Chapter 170 The Scenery Can Be Deceptive
Curtis James, the co-responsible person for the Eirondia project, came from a family business that had been passed down for nearly a hundred years. In his generation, they still enjoyed the title bestowed by the country, with a seat at the annual national banquet.
However, the decline of the nobility was like the setting sun, already in an irreversible decline. Even the old royal families needed to seek a path for development, and they were no exception.
Therefore, when Curtis learned that KM Road Group was planning to develop luxury residences and shopping centers in Dreamvale, he discussed it with his family and decided to invest together, leveraging the local people's advantages to provide convenience.
After careful selection, Damian accepted their cooperation proposal, with the condition that for the next five years, the James Family would only enjoy dividend rights without interfering in the operation.
KM Road will send a dedicated person to penetrate various levels, first laying a solid management foundation, and then gradually delegating authority.
Curtis agreed.
However, both parties still need to negotiate the details of the early construction. Curtis wanted to meet Damian face to face to discuss this, but he was told that Damian had no time. He had to settle for discussing it with Trinity.
During this meeting, Trinity had two goals - to fulfill Curtis's request to meet Damian and to demonstrate her extraordinary relationship with Damian.
Therefore, in the conversation, she repeatedly showed intimacy with Damian. Damian had long seen through Trinity's intentions, but he only performed in front of others. As for the matters Curtis mentioned, he let go of irrelevant details but did not budge on the core issues.
In just a few minutes, Damian quickly ended the conversation. "That's all for now. We'll talk about the rest at the meeting."
Curtis shrugged and looked at Ashley, who was walking away. "I'd like to get to know that lady." He smiled.
Trinity lightly pursed her lips. Using a woman's intuition, she guessed that Curtis had taken a liking to Ashley.
With him involved, it would be much easier to sow discord between Ashley and Damian than to do it herself. It must be that God saw her hardships and couldn't bear to treat her harshly.
"You mentioned Ashley..."
Damian interrupted her, "Ashley is only staying in Dreamvale for half a day and is not responsible for this project. You don't need to get to know her."
Curtis was somewhat disappointed, his emotions written plainly on his face. "I can go find her."
The authority of a superior emanated from Damian's demeanor, suppressing the local man with just one sentence. "No way."
With that, he looked calmly at Trinity. "If you want to tour Dreamvale, have Curtis accompany you. He's familiar with the area."
Then, with gentlemanly dignity, he nodded at Curtis. "See you."
His pace was brisk, and he could feel how fast he was moving towards Ashley.
As he approached, he heard her soft cooing on the phone, saying, "Miss you..." and instructing the other person not to miss her too much.
'Ashley couldn't stand being lonely. Even in a few minutes, she had to say some ambiguous things to another man,' Damian thought.
It was no wonder Curtis was fond of her. The signals she emitted probably meant that every man had a chance with her!
He glared at her delicate face, seeing through her panic and guilt, further confirming his suspicions.
A cold, bitter laugh echoed in his heart. Damian couldn't believe he had fallen for a woman like her.
Ashley quickly hung up the phone, fearing Damian would see Hendrix's name and become angry again. She pressed the screen against her palm with discomfort. "You finished chatting so quickly?"
Generally, business negotiations took several hours.
'Blame me finished too fast? ' Damian pressed his lips slightly. "Seems like I'm bothering you?"
Ashley replied, "It's fine. I'm done here too."
He reminded himself that it was best not to ask. Ignore it and believe everything was as beautiful as he saw it. But emotions always triumphed over reason when stirred up. "Whose call was it just now? "
'It made you so happy.' He held back the second half of the sentence.
Ashley hesitated for a second. She wanted to say it was Amelia, but that second was enough for Damian to see through the truth. Before she could admit it herself, he already had the answer. "It’s Hendrix."
His guess was spot on, as if he had been involved.
"I rushed over, leaving the criminal case in the hands of the law firm partner. Some issues need to be discussed now."
Damian's eyes were full of suspicion. "If you handed it over to other partners, why is he communicating with you? With today's technology, I remember a mute can't be a lawyer."
Ashley realized she was explaining too much. Her remaining patience had been exhausted prematurely, and she looked at him coldly. "Mr. Hearst, you are critical of my personal life and work, behaving like a ruffian, lacking grace and tolerance. Even if it's not work-related but personal communication, so what? Hendrix is my boss. We can have normal conversations."
After speaking, Ashley realized she was explaining again.
There was no need for explanations. If Damian tried to pick a fight, let him. After all, Hendrix wasn't a baby.
Damian clenched his fists, suppressing his anger. "Hendrix has ill intentions towards you! Or perhaps you enjoy men flattering you!"
Ashley felt like her head was about to explode. What did Damian really think of her? "So, Mr. Hearst, what do you want me to feel about you? You and Trinity are about to get engaged and you're still flirting with me. I think Hendrix is quite honest. He has a clear attitude and is decisive. You've got a good wife at home, and you still want girls over the world."
Damian rubbed his temples, feeling a headache from Ashley's words. "Ashley, you should be able to understand my intentions!"
'Hadn't I made it obvious enough?'
Hayden said women liked surprises. He showed up on the plane and sat with her. It was his first time flying international on a passenger plane in past twenty-eight years. It was a torment of twenty hours but he hadn't said a word of complaint.
The Dreamvale trip had been a busy business trip, and he'd left his job to take her out on the trip, always matching her pace. Although he'd had his schedule temporarily disrupted by Trinity, he'd solved the trouble in the shortest possible time.
She was surrounded by men, and when he warned her to be careful, she blamed him ungratefully.
There was nothing cute about this woman!
Ashley was so depressed. She suspected Damian was making fun of her. "Mr. Hearst, how do you expect me to feel about you?"
Damian ran his hand from his forehead to his nose and then stopped at his mouth. "Okay. Never mind. Let's go."
He told himself not to rush. He could just take it slow and see how long she could play dumb.
The golden sunset reflected on the river, casting a dazzling light on the water, each ray of light evoking thoughts of beauty.
Ashley admired herself. Despite arguing all the way, they could still stand calmly together and watch the sunset.
The annoying scenery of Elva River was so deceiving.
Damian, standing beside her, gazed earnestly at the sunset. His silhouette in the sunset was exceptionally elegant, but his face was too cold.
"Ashley, are you okay?"
Ashley's legs were a bit sore. "Are we going to keep walking along the riverbank like this?"
While others could visit several attractions in the afternoon, they had been walking along the long river embankment for hours.
Damian thought to himself, 'Is she planning to walk along the riverbank until we grow old?' His stamina was fine, but he feared Ashley might not have the same patience.
"What do you want to do?"
Restaurants and shops lined both sides of the river, the aroma of dinner tantalizing. Ashley confessed, "I'm hungry."
Damian seemed to have been waiting for this moment. "You want to eat something?"
Wasn't that obvious?
"Can’t I?"
"You can. But you need to promise me one thing."
