Chapter 390 His fingers were about to brush against her leg.
Christian asked himself if he had ever been afraid of Ashley, but now, her somewhat distracted expression made him a bit uneasy.
"Did you see it?"
But why did she look neither surprised nor take the opportunity to mock him?
Christian coughed, "Hey, just asking casually."
Ashley rubbed her wrist, seemingly still regretting the lost bracelet, "Someone did come up last night, took the elevator next door, a man and a woman. The woman went that way, the man came this way."
Christian glanced over.
"This way" meant towards his room.
A man?
Christian's face visibly twisted.
Ashley asked with concern, "You don't look well, are you feeling sick?"
"I'm perfectly fine," he said, then added, "I'll get you the bracelet. Don't go around acting poor, making it seem like we old friends don't support you."
Ashley forced a smile, "Thank you."
With hidden agendas, the two parted ways.
Ashley messaged Amelia: [I cleaned up for you, go ahead without worry!]
Amelia had been urgently called to the set, it was quite pressing, and she might still be busy, not having replied yet.
Meanwhile, Christian ate his breakfast without tasting it, then knocked on Damian's door and lazily sat down inside.
Damian was in a phone meeting, pointing to the sofa for him to wait.
Christian, full of pent-up frustration, waited like someone wronged, hoping for someone to vent his anger.
Damian finished up, put down his phone, "Did the company go bankrupt?"
Christian glared, "I need to ask you something."
Damian sat down, lit a cigarette, his posture straight, only his arm resting on the armrest, "Go ahead."
Christian looked at his ascetic demeanor, finding it hard to associate him with ordinary human emotions. If he hadn't seen what Damian did for Ashley, he wouldn't believe Damian had any feelings.
Suddenly, he didn't want to ask anymore.
But after hesitating for a moment, he couldn't hold it in, "What do you think of Ashley?"
Damian lit his cigarette, exhaled smoke, and looked at him slowly, "That's what you want to ask?"
Christian felt a bit guilty under his gaze, "Answer me first."
"You know the answer."
Christian was quite annoyed. He wished he and Damian weren't so close; maybe a fight would help him vent.
Damn it, they were too close, and he couldn't beat him.
Forget it, he didn't want to dwell on Ashley today, "I handled the Benjamin thing for you."
Damian glanced at him, his deep eyes conveying multiple meanings.
Christian laughed, "What? Touched?"
Damian said, "With Benjamin pulling out, will the movie still be made?"
Christian scratched his head, uninterested. "It depends on my mood. I don't feel like putting in the effort."
Damian said lightly, "I'll cover the funding gap."
Christian immediately felt his earlier question was unnecessary. He wasn't blind; Damian's attitude towards Ashley was obvious. Only an idiot would ask.
Even meddling in his friend's affairs.
So idle?
"A few million dollars, no big deal." Christian was still bothered by last night's events.
Ashley said she saw Damian at that time, did he see anything?
Or did he not care at all?
Over the years, his behavior had left a fixed impression on Damian.
Seeing him dodge the question, Damian snorted, "If you can't say it, don't force it. I have an appointment with Sven, leaving soon."
Christian rubbed his face, "Alright, you go ahead, I'll be busy too."
"Busy with what?"
"Going to the set. You're funding it, I have to find people. With Benjamin pulling out, I can't use his woman, the lead needs to be replaced."
Damian gave him a cold look, "With those artists you used to have?"
Christian knew Damian never thought highly of the girls he played with. Of course, he never took them seriously either, but since he was here in Limehof, he had to take it seriously, check the crew, and see who was keeping mistresses under his nose.
"Those artists... who remembers who."
Damian went downstairs and ran into Ashley coming out of the print shop.
They walked towards each other, Ashley looking at her documents, not noticing anyone, almost bumping into him.
Damian reminded, "Watch where you're going."
Ashley had printed out the documents Amelia gave her, finding it hard to annotate on her phone. Absorbed in reading, she was startled by his voice, her hand slipped, and a few pages flew out. She quickly picked them up before Damian could bend down, "Got distracted, didn't notice."
Damian frowned, "A lawyer also doing financing? You have quite a few side jobs."
Did he see it? What kind of eyesight does he have?
Ashley said, "Helping a friend, not a side job."
Damian extended his hand.
Ashley raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"Let me see."
Ashley didn't want him to know too much; it was Amelia's family matter, their shared predicament. Instinctively, she didn't want Damian to see through it.
Damian's tone was calm, "I'm more professional in financing. Of course, if you don't want to, forget it."
"Aren't you going out? Don't want to delay you."
Damian said, "I'm going to the island to check on a project. You can drive me, and I'll help you review it on the way, correcting any issues to save you from taking detours."
His words hit Ashley's heart. She was skilled in financial lawsuits but not in financing bids. If there were any mistakes, wouldn't she be more of a hindrance?
If Damian could give some pointers, the chances of getting the investment would be higher.
But she didn't want to owe him any more favors.
Damian said, "To Sven, you're my secretary. It wouldn't make sense for me to go alone to the site inspection. You help me out, and I'll handle the professional issues for you. It's mutually beneficial. If you don't want to play along, that's fine too."
Mutual use?
"Fine, I'll drive. My own car, my driving has improved."
Still a cold and distant attitude, without a trace of personal feelings, perfectly fitting his description of mutual benefit.
Sitting separately in the driver's seat and passenger seat, she thought of the last time they came to Limehof. She played Damian's secretary and drove. History was eerily similar.
Damian seriously reviewed the documents in the passenger seat, his long, elegant fingers pausing on the cheap, ordinary print paper, somewhat out of place with the rough texture.
After a moment, he reached out, "Got a pen?"
"In my bag."
"You drive, I'll get it. Won't touch your personal items."
He unzipped, took out the pen, zipped it back up, carefully avoiding any physical contact, precisely maintaining boundaries.
It was as if they were just superior and subordinate, with no reason for any behavior beyond the limits.
Ashley clearly saw his fingers almost brush her leg, then lift just in time to avoid it.
At that moment, she couldn't describe her feelings, a bit strange, a bit... empty.
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