He nodded, blinking his eyes, which were ringed with dark circles. He probably hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
As I watched him leave, Rachel, who had been standing silently next to me the whole time, snorted loudly. “Scarlett, my dear, you sure are a generous one. He had the audacity to bring the other woman here, and your expression hasn’t changed a bit. It looks like you are used to it.”
I frowned, too tired to listen to her scathing words. Blandly, I said, “They’re just friends. If I can’t even accept his female friends, do you think that I am fit to be his wife?”
Rachel spluttered with laughter. “Gosh, you have really surprised me. Every day, the tabloids in K City are full of rumors about Mr. Fuller and Ms. Larson. One of them is the chairperson of Fuller Corporation, while the other one is a young lady of the Moore family. The two of them were practically born to be together. Scarlett, my dear, don’t you feel ashamed about coming between them?”
I looked at her and tried to hold back my temper. “Ms. Zimmer, if you want to gossip about them with me, why don’t we go to a coffeeshop and do it over a cup of coffee?”
She looked rather exasperated that her words didn’t manage to irk me. Mockingly, she replied, “You sound so satisfied with yourself. Honestly speaking, you can’t hold a candle to Rebecca. Who do you think you are?”
“What about you?” I retorted. “What do you think you are? A blood-sucking mosquito or a grain of rice that keeps sticking?”
Rachel’s face turned red as she struggled to make a comeback. “Ms. Zimmer,” I continued, “everyone needs a little bit of self-awareness. There’s nothing wrong with having a crush on someone, but when that person already has a wife and kids, you should keep your hands off him no matter how wonderful he is.”
There was no way we could continue talking about work in this awkward atmosphere. Rachel was so angry that her neck was completely red. I wondered if she was going to strangle me to death on the spot.
I shrugged and headed back into the lobby. I got the spare room card from the front desk and went upstairs.
Ashton had already showered, and he was preparing to go to sleep. When he saw me, he raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are you done with your work?”
I rolled my eyes at him and said crossly, “Thanks to you, she stomped off before we had a chance to talk about work!”
He looked rather stunned. Shoving a towel into my hands, he asked, “Can you help me to dry my hair?”
I refused to take it from him. Still glaring at him, I snapped, “Do it yourself. Don’t you have hands for a reason?”
Ashton laughed, looking rather amused. “You’re mad, aren’t you? Are you angry that Rebecca came along with me this time?”
I shook my head vehemently. “No!”
He snorted loudly. “Well, then, what is it?”
Pouting, I replied, “The stupid minxes you’ve been flirting with.”
Immediately, I heard a loud, exaggerated bark of laughter next to my ear. It sounded carefree and extremely happy.
He pulled me against his chest and grinned widely. “Joe told me to bring her over first while he settled some matters. There’s nothing going on between the two of us, so don’t take it to heart, alright?”
I rolled my eyes at him again and grumbled, “Who said I was angry because of her?” Although that was what I said, I grabbed the towel from his hands and forced him into a chair, whereupon I began to dry his hair with the towel.
I could still hear his amused laughter ringing in my ears.
He had spent a long time on the road today and had just gotten off the plane a few hours before. After I finished drying his hair, he let go of me and collapsed onto the bed. Because I wasn’t particularly tired, I leaned against his chest for a while, willing myself to nod off.
That didn’t work. Instead, I stared up at the ceiling and zoned out. Eventually, I noticed that something wasn’t quite right. I turned my head around and looked at Ashton—his eyes were shut, and he seemed to be sleeping very soundly.
However, I knew that something was up. I opened my mouth and asked in a low voice, “Ashton, are you really asleep?”
He didn’t reply to me, but his fluttering eyelashes told me all I needed to know. He wasn’t fast asleep yet—in fact, he probably wasn’t asleep at all.
Seeing this, I narrowed my eyes and kicked him lightly in the shin. He opened his eyes and looked at me, the black orbs flashing dangerously in the dark.
He took a deep, shuddering breath. Parting his lips slightly, he asked, “You don’t want to sleep?”
I was a grown-up woman, so I understood the salacious intentions behind those words. Pursing my lips, I hissed, “Stop fooling around and go to sleep!”
He laughed hoarsely. A naughty hand found its way to my nether regions as he raised his eyebrow and said, “It’s been three days since I last touched myself.”
My face turned red almost immediately. Glaring at him in embarrassment, I hissed, “Ashton, you’re completely shameless.”
He pulled me into his arms as he wriggled his eyebrows again. “If I wasn’t, how would I be able to get my fill?”
With that, he rolled on top of me and pressed a kiss to my lips. Instantly, my senses were gripped by the strong smell of tobacco smoke and shower gel.
After a long, passionate session of lovemaking, I finally ran out of energy and fell asleep in his arms.
Falling asleep in the middle of the day always messed with my sense of time. I didn’t know how long I slept for, but when I finally opened my eyes, the sky was already dark outside.
Ashton was already awake, and he was making a call on the balcony. From the sound of it, he was in the middle of a work discussion. I turned around in bed and stared at him on the balcony. His tall, slender silhouette was a feast for the eyes.
He probably felt my eyes on him. Turning around abruptly, he caught me staring at him from the bed and smiled. He spoke into the phone, “Alright, then. If anything happens, just contact Joseph directly!”
He hung up the phone immediately and walked towards me. There was only a towel wrapped around his hips, and he was naked from the waist up. This made him look even more alluring than if he was completely naked.
Watching me laugh foolishly, he narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, “What sort of nonsense are you thinking about now?”
