Chapter 259 Sent to the Hospital, Badly Beaten
Amelia pouted, "Ulysses ain't gonna do squat. Christian's his own flesh and blood. Dude's getting off way too easy!"
Ashley chuckled, "If you don't wanna tip 'em off, you better listen to me. Otherwise, I'm out."
Amelia acted tough, but deep down, she knew they couldn't mess with the big shots and had to play it cool. "I'll find someone to handle it!"
After hanging up, Ashley cupped her face, thinking back to that freaky moment in the elevator.
Damian had her in his arms, striding to the room, whispering, "Don't worry, I'm here, don't be scared."
His voice was deep and soothing, like a spell in her ears.
"Ouch!" She accidentally touched the wound on her calf, snapping back to reality from the pain. Damian had marked the bandaged spot on her leg.
Ashley shook her head, stressed out. She had to avoid Damian as much as possible.
She wondered how things were going on Hendrix's end. Would Alexander cave?
After freshening up, Ashley lay in bed, wide awake. The wild scenes replayed in her mind: the champagne tower, the wound, the elevator. Her brain was like a movie reel.
Tossing and turning, she finally grabbed her phone and logged into Facebook.
The banquet's secrecy was tight. Online, it just mentioned a high-profile business shindig in Rochester City, but no deets on who showed up or what went down.
Biting her lip, Ashley scrolled through.
She didn't even dare to look too closely, scared she might see her name.
Surprisingly, the nasty scandal from a few days ago had vanished.
So fast?
Did Alexander fess up? Did Hendrix handle it for her?
Ashley felt a rush of relief and joy, then turned over to message Hendrix.
Hendrix replied quickly: [Texting a guy late at night, you know how that looks, right?]
Ashley shot back: [Mr. Long, your kindness is so epic, I could stay up all night writing you a thank-you letter.]
Hendrix sent a snarky GIF.
Ashley asked: [Mr. Long, didn't you hit up the business banquet tonight? With your status, you should've.]
Hendrix replied: [I didn't go, but I heard the buzz. Word is, Ashley was the star of the show, super flashy.]
Good thing emotions don't show through texts, saving Ashley the hassle of faking it: [Just average. Mainly 'cause you weren't there to steal the spotlight.]
Hendrix: [Cut the crap. If you're hurt, rest up, and don't stay up late. Watch out for scars. We'll talk about Alexander tomorrow.]
Ashley: [Got it, goodnight.]
The next morning, Ashley was jolted awake by a phone call.
Groggily, she grabbed her phone and swiped to answer, "Hello?"
Hayden hadn't hit her up in days. Why was he calling so early?
"Ashley, got a sec? If you're free, come to the hospital."
Ashley sat up straight, "Who's sick? You?"
Hayden laughed, "Nah, I'm good. It's Christian. His dad beat him up, and now he's laid up in bed."
What? Beat so bad he ended up in the hospital?
Suppressing a bit of schadenfreude, Ashley asked, "Why so harsh? What did he do?"
Hayden, thinking Ashley didn't know, spilled the beans, "Christian and Trinity got busted by reporters at a hotel. Then, Ulysses's assistant dragged him home. He was so wasted he was out cold, and Ulysses was livid. This morning, when he finally woke up, Ulysses grilled him. Christian said nothing happened with Trinity and he didn't remember a thing. Then, the kicker! Just as he finished saying it wasn't his fault, someone dropped off a stack of high-def pics to Ulysses. Long story short, the evidence was solid, and Christian couldn't weasel out of it. Ulysses is an old-school, no-nonsense military guy. No way he'd let that slide. He grabbed a whip and went to town on Christian. It was so bad his whole back was a bloody mess. The doc even thought he'd been kidnapped. Who'd have thought it was just his dad's 'discipline'?"
Hearing Hayden's story, Christian's injuries sounded pretty gnarly. Ashley couldn't just blow it off. "Alright, I'll swing by after work and bring him some grub he likes," she said.
Hayden replied, "Ashley, you're the best. I'll be waiting."
Ashley then told Amelia, who got so hyped she wanted to throw a party. "Go ahead, send my best and wish Christian a speedy recovery. Haha, this is too good! Finish up early tonight, and drinks are on me!"
Ashley replied, "I've got a ton to do today, maybe another time."
Amelia, with a sly tone, asked, "I forgot to ask you yesterday in all the excitement. I heard a lawyer named Ashley was the star at the banquet. Was that you?"
Ashley sniffed, "So what if it was?"
"I knew it! I also heard the champagne tower collapsed and almost hit you. Some super hot guy saved you. Who was it?" Amelia asked.
Ashley snapped, "Why are you so nosy?"
Amelia persisted, "Who was it? Do you know him? Is he a friend or a stranger? Does he like you?"
Ashley replied, "I know him, it's Sean."
Amelia squealed, "The famous lawyer, Sean Ross? Ashley, you should totally go for him!"
"Cut it out, enough. I gotta work!" Ashley said. She arrived at the law firm and sat through a long meeting.
During the meeting, Lynn kept giving her the stink eye, silently fuming.
Robert's case was going nowhere. Lynn'd staked out at the Clearwater Bay Club but hadn't seen a soul. She privately suspected Ashley had tipped them off.
Harold cleared his throat, "Regarding the false news defaming Ashley, we've handled it through special means. The other party has written an apology letter, admitting to intentionally damaging Ashley's reputation."
Ashley shot Harold and Hendrix a grateful smile.
Hendrix took over, "This incident is a wake-up call. In the future, keep chat records when handling cases to avoid gossip and potential backlash."
Lynn gave a cold smile, wishing Ashley had been completely ruined.
After the meeting, Hendrix called out to Ashley, "Come to my office."
Harold glanced at Lynn, "Lynn, you come with me."
As they passed each other, Lynn looked like she wanted to stab Ashley.
In the office, Ashley asked, "Mr. Long, where's Alexander?"
Hendrix took a sip of his coffee, "I haven't even asked you anything yet, and you're already grilling me. Who's the boss here?"
Ashley gave a sheepish smile, "You are."
Hendrix pushed a document and a USB drive towards her, "Internal info. Enjoy it yourself. Just don't go flashing it around."
Ashley grinned, "Mr. Long, you're awesome! You handled it so fast."
Hendrix let out a couple of cold laughs, "Awesome? Not as awesome as you. Last night at the Shangri-La Hotel, you made quite the splash. Today, several young guys asked me if you were the Ashley who got cyberbullied. What should I say? Was it just a name coincidence? Or that you're good at everything?"
She had no idea that after last night, her name had spread like wildfire among the elite circles. There was no public info online, but word of mouth was all over the place. Numerous versions of the story had emerged, some as wild as novels.
Ashley replied seriously, "Mr. Long, is there any hope for my reputation?"
