It was after midnight when Asher got home. Entering from the rear reception room from the motorcourt of the Italian Renaissance-style mansion, he heard the lively notes of a piano coming from the living room. He took the shortcut — a narrow hallway through the side of the house —to an opening just below the grand staircase. A smile tugged at his lips.

He walked quietly, his eyes riveted to the dark-haired girl playing. The piano stood facing the door to the east loggia, so she had her back to him and didn't notice his arrival.

She was just finishing her piece. As the song faded into its last notes, he said, "It's a little late for piano practice, isn't it?"

With a gasp, the girl turned around to look at him. Her smile was wide as she scrambled off the piano bench. "Asher, you're home!" she said, running toward him.

He caught her in a tight hug. "You little scamp. Aren't you supposed to be with Aunt Catherine?" He released her and rubbed his hand on the top of her head affectionately.

Jordana Darcy looked up at him, wrinkling her nose. "I got bored, so I ran away. I thought I'd surprise you." She flashed him a mischievous grin. "But you already knew, didn't you?"

"Yes, she called me after lunch to tell me about how a wild and out of control child you are."

"Ough. I knew it. She hates me."

"I told her I don't recall having a little sister who was anything the way she described her. My baby sister is a well-behaved young woman who waits for me to come pick her up." The sixteen-year-old was supposed to the stay with their aunt in Martha's Vineyard for a six-week summer holiday before she had to go back to her boarding school in Manhattan.

"I couldn't wait. Anne kept trying to make me go to Bible study with her." She sighed and plopped down on a nearby couch. Anne was her cousin, and her aunt's Catherine's only daughter. "It wasn't any fun after Buhle and Elani left last Friday to attend their cousin's wedding."

"Sorry to hear that." He sat down by her side and put an arm around her shoulder. The twin sisters were expats from South Africa who were in the same grade as Jordana. They'd also spent the summer in the Vineyard, which was why his sister agreed to accompany their aunt for a holiday. "You'll see Buhle and Elani again when school starts."

"So you're not mad?"

"No." He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. "Okay, maybe a little."

She hooked her arm though his, pulled it close and rested her head on his shoulder. "Sorry."

"I'm glad you're here." He patted her arm.

"Really? I'm not in your way?"

"In the way of what, sweetheart?"

"Oh you know. Your work, your super glamorous lifestyle." She giggled. "Girlfriends."

"Didn't I tell you not too watch too much TMZ? It'll rot your brain."

"I'm not! I swear. My friends keep sending me links to photos and stuff. But that was really mostly during that time you were dating Piper Scanlon."

"You are the most important girl in my life, Jo. You're never in the way of anything okay?"

"Then why can't I just live here with you?"

"You know why."

"It's not fair. It's not like Mom even wants me around. "

"Of course she does."

"She made me go to boarding school. And when school's out, she packs me off to to live with other people. Sometimes I think she can't stand the sight of me."

Asher sighed. As much as he tried to convince Jordana that her mother — his father's second wife whom he married 18 years after Asher's mother passed away — loved her, it didn't help that Willa de Bourgh-Darcy was not the most attentive of parents. It was hard to imagine the woman did not see Jordana as anything but a hindrance to her jet-setting, party lifestyle. "I thought you liked your school."

"I do. I'd just rather live here with you."

He'd never known his half-sister to be difficult or demanding, so it pained him whenever he had to refuse her anything. She'd brought up the subject of living with him more than a few times, and he knew it was because she was lonely for the only family she'd known.

"Look, I'll go visit Willa after I drop you off to school next week. Maybe I can convince her this time. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. So ... where'd you go tonight?"

"I had dinner with Charlie."

"I miss Charlie. Will I see her before leave for to New York?"

"Sure. We can go get lunch later this week."

"Can I come to her party on Saturday?"

"No."

She made a face. "Spoilsport."

***

"Is there anything else we can help you with, Mr. Darcy?" said the woman. With her cool blonde looks and her crisp cream and red suit, she looked a little too polished to be employed as a personal shopper even for West Tower, one of the most expensive department stores in L.A. However, Asher appreciated the expertise she'd shown assisting Jordana in picking out clothes for the past hour and a half.

