Chapter 108 A Timely Assistance
Intervention
A subtle change came over Damian's face, his expression hardened imperceptibly.hardening just a fraction. "What did you do?"
"Changed he asked."I switched lanes over a solid line, forgot to carry and didn't have my license."
Damian coughed lightly into on me," she confessed.A soft cough escaped Damian, his fist, which was near held close to his nose. "Where'sWhere was it towed? I'll havearrange for someone bringto retrieve it back."
."Ashley realized whyfelt a sudden understanding of her luck had been especially bad today. It seemed every encounterrecent misfortune. Every interaction with Damian brought misfortune—it was likeseemed to bring about some form of calamity, as if it were an unwritten rulelaw. She was straightforwarddecided to be upfront with him:. "It's near the entrance of the Season Hotel. TellPlease tell your guyperson to be careful; the car's notcar isn't mine. It's ona loan from the law firm, and I need to return it."
in good condition."Damian's breath hitched, forcing him to see herview Ashley in a whole new light: "Mortgage. "You're struggling with mortgage payments weighing heavily. The car's, and the car is just a company lease, Ashley. Haven'tHave you stopped to think aboutever considered your lifestyle? You're pushingnearing thirty and tossing money at, yet you're spending recklessly on bags and shoes without aany thought forof financial planning or homeownership."
Ashley fishedrummaged in her purse for her car keys out of her purse and threw, then tossed them onto the table, her brows knitting together. "I appreciatefurrowing. "Thanks for the finance lessonfinancial advice, Damian. MaybePerhaps my fingers are just too loose to hold onto cashmoney. I guesssuppose I should straighten myself out, huh?"
Damian had theget my act together, right?"A sudden urge to slapknock some sense into her.
washed over Damian.He dialed an internal line, summoning a female secretary,. "CEO."
," he addressed her.After givingproviding her with the address, Damian calmly pulledretrieved a driver's license from his desk drawer and said, "Take. "Bring Ashley's car back for her."
," he instructed.The secretary, itchingbrimming with curiosity, merely nodded and left without daringexited the room, resisting the urge to sneaksteal another glance at Ashley.
Now it was Ashley's turn to widen her eyes widened in shock. "How comesurprise. "Why do you have my driver's license?!"
Did he have such deep tricksintricate schemes up his sleeve to takeacquire her license like that?
in this manner?Damian didn't bother explaining, "Found it."
Ashley let out a to elaborate. "I found it," he said simply.A cold chuckle. escaped Ashley. "Impressive!"
"Not as impressive as losing it in the first place."
At," he retorted.By noon, Ashley found herself beingacting as Damian's driverchauffeur to the Hudson Arts Building. Before getting out ofexiting the car, Damian instructed, "Wait for me here."
He left withoutWithout offering her any explanation, stridinghe strode away briskly.
It turned out to beAshley ended up waiting for a long two-hour wait, making hours, causing her to miss lunch yet again. But AshleyHowever, she had learned her lesson and picked upgrabbed a sandwich and coffee from thea nearby convenience store midwayhalfway through.
her wait."Miss, would you like some yogurt? Half price on You get the second cup."
at half price," a store attendant offered.It was her favorite brand—low fat and low sugar. Along with itThere was an offer foralso a half-off deal on rice balls, which she grabbed as well.
promptly added to her purchase.Damian's meeting was interrupted by a transatlantic call from his father.
He stepped into the lounge to answer,. "Dad."
With ," he greeted.Considering the six-hour time difference from Geneva to home, his parents must have just gottenwoken up, catchinghaving caught wind of the incident in Rochester City.
Damian had bracedmentally prepared himself for the inevitable lecture from home, especially since he'd deliberately not allowedhe had intentionally refrained from allowing the PR department to clear the mess swiftly.
But clean up the mess.However, seeing the apologetic and meek looksubdued expression on Ashley's face made him feel that it was all worth it.
"The photos on the internet, is that you?" His father, freshly awokenawakened to the news of his son embroiled in a scandal, was too angryfurious to listen to any soothing words. He was particularly enraged by the The sight of Ashley by his son's side!
only served to fuel his rage!What was heDamian thinking?
Damian knew his father's temperament all too well—any attempt at explanation would be dismissed as evasion, a sign of cowardice. "Yes, it's me."
Hearing his," he admitted.His son's unabashedunapologetic admission without a hint, devoid of any remorse stirred, only served to stoke his father's anger even morefurther. Despite the meagermild 10-degree chill in Switzerland, he felt a sweat break out. "And what about Ashley? You're still in touchcontact with her?"
Damian saidresponded calmly, "It's work-related. She's representing KM Road in a lawsuit."
"Ridiculous! You're being ludicrous! Doesn't KM Road have a whole legal department getting paid for nothing? Huh? Is the case so big that you need to go outside for ahire an external lawyer? And you choose some second-rate woman at that! I'm telling you to terminate the contract with her immediately. No matter what reasons you have, that woman can't be involved with The Hearst family and KM Road again."
