Page 10 of Billionaire Unbroken - Asher
I wasn’t sure there was any kind of magic about the way that Asher tolerated me.
Maybe he’d just had time to get used to me.
We saw each other every weekday.
“Maybe that’s the distraction he needs to pull him out of his own head,” Lauren mused. “I know he’s really antisocial—”
“I don’t think he’s really antisocial,” I interrupted, without thinking about my words. “I think it’s fear that keeps him isolated. I’m not sure exactly what he’s been through in his past, but I think he has some bad PTSD. I…recognize the signs because I’ve experienced it myself. Even after a few years of counseling, I still have occasional issues.”
Lauren frowned. “I’m sorry you went through that, and I’m going to want to hear more when I get back from Europe. Asher went through some really traumatic stuff, but it was all in his childhood.”
“There’s something called delayed-onset PTSD,” I explained. “I did a lot of research when I was in treatment. It onsets years or decades later. It can get progressively worse once those symptoms start. It can be triggered by stress or life events.”
I had no idea why I was sharing my suspicions with Lauren.
I had no business word vomiting my thoughts to her.
Maybe I’d kept my thoughts to myself for so long that I needed to bounce them off someone else.
I certainly couldn’t talk to Asher about this.
She sent me a quizzical look. “Like maybe the stress of building a business worth billions? Cole has told me everything he knows about how Asher has isolated himself over time. Hesaid it started after they moved to Austin. They were young, but they were adults. From what I understand, it’s gotten progressively worse over the years. I’m worried about him, Sierra. I wish there was something I could do to help him. It hurts to watch him push everyone away most of the time. I don’t think anyone knows everything that Asher went through as the oldest son, but the abuse from their father was horrible. Cole and Asher were beaten badly as kids. Their father was an extremely mean, abusive alcoholic.”
I felt a little guilty talking about my boss behind his back, but the truth was that I was worried about Asher, too, and he wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who shared.
My eyes filled with tears at the thought of Asher and Cole being horribly abused when they were helpless children. “I assumed his past was bad,” I said to Lauren. “I just wasn’t sure how bad. It’s hard not to hear the rumors about Cole and Asher killing their father, but I think those rumors are ridiculous.”
Lauren sent me a solemn gaze. “I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that Cole and Asher didn’t kill their father. Please don’t ask me how I know it, but that never happened.”
I nodded as I blinked back the tears in my eyes. “I believe you. I never believed those rumors in the first place.”
“You care about him,” Lauren said suspiciously.
“This job has helped me a lot,” I shared.
“I think it might be a little more than gratitude, but I won’t push,” she answered.
There was more. I lusted after Asher Remington like I’d never longed for a man before, but I wasn’t about to tell his new sister-in-law aboutthat.
“I think you’re doing everything you can to help him,” I said. “I think he probably needs professional help, and you can’t force someone into that. He’ll have to want to leave his isolation.”
Lauren sighed. “Cole said he suggested that once when they were still living in Austin, and Asher adamantly refused and blew the whole suggestion off.”
“Maybe he wasn’t ready,” I said softly. “I can’t say that I know him well, but I don’t think he’s exactly an extrovert by nature. Even without his issues, I think he’d still be a private guy. But he needs to lose his uneasiness about being around people when he wants to be.”
Lauren snorted. “Cole isn’t an extrovert, either. But I think there’s more than just uneasiness with Asher. Cole told me he hates anyone touching him. I’ve wanted to hug Asher so many times, but I could sense that it would make him uncomfortable.”
I got that.
Touch aversion with PTSD was something that took work to get over.
I tried to think back about the times that I might have accidentally touched Asher.
I could remember a few times when we’d had to brush by each other, but I’d never noticed that he freaked out about it.
The man obviously hid it well.
“Maybe it’s better to just give him his space for now,” I replied.