"Jo?" he said, glancing at the girl. She was watching a saleswoman pile boxes over the arms of a bewildered Fitz who was trying not to drop anything.

"Oh, no, I think I have everything I need," she said.

"Perhaps a gift for your special lady, Mr. Darcy?" the blonde said. She moved closer until their shoulders touched, and dropped her voice. "The new La Perla collection just came in. It will be my pleasure to show you our best pieces."

"Not today, thank you," he said. He tried to recall her name. Beth? Bree?

"If you prefer, I could arrange to bring them over to your place and show them to you personally." She was close enough that he could recognize which French perfume she was wearing.

"Tell you what." He smiled. "When I do need something special, I'll come find you." He hesitated. "Brittany?"

"Bethany," she said, her eyes lighting up. She pressed a business card into his palm. "Call me anytime, Mr. Darcy." Her fingers lingered on his, and her eyelashes fluttered. "Day or night."

He nodded, and returned his attention to Jordana who was eyeing Fitz with a worried expression on her face. "Are you sure you can carry all that?"

"Certainly, miss," the chauffeur replied. "Shall I put them away and bring the car around, sir?"

"That will be fine. Thank you," Asher said. "Is that everything, Jo, or do you need more shoes?"

"Yes, thank you, Fitz," Jordana said. She turned to Asher. "But there's one more place we need to go."

"Sweetheart, I don't think we'll fit any more things in the car." They'd been clothes shopping for Jordana all afternoon — their back-to-school ritual before the start of every term. She'd refused to have her purchases delivered, insisting on carrying them home with them. "If you like, we can come back tomorrow."

"Oh, we're not buying anything. Well, not any more clothes. I'm buying a book." She smiled sheepishly up at him. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all." He checked his watch. "We have a dinner reservation at seven, so that gives us plenty of time." Seeing her expression, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well, actually ... This might take a while. It's a book signing."

"If it's anything like the last one, maybe we should get dinner first."

"Oh she's not anything like J.K. Rowling or anything. It'll all be over by seven, I promise."

The bookstore was only five blocks away. Fitz wandered off to browse through the shelves, while Asher and Jordana headed toward the the winding staircase on the far end of the store.

"We're late," Jordana said, checking her phone and making a face.

"I thought you said it wouldn't be over until seven?" Asher said, picking up his pace to keep up with her.

"But the reading probably already started. We'd have been done shopping earlier if that woman hadn't been flirting with you."

"What woman?"

She rolled her eyes. "The overly helpful assistant manager back at the Tower."

"Now, Jo. She was probably just trying to earn a commission."

"Assistant managers don't get commissions, silly." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you going to ask her out?"

"I didn't ask for her number."

"She gave you her card."

"Hmmm. She did, yes." He couldn't recall where he put it. Which was just as well; she wasn't his type.

When they got to the top of the stairs, he could see a group of about three dozen people sitting in chairs. In front of them, a woman stood behind a lectern reading out loud from a book. She was dressed in a dark red suit and looked vaguely familiar.

"C'mon," Jordana said, hurrying toward the back row of seats.

He followed, his steps slowing, letting her run ahead. As he got closer, the speaker turned to look his way.

As Lizzy Bennet's gaze settled on him, he got the impression she was not at all happy with his presence there.

.

Of all the book signings in all the shops in all of L.A., Asher Darcy had to walk into hers.

Lizzy resisted the urge to glare at him from across the room. She was in the middle of reading a critique of Korean film in the early 2000's and there was no way she was going to let his presence disrupt her.

Was he spying on her now? Her book signing had nothing to do with the magazine. It was a part of the publicity campaign her publisher had arranged for her following the release of her book — a collection of previously published film reviews — two weeks earlier.

He's still your boss, she reminded herself.

She gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement, before glancing back down on her book.

In the corner of her eye, she saw him smile.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My apologies for the long hold on this book, loves. But new updates will be going up starting on Friday, 15 March 2019. In the meantime, the Chapters 9 and 10 are now available here (please type the URL in your browser):

https://anselacorsino.com/control