Damian's father was a man of swift action, known for his fiery temper and high expectations for his son. He did not allowtolerate a single blemish in his life.
Just the mention of Ashley was a stumbling block in his heart.
"I can distinguish personal from professional," Damian insisted. "This case needs her; she's the right fit."
His father cursed. "I don't believe there's any lawsuit in the world that absolutely requires a specific person."
Damian pressed his fingertips to his temples. "The one secretly funneling KM Road's cash flow is Sean."
At the mention of that name, his father finally cooled down, took a moment to think, and then acknowledged, "Ashley's uncle."
"Sean colludedwas engaged in a covert operation with the CFO of KM Road's Manchester branch. They'veThey had been discreetly transferring money in batchesfunds to offshore accounts, and we can't in small increments, making it impossible for us to trace the evidence. We needpaper trail. The situation called for an inside man, someone he trusts to infiltrate and extract information.Sean trusted implicitly. Who could be better suited for this task than Ashley?"
After considering?Upon hearing Damian's explanationplan, his father retorted sarcastically, "You think Ashley'sresponded with a sarcastic retort. "Do you take Ashley for a fool? She's willing to cooperateonly cooperating with you now because she doesn't know she's not privy to the full story. If she finds out, hmph!"
"I'll whole truth. Once she uncovers the reality, she'll be less than pleased.""I intend to have her sign the agreement signed before she knowsdiscovers anything. ," Damian assured his father. "If she chooses justice over family ties and helpsaids me winin winning the case, thatit would be ideal.the perfect outcome. Even if we lose, I have my ways to makeof making them cough up what they've swallowed.pay for their transgressions. Ashley is justmerely a pawn."
in this game."His father's mood improved withseemed to lighten upon hearing this explanation. "As long as you're clear about it.aware of that. And clean updeal with this mess on the internet quickly!scandal promptly! What gooduse is KM Road's PR department!"
"Sure if they can't handle this!""Understood, Dad."
"Your mother and I are going backreturning to the States next month. I've arranged for thea doctor to seeexamine your grandfather. Be clear aboutMake sure you understand this; Ashley cannot be given any more chances."
Damian lookedgazed down at the car parked under the shadeshelter of the trees with, a sense of foreboding.
creeping over him.If Ashley finds out aboutwere to discover her uncle's embezzlement from KM Road, would she be able to face it impartially?
remain impartial?Was Sean's theft meantmerely a desperate attempt to tide over difficulties forkeep the Astor Group afloat, or was there another agenda?
a hidden motive?While Damian was determined to uncoverresolute in his pursuit of the truth, but he couldn't help feeling worried.
"You're finallyshake off his anxiety."Finally done with theyour meeting, Mr. Busy," came a voice.
called out.As Damian gotclimbed back into the car, the scentaroma of fast food wafted throughfilled the air, cheap and gratifying.
yet satisfying."Have you eaten?"
Ashley had not only eaten but also taken a twenty-minute lunch break. "I've had my meal, and I'm always on dutyready to serve as Damian's driver. I didn't want hunger to messinterfere with my driving, so I made sure to feed myselfeat earlier. Where's Damian off toWhere are we headed now?"
Damian massagedrubbed his temple, his fingers tracing the lines acrosson his forehead. "ConstructionTo the construction site."
Ashley waslooked puzzled. "At this hour?"
Shouldn't he be offheading to a fancy lunch instead?
"Got"Is there a problem with that?"
"Not at all;?""Of course not, I wouldn't dare. But I should mention that I talked my way out ofmanaged to get the office todayday off by telling our director I had a case discussion. I got a day off, but I need to head backreturn to work tomorrow., so I won't be available all day."
Damian, about to droplower his hand, let his fingers resume their dance across his brow. "Drive!"
Ashley queried, "Hadasked, "Have you had lunch yet?"
DiscussingSurely discussing business shouldn'tdidn't mean skipping a meal at the office, right?
?"What's it to you?"
Determined to play the good Samaritan to the end, Ashley pulled out a shopping bag and placed it on the dashdashboard. "Don't be too quick to judge – it might not be up tomeet your usual standards, but it's clean, edible, and wards offit will keep hunger at bay. Of course, you can choose not to eat."
Damian just stared.
As they drove towards the construction site, Damian glanced at the food bag. "Is it even good cold?"
"What do you expect? Me to warm it up in my arms?"
Damian shuddered. "Ashley, must you always speak with such bite?"
"I'd rather be packing a rice cooker and a microwave."
Damian snorted. "Not a bad idea."
Not liking his disdainful look, Ashley took the bag back irritably. "If you don't like it, forget it. I'll just..."
Before she could finish, Damian snatched the bag back. "Considering your dedication, I'll make the sacrifice."
Ashley pouted.
As Damian opened the bag, he first noticed the red sale tag. "Buy one, get one half off? Ashley, is this your idea of a bargain?"
