professional to me is difficult for her. Despite being told multiple times, she never calls me by my first name, and though it irks me, I roll with it. She calls my brothers, father, and grandfather by their first names, so I think I’ll chalk it up to our own unique thing. “Your father and brothers are waiting for you.” I take her in, because she’s ridiculously beautiful, and I can’t make out a single part of her that looks like it’s been nipped, tucked, lifted, or enhanced. She has black hair that she always wears pulled up—today is what my nieces call a french braid—dark brown eyes and full lips that rarely smile at me. She’s sitting down, so I can only see the simple white blouse she’s wearing with tiny pearl buttons that show off the swell of her breasts and slim waist. On her wrist are a few bracelets, and around her neck is a delicate chain with a small charm the color of her name. I can just see the top of her waistband, so I imagine she’s wearing her usual black pants. Not that I complain because they make her ass look fantastically biteable. “Sunshine, you sound like you’re not excited to see me,” I mock pout. “Are you trying to get rid of me?” Her eyes narrow again, but her words are as polite and professional as before when she replies, “I’m merely reminding you that you have a meeting, Mr. Lincoln. One you’re about to be late for if you don’t go in now.” “Are you ever going to call me Asa?” I ask her, leaning casually against her desk, content to be as late as I like. If I were early, everyone would think I was sick. She lets out a small sigh, and I bite back a grin. I love getting under her skin. “If I call you Asa, will you please go in?” she asks evenly. “If you call me Asa, sure,” I say with a wicked grin. “Though, now that I think about it, you calling me Mr. Lincoln isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” She gives me a look of confusion. “It can be our thing,” I tell her with a wink as I straighten. Her expression morphs into exasperation, but she doesn’t answer. Maverick’s office door opens, and when he looks out and sees me, he rolls his eyes. “If you cost me my assistant, Asa, I’m going to kick your ass and make you do the job,” he warns me as I head toward him. I smirk at him. We both know that he would never let me be his assistant. “Calm your tits, brother,” I say cheerfully. “I was merely asking the lovely Jade to call me by my first name instead of Mr. Lincoln, but I changed my mind.” “Do I even want to know why?” he asks. He looks past me to Jade and says apologetically, “Ignore him. He’s delirious from a lack of sleep.” “I thought that was just his normal personality,” Jade returns mildly, but a slight touch of amusement under that polite tone has me glancing over my shoulder. When my gaze connects with hers, she loses the slight smile, and her face goes expressionless again. I wink at her and head into Maverick’s office, ignoring whatever Maverick says to her in return. Jade Kanoska likes me, but she doesn’t want to admit it. I’ll wear her down eventually. My eldest brother, Sloan, shakes his head at me when I walk in. “She’s going to snap and kill you one of these days,” he warns. Out of all of us, Sloan looks the most like our father. The only thing he got from our mother is his blue eyes. He has our father’s dark brown hair, body structure, and the brains to help run our company. As