Chapter 360 Going with the Flow and Sticking to Him
Ashley's first reaction wasn't to answer Hendrix but to quickly glance at Damian while observing the road conditions.
However, his sunglasses completely obscured his eyes, and she could only sense his terrible temper from the cold air around him.
Without hearing Ashley's voice, Hendrix became a bit anxious, "Where are you? Why aren't you speaking?"
Ashley gritted her teeth, "I'm driving."
"If you're driving, don't talk on the phone. Be careful, we'll wait for you."
At that moment, Ashley was immensely grateful that Hendrix hadn't said anything too harsh; otherwise, who knows what kind of ugly face Damian would have shown.
But before the call ended, Damian spoke slowly, "Mr. Long."
Ashley was stunned!
There was a moment of dead silence on the other end, followed by Hendrix's icy voice, "Mr. Hearst, you're in her car?!"
Ashley reached out to grab the phone, but Damian pressed her hand back, "Focus on driving."
"Mr. Long, Mr. Hearst and I just happened to..." She wanted to say it was a coincidence meeting Damian, but Damian interrupted her, taking the phone to the window, his voice low but clearly provocative, "I'm in her car. Surprised, Mr. Long?"
Hendrix gritted his teeth, "What are you trying to do? Why did you take her to Shadowcrest Castle yesterday? I'm warning you, Damian, if you dare touch her, I'll destroy you!"
Hearing the other party lose control, Damian became even more amused, "Why didn't you ask about yesterday's events yesterday, Mr. Long? Are you afraid?"
Hendrix's words were squeezed out through clenched teeth, harsh and bitter, "Damian, you're always shameless, but Ashley is my subordinate. I have to consider her dignity. I believe some bastard's coercion forced her, but Damian, I'm warning you, stay away from her!"
Such threats were nothing to Damian, "Mr. Long, worry about keeping your limbs intact before you start worrying about others."
With that, he hung up the phone.
Placing the phone back in Ashley's bag, Damian sneered, "Angry?"
Ashley’s jawline stiffened with rising anger, her eyes narrowing, pupils contracting, and two furious glints shot straight at the traffic light ahead. She stomped on the brake, causing the car to lurch forward and stop abruptly at the pedestrian line.
"I wouldn't dare be angry with Mr. Hearst."
Damian looked at her puffed-up cheeks and calmly said, "You have an appointment with your boss after work. You two seem to get along well."
Ashley wanted to explain that she had work arrangements today. Still, seeing Damian's attitude, she couldn't say a single kind word, "Mr. Hearst maintains strict hierarchies with his employees, but that doesn't mean other companies adopt such harsh class systems. After work, no one knows anyone. Our corporate culture is harmonious and friendly. Is that a problem?"
Every word expressed her dissatisfaction.
"I've warned you more than once not to get too close to Hendrix."
Ashley replied, "Mr. Hearst has reminded me of too many things. My memory isn't that good; I can't remember them all."
Damian's long fingers slid over his brow, "Do you really want to get involved with him that badly?"
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Hearst? What's wrong with getting along with my boss?"
Damian pressed his fingers to his brow, trying to suppress his anger, "Hendrix is using his position to take advantage. Can't you see that, or are you pretending not to know and going along with it?"
Ashley laughed. Before the green light came on, she finally stared at him, "That's a bit strange coming from you, Mr. Hearst. Aren't you doing the same?"
With that, Ashley bit the inside of her cheek, feeling both aggrieved and frustrated, and turned her head away.
Damian was different from Hendrix. The reason he could openly boss her around, command her, and influence many of her decisions was that he held too many things she needed.
She could negotiate and reason with Hendrix, but with Damian, no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't escape being crushed under his foot.
Ridiculous and pathetic.
Damian opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say anything harsher. Instead, he leaned back in his seat and said, "Watch the light, drive."
Ashley moved her foot to the gas pedal, crossed the pedestrian line, and drove straight to the car dealership.
"Mr. Hearst, thank you for accompanying me to the test drive. Please get out; I have other matters to attend to."
Damian rolled down the window and said to Thomas, who was already waiting, "You go back first. I'll accompany Ms. Astor somewhere."
Ashley's eyes widened, a row of exclamation marks flying from her forehead, "I'm meeting with Hendrix for work. Why are you coming along?"
Damian locked the window with a click and leisurely leaned back in his seat, "For a drive."
Ashley was so angry she was about to explode. Was her temper too good, making it easy for Damian to bully her so recklessly?
But she didn't dare to provoke him truly.
Damn it! It was so frustrating!
Suppressing her inner anger, Ashley closed her eyes, inhaled, and exhaled, "Mr. Hearst, you should remember the lawsuit between Quantum Innovations Tech and Infinity Enterprises Group, right?"
Damian just sat there, ignoring the people outside and Ashley's outburst, "I remember."
"I'm meeting with the head of Infinity Enterprises Group today to discuss how to handle this case. We are the plaintiffs, and Mr. Hearst is the defendant. It's not appropriate for Mr. Hearst to be involved in this meeting."
Since he didn't get the hint, she had to spell it out.
Damian remained indifferent, "Where?"
She had said this much, and he still wouldn't get out?
Clearly, he wanted to make things difficult.
"Silvermoon Manor."
"From here, it takes at least thirty minutes at the fastest speed. As the attorney, you'd better not be late."
"You..."
"Drive, or I'll sit with you until dawn. Ms. Astor prides herself on being diligent and dedicated. Let me see just how dedicated you are."
Ashley glared at him fiercely, then bit her lip.
She had experienced Damian's shamelessness!
The rest of the drive was silent. Ashley vented her frustration on the gas pedal, brake, and steering wheel, using as much force as she could.
Damian remained indifferent, letting her vent on the new car.
Silvermoon Manor was a suburbs property of Vertex Innovations Group. It was a comprehensive private estate that included fruit and vegetable farming, leisure and vacation facilities, and a high-end hotel.
Ashley drove through the white wrought-iron gates, "Mr. Hearst, are you sure you want to come with me?"
Damian replied, "Afraid the people from Infinity Enterprises Group will see you with me, the defendant, and make bad assumptions?"
Ashley was indeed worried about this. If Linda saw her with Damian, today's case might be over.
"So what?"
Damian glanced at his watch, "I'll give you two hours."
Ashley squinted, "What do you mean?"
"Drop me off ahead. If I don't see you in two hours, you'd better come up with a good reason to explain to the representative from Infinity Enterprises Group why we're together."
In other words, if she didn't come to him in two hours, he would show up and let everyone know they had private interactions.
This was a clear threat.
Ashley sneered, "Is this Mr. Hearst's way of disrupting the other party's rhythm?"
Damian briefly scanned the scenery in the distance, dissatisfied with the layout, "Two and a half hours."
The thought of Ashley getting close to Hendrix made him unable to tolerate even two minutes, let alone two hours.
Ashley curled her fingers around the steering wheel, "Mr. Hearst..."
"Ms. Astor!"
Before Ashley could argue, a shuttle bus approached, and sitting inside was Linda.
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