I was on a call with Cameron when Ashton came to me and said, “We have the bidding at Oasis Hotel this afternoon. You should come with me.”
Seeing the serious look on him, I hung up the call and frowned. “Do I have to go? I’m not involved in the tender anyway. Besides, I only know that it’s to find a supplier for the project. If not, Rachel’s two years of hard work would go to waste.”
He handed me a black tie to let me help him with it. “I really think you should go with me. I can’t be at ease if you’re here alone. Tessa has been released from the police station, so I’m worried you might be in danger.”
As soon as he said that, I creased my brow, puzzled. “What? She almost killed me! How can they let her go just after a night? Is law made for nothing?”
He pursed his lips and responded, “Since she did not inflict direct physical harm, the police can’t lay any charges on her, so she can’t be detained for more than twelve hours.”
No direct physical harm? Upon hearing that, I almost fainted right there and then. “That was attempted murder! The police were even at the scene when it happened. How could there be no evidence? So they can only charge a murderer after the victim has died? How ridiculous!”
I could not help but fume as I thought about the times she had harmed me. First, she almost froze me to death in the hospital. And this time, I was almost killed by her again. How could they say there’s no evidence of her crime when all this while she’s been plotting my death?
Seeing that I was shaking with anger, Ashton placed his warm hands on me and calmed me down. “She found someone to bail her out. By the time my subordinates arrived at the police station, she was already gone.”
“Huh? Who bailed her out?” Isn’t she from a small county? And Tabitha told me that she did not have any close friends there. How could she have someone to bail her out?
“It was Derek Watson.” Ashton grabbed my hand and brought me down to the entrance. Then, he asked me to wait for him while he went to get his car.
Mr. Watson? Linda’s ex-husband?
A while later, Ashton drove over and picked me up. I looked at him and asked, “Why is he involved in this matter? I only know that there are some business relations between them. But why would he bail her out? That was her private matter.”
He turned to me and sighed, “Have you ever look into Tessa’s background?”
His question made me even more confused. When he saw me staring at him, he smiled and said, “They had a complicated relationship when they were young. And do you know that she had a tea business?”
His words reminded me that when we were in Venria, Tessa said that she used to have two houses and a Mercedes-Benz when she was in her twenties, and she even had two shops that sold tea leaves. Her assets were probably worth a few million. If she were from a wealthy family, I could understand why a young girl from a rural area could own so much, but she was not. Come to think of it, I realized there was more to her story than what she had told us.
I looked at Ashton, waiting for him to elaborate, but he hesitated and said, “I still need to investigate more before I could explain it to you.”
Although Ashton did not tell me more, I somehow understood the situation. If one looked at Tessa closely, one could see that she had a slight saddle nose deformity and an asymmetrical jaw. She probably had plastic surgery ten years ago and failed to follow up for maintenance, so her facial features had turned crooked over the years.
“How about the things that happened yesterday?” The only one I could think of was him.
As Ashton drove down the road, he deliberated for a while and replied, “I don’t think it’s him. He wouldn’t involve himself in this complicated matter.”
When we arrived at the entrance of the Oasis Hotel, there were many people gathered at the door. They seemed as if they were there to welcome Ashton. I turned to him and asked, “Were you the one who arranged this?”
He shook his head. “It’s not me.”
Later, a middle-aged man with a potbelly came towards us as we walked into the hotel. I did not recognize him at first, but as he came closer, I realized that he was Derek. When he saw Ashton, he rushed over and greeted Ashton enthusiastically. “When I heard that you’re inviting companies to rebid, I can’t wait to come and join it. Mr. Fuller, I hope you won’t ignore us this time.”
Geez, this man is really awful!
I pursed my lips and held Ashton’s arm. Derek then turned to me and smiled awkwardly. “Ms. Stovall, long time no see. You’re still as beautiful as ever.”
What I admired about Derek was that he never failed to put up a smile and ingratiate himself with the person he disliked even when both of them knew that they hate each other.
I pursed my lips and frowned, refusing to talk to him. I’ve not forgotten what he did at the bar, and I certainly won’t let it slide. Seeing my attitude, he was not upset at all. He then humbly introduced his company to Ashton and curried favor with him.
On the other hand, Ashton remained silent the whole time, looking impassive as always. I wondered if he paid attention to Derek’s words as I definitely did not listen to any of them.
However, there was one thing I wanted to comment on. I narrowed my eyes at Derek and said, “I see Mr. Watson is a man with multiple careers.”
“Oh, Ms. Stovall, you’ve misunderstood! How could a person like me own a company? It’s my ambitious wife who established the company. She’s been aspiring to become a successful businesswoman for a long time. So, I took a day off to be here today to help her bid for this project.”
