Exposure Read Online Free Page B

of him. My Doc Martens were in contrast to his Armani shoes. My ratty sweater and jean skirt were in juxtaposition to his dress shirt and dress slacks. He had on a tie when he saw me earlier, and a jacket, but he had removed them both. Nevertheless, he exuded money and breeding.
    Not that I was plain or homely. In contrast, men usually did find me attractive. Many of the guys I met have commented on the pleasing contrast between my pale skin, dark (almost black) hair, and my light eyes. I used to keep myself fit and trim with a daily run, until the incident, but I still had been able to keep up my fitness by setting up a used NordicTrack in my bedroom. Scarlett had helpfully brought it home to me one day, saying that she found it on a curb. It worked surprisingly well for being a cast-off.
    So, I wasn’t unattractive. I just didn’t feel that I was necessarily a match for such a magnificent man as this Asher seemed to be.
    Yet, I looked into his blue eyes, and I saw a hunger there. There was genuine desire burning, white hot, behind those piercing eyes. I inwardly felt myself flushing as I nervously brought my martini to my lips. His penetrating eyes were following my mouth as I sipped my martini, and his expression told me that he wanted to devour it with his tongue.
    I took courage in my drink, and courage in his evident desire for me. For whatever reason, this man and I were drawn to each other, almost as if we were melded to one another. It was inexplicable, it was random, yet it was real.
    “What else would you like to know?” he asked me.
    “Well, uh, what do you do? For a living?”
    “I’m the founder and CEO of Sloane Enterprises,” he said. “It…”
    “Oh my God,” I said to him. “That’s one of the largest alternative energy companies in the world. I so admire what your company is doing for the Third World. Not to mention all the innovations and developments it’s creating for this country. It really is moving our environment aggressively into the 21 st Century.”
    I felt slightly embarrassed for gushing like I was, but I was genuinely excited to learn that he headed a company like that. It was almost as if, through his work, I could live vicariously. I had wanted to help the people in the Third World through my hoped-for career in photo-journalism, yet fell short when I was actually faced with the dangers that I would encounter by my fantasy career. My intentions never did manifest, yet Asher’s intentions apparently did. Sloane Enterprises was known not just for its massive bottom line, but also for its focus on social responsibility.
    He smiled. “I should hire you to do my PR. But, yes, my company has been heavily involved in exporting alternative energy sources around the globe. Especially in countries that really need it – the emerging markets that haven’t quite adapted to our luxuries, such as cars and industry, but are about to. It’s really in the world’s interest that these emerging countries don’t become too much like China and India – in other words, they really need to have access to alternative energy before they become major players and major polluters.”
    “I totally agree,” I said eagerly. A wealthy, handsome, do-gooder who moved with the grace of a jungle cat. How could I possibly have lucked out this much?
    He narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow at the same time. “And what about you?”
    I took a deep breath. “I’m a photographer. Was a photographer. Obviously, I’m not one anymore. I graduated from NYU with a degree in photography just two years ago. I have done pretty well for myself up until, well, you know.” And I now knew that he did know what happened to me. Why I had been unable to leave my place for the last six months. “And, now, well, I have to force myself back out there. Even if it’s terrifying. That was what I was trying to do when you, uh, met me this morning.”
    “That’s a shame,” he said, taking my hands. “It’s a shame