Alpha Asher | Completed ✔️

Chapter Ten

"When Fate wants me to," I say dismissively. I can tell that answer bothers Sky, but she doesn't say anything. "Do you want a drink from the kitchen?"

Sky nods and I wander to the kitchen. I had thought about getting drunk tonight on my own, eating ice cream and watching shows where people had great lives and never worried about anything. I still have the same old job working at the desk, managing actual actors who are in career spots I could only dream about. It doesn't seem like I'll get any higher than my current position.

The first thing that grabs my attention as I walk into the room, isn't the alcohol, but a small, sleek black safe sitting on the bench.

No.

I wander closer to it, seeing how it is slightly propped open. This time, I don't hesitate as I pull the lid back, revealing chunks of bright money. A small piece of folded paper lands at my feet. Just like last time.

I don't belong at the bottom of a river, Alaya.

Quit your job.

~A

I slam the lid shut, just as Sky comes into the kitchen.

"Lay, what's taking long-"

Sky broke off, seeing the safe sitting on my bench. Slowly, she walks toward it, taking me by surprise as she grabs the bottle of wine to pour herself a glass. I watch her nervously, my shoulders stiff with anticipation.

"What's with that thing?" she finally asks, motioning toward the safe.

"Birthday present."

"From?"

"Secret admirer?"

Sky raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "You wouldn't tell me anyway."

It takes me over twenty minutes to get everyone out of the house. I feel guilty for kicking everyone out, but I have no other choice. Someone has to be watching. Someone would have had to have seen me dump the money, to fish it out and bring it here on my birthday. The question is, who?

As soon as I closed the door behind Carter, I was back in the kitchen standing in front of the safe. What do I do with it?

I had seconds to really consider it before someone was knocking on my front door.

Expecting it to be Carter forgetting something, I was surprised to see it was a man in a business suit. His are a magnificent blue, his hair styled neatly on his head. He looks rather offical, even with his wide smile.

"Alaya Thorne?"

"Yes, that's me."

"I'm here to hand deliver your birthday present!"

My eyes widen as he holds up a glistening silver key. I just stare at it. He expects me to take it, so I do, feeling the cool metal against my skin. It's a car key. Not the car I have parked outside, that has been battered beyond belief after years of use. This is something sleek, and expensive. Something I can't afford.

"You must be mistaken," I say, trying to hand the keys back, but the man takes a step away. Even Sky couldn't afford a car for me. "I haven't been gifted this."

"There is no mistake, Alaya Throne. You have been gifted the latest model of automobile designed and made in the Wisdom Pack," the man rants, clearly running off some kind of script, keeping the facade of a businessman.

Without thinking, I mumble a thank you, and close the door.

Before my mind had time to figure out how something like this could have happened to me, someone knocked on the door again.