“You…” I pushed her away then headed straight for my office in the hotel.
Finally, it was afternoon.
There was no more trouble from Joyce since the morning. It could be that she had left work early due to being in a bad mood.
Deep in thought, I didn’t notice Joseph standing at the entrance to my office until I heard the excited screams from my female colleagues.
“Ms. Stovall, may we speak in private?” inquired Joseph.
I felt the prying glances from all around me, so I nodded uneasily. “Sure!”
We left my office and came to a quiet area. “Mr. Campbell, is there anything I can help you with?”
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Mr. Fuller wishes to see you.”
I instinctively wanted to reject but nodded after some hesitation. “Where is he?”
“The hotel’s parking lot!”
I nodded. “Okay!”
When he saw me walking back towards my office, he continued, “Ms. Stovall, Mr. Fuller is already waiting for you downstairs.”
I turned to look at him silently before saying, “I know. I need to get my purse.”
Baffled by my answer, he acknowledged, “Then I will wait for you here.”
“Fine by me.”
These two had worked together for many years, so their behaviors were getting more and more similar.
Once I had my purse with me and exited my office. He let out a relieved sigh. He acted as if I would turn around and leave right away.
Moments later, we arrived at the parking lot.
When Joseph noticed the door to the black Mercedes-Benz was left open, he immediately turned and left with a feeble excuse.
I got in the car and saw Ashton was reading a document intently and elegantly.
“It’s two o’clock. I still have to work later,” I reminded.
He paused briefly, snapped the document closed, and focused his gaze on me. “After lunch, I’ll send you back here.”
R Province was small, so there weren’t many good-quality restaurants around. However, Ashton managed to find one and a Chinese one at that.
Since it was pre-booked, once Ashton and I were seated, the dishes were served promptly.
I glanced disinterestedly at the view outside through the window. Time passed by so fast, and it was already July. Soon, summer would end in a blink of an eye.
He kept silent and placed some food on my plate. He halted once my plate was full.
He glanced at me and said, “Try it. These are all your favorite.”
I lowered my gaze, looking at the table. Indeed as he said, all of them used to be my favorite dishes.
However, as time passed and people changed, my taste changed after I had left J City. So I sat still, staring at him, and said, “Spicy food is bad for health, so I’ve adapted to a light diet.”
Since young, Summer wasn’t able to eat spicy food, so I stopped eating too. I would even skip garlic and ginger in my cooking because they would be spicy.
He gulped to keep his emotions in check. After a while, he nodded and said gently, “I’ll change the food!”
He waved down a waiter and asked for all the dishes to be changed to light food.
I wanted to stop him but felt that it wasn’t necessary, so I stared indifferently at him and let out a sigh.
The waiter served new dishes and changed the plates. He continued to place food on my plate. “Eat more. You seemed thinner.”
My mouth set in a hard line. I stared at the mountain of food on my plate without any appetite.
Four years had passed, and I became more taciturn. In the past, I would have taken the initiative to ask him for my purpose here.
But now, I didn’t want to talk much, so I ate in silence.
He placed a glass of water in front of me. “Eat slowly. There’s no rush.”
I lowered my gaze in silence.
Half an hour had passed when lunch ended. He didn’t touch any of the food, only stared as I ate.
When I put down my cutlery, he questioned, “Finished?”
I nodded and wiped my mouth.
I noticed the time was already half past one. “Thank you for the meal. It’s late now, so I have to return to work.”
I excused myself from the table and left the restaurant.
I wasn’t acting cold towards him, nor was I pushing him away. I only wanted to leave the past, in the past.
He followed me out. “Let me send you back.”
I nodded because flagging down a taxi in R Province was difficult.
The whole car trip back was silent.
He noticed that I had no intention to speak, so he spoke up. “Let me handle Joyce. You only need to focus on your job.”
My brows knitted into a frown. “There’s no need!” I already got Uncle Louis to help, so I didn’t need to involve Ashton.
Moreover, Louis was investigating corruption cases all over the country, so I was only helping him.
Ashton lowered his gaze and didn’t reply further.
Once we reached the hotel, I said, “Thanks for the ride!”
He nodded, being the gentlemen he was, and kept his good manner and elegance.
Louis arrived shortly at the hotel at five in the evening. An hour later, the county mayor and mayors of neighboring cities arrived one after another as well.
