As he spoke, he pulled me against his chest and pressed another kiss to my lips.
I pushed him away and said, giggling, “You know, if you ever have to stop working, you could always become a model to support Summer and me. After all, you certainly have the looks for it!”
His lips curled into a smile that looked a little sinister. “Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
I shrugged, nonplussed. “You can think of it as one?”
He wriggled closer to me, his voice sounding even deeper now. “Well, since you think that way, I think you can find out how this male model performs for yourself. What do you think, hmm?”
I froze for a second. Before I could react, he had already pinned me under him again…
…
I finally woke up at seven in the evening. Dusk had already fallen outside. I took a shower and came back outside, and Ashton helped me to dry my hair. After that, he handed me a particularly thick piece of clothing and told me to put it on.
Seeing the reluctance on my face, he said, “It’s autumn. It gets very cold at night around here, and you might catch a cold if you don’t dress warmly. Put this on!”
I grunted in reply, too lazy to continue arguing with him.
The moment we stepped out of the room, I found Rebecca standing at the door in a thin, figure-hugging dress. She looked at Ashton with a rather pitiful expression and said, smiling awkwardly, “Ash, you’re finally done resting!”
Ashton nodded and looked at her. “What’s up?”
Rebecca bowed her head and said in a pretentious voice, “I didn’t eat anything before I arrived this morning, so I’m feeling a little peckish. I didn’t want to bother you, but it’s my first time here, and I’m not familiar with the area. Joe told me not to run around by myself, so I thought maybe we could go for dinner together?”
Her voice was soft and gentle, and she sounded as though she genuinely didn’t want to create trouble for him.
Still, she said it in a way that made Ashton feel very guilty for not taking good care of her. As she had hoped, Ashton frowned slightly and replied, “Next time, just give me a call immediately. That will be alright with me. Also, you’re wearing too few clothes for an autumn evening—go back and put on a coat. It’s very cold outside!”
Rebecca smiled slightly and said, still in that aggravatingly gentle tone, “It’s alright. I’m not that cold!” Even as she said that she wrapped an arm around herself, making herself look small and vulnerable.
One of Ashton’s weaknesses was that he was too compassionate. Seeing this, he knitted his brows together and said again, “It’s even colder outside than in here! You’re going to get sick if you don’t put on a coat. Go and put it on right now!”
He said this very kindly, and I could even detect a hint of adoration in his tone. It wasn’t something he could help—he tried to sound stern and firm in his words, but his heart was still weak for this girl.
Rebecca gazed up at him with her puppy-dog eyes, looking a little pathetic. After a short pause, she replied, “I only brought along a windbreaker when I came. Joe said the climate here is very nice, and that I wouldn’t have to bring any thick clothing. I accidentally dirtied that windbreaker just now, so I washed it and put it out to dry. It’s still a little wet, and I don’t think I can put it on now.”
Ashton frowned again. This time, he turned to me and signaled with his eyes that I should go fetch her a coat. I sighed and returned to a room, emerging with a random coat in my hand. Shoving it into Ashton’s hands, I said coldly, “Here, take it!”
I wasn’t exactly angry, but I couldn’t help but be a little exasperated at Rebecca. She was milking this for all it was worth, and worse still, Ashton was falling for her pretentious tricks completely.
I knew I should be more generous to her, but my heart burned with a fit of secret jealousy as I looked at both of them.
Rebecca turned to me and put on an obsequious expression. “Thank you, Ms. Stovall!”
I pursed my lips. That was definitely a calculated move on her part. She kept calling Ashton by that infuriating nickname, ‘Ash’, but when it was my turn to be addressed, she insisted on calling me by my maiden’s name!
Trying to dispel the unhappiness in me, I snapped, “It’s alright. Let’s go!”
With that, I ignored them and walked straight into the lift.
When we got to the lobby, Nora and Armond were already there. When she spotted us, Nora flew over and took my hand immediately. “I knew all of you were still in the hotel, so I suggested to Armond that we come here and wait for you guys.”
I felt a little perplexed. “Is something the matter? You could have just given me a call, you know.”
Nora snorted loudly. “It’s nothing important, to be honest. Besides, didn’t Mr. Fuller just get off a long-haul flight just a few hours ago? We had to let him rest first before bothering him again.”
“Well, is there something going on?”
Nora nodded and replied, “Yes, there is something going on, in fact. However, it isn’t a private matter—it has to do with company affairs. I’ll be tagging along for dinner tonight!”
At that moment, Linda walked in carrying a huge bag of items. Seeing that everyone was here, she smiled and said, “Since everyone has arrived, let’s make our way to the restaurant now!”
Armond turned to Ashton and said, “Mr. Fuller, we’re done with the preliminary plans for the base project. It’s a little sudden, but why don’t we all go out for a meal today? It’s my treat. It’ll be a good opportunity to relax—care to join us?”
Ashton smiled. “I’m afraid you might have to ask my wife first. I’ve already agreed to bring her for Korean barbeque tonight.”
Nora and Linda ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’, cooing over how sweet this was.
Armond turned and looked at me. “Mrs. Fuller, Korean barbeque will be served at tonight’s gathering too. Why don’t you join us?”
Nora clung onto me and tried to act cute. “Babe, come on! It’ll be more fun with more people around.”
I nodded and replied, “Alright, then. The more the merrier!”
