“Excuse me, you dropped something” she heard Geoffrey say, and she almost jumped in victory that he fell for her tricks, but she knew that she had to comport herself.
“Oh my, thank you so much, I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost that” she said, sounding sickly sweet.
Ashley could see the creep staring at her legs as if he wanted to eat her, and she knew that she had him where she wanted him.
“So, what is a beautiful lady like you doing here?” he asked, giving Ashley a very suggestive and creepy smile.
“Well, I am on vacation here in New York and I just came back from sightseeing”
“Well, do you need a tour guard to show you around the city? You would have a good time” he asked and Ashley almost grimaced in response. She couldn’t help but wonder how many girls he had picked up like this. According to what Jacob sent to her, he was a disgusting sexual predator and gang leader that they had been trying so hard to catch.
“Say what, I am exhausted right now, but I will give you my phone number, do contact me when you are free to show me that good time you promised” she said, winking at him.
He hurriedly brought out his phone, smiling, and Ashley collected it with a smile on her face. She input a fake line, and scrolled up to see the link she sent to the phone, immediately she clicked on the link.
Now she has full access to his phone.
She returned his phone to him.
“Alright then, I will be expecting your call” She said, and left the hall, making sure to be sexy to not draw suspicion to herself.
“He's such a pig, now I know why Jacob sent me there” Ashley mumbled as she wore her dark shades and boarded a taxi home.
She got inside the taxi, and opened the laptop as she made the CIA have access to his phone by sending a link to them, then dialed Jacob line, who picked the call immediately.
“Done, I sent a link. It will give you full access to his phone, his call logs, incoming and outgoing calls, messages, his location, you are going to have access to everything” Ashley stated.
“You did a fantastic job, expect an extra payment for working outside”
“Okay then,” Ashley ended the call, and shut down her system.
Soon, she got home, and paid the cab man going inside the house. She entered the main building, and met no one in the living room.
She could tell that her younger siblings were not home.
Ashley went inside her room, and threw her bag on the bed. She walked towards her meal that was covered. She uncovered the meal and began to eat.
After eating, she waited patiently for the fashion designer to arrive, and killed her loneliness with a movie, to avoid boredom.
LATER IN THE AFTERNOON, Her dress came in, and Ashley's face squeezed as soon as the designer left her room.
She shut the door and squeezed her face more. “I hate this gown, too revealing, it even has a slit” She cussed silently to herself.
Ashley threw the dress on her bed and was about to start preparing for the gala when she received a message from Jacob telling her that they will be moving in on Geoffrey that night.
“I'm too good,” Ashley praised herself, dancing around to no music at all in her room. This was one of the few times that she gets to feel fulfilled.
“My fingers and brain are too good” She smirked to herself as she dresses up for the gala.
~~~~~
A black limousine pulled in front of the venue of an event. A man dressed in a black suit ran over to the door and opened it.
Ashley stepped out with her siblings. Their dressings are top-notch, but Ashley's own is a bit more sophisticated, even though it was quite revealing.
She showcased a strong side, and expression as they walked towards their parents.
Kim handed alcohol to them, and Ashley collected the cup from Kim.
“How do you see the dress, Ashley?” Gwen, her mom, asked, and Ashley nodded smiling.
“I love it, so beautiful,” She lied through her teeth with a fake, and her siblings gave her a look as if to say, “we are so done with her.”
Gwen just nodded as she focused on the event going on.
Ashley looked around, and from the way things were, she could tell charity was going on, and the Gala event was filled with wealthy people.
They are obviously there to flaunt their wealth, their classic, and expensive dress.
“Ashley,” Audrey, Ashley's sister who's 2 years younger, called, and she gave her a glance.
“What's wrong?? Are you okay??”
“I know you hate this dress, and this event too. Same with me, I wish I could ditch this darn event, only Christ knows why Mom made it compulsory for all of us to attend the boring event” Audrey whispered.
Ashley was surprised at this.
This was the first time Audrey or any of her siblings will be showing interest in her, and she didn’t know what to make of it.
Suddenly, she saw Liam Abbot approaching her.
“Why??? Why is he approaching me??? Why was he at the event??, did he recognize me??? Have I been busted???” She asked herself those questions with no answer to it.
“He's not coming here, right??”
She could see her sister adjusting her dress as he walked towards them, and her heart sank. She knew then that he was not coming for her, but her beautiful sister.
Ashley felt like running when Liam stopped in front of her. Her eyebrow arched slowly.
“You are here, coffee spiller. I wondered what type of person would spill coffee on someone and not even stop to apologize.” He said.
He could see that she was lost for words, and he found it very adorable. Liam felt like he had met her somewhere before, somewhere that wasn’t the café but no matter how hard he thought about it.
“I… I…am sorry” Ashley stated, she could feel her heart thumping fast, as if it wanted to fly out from its position.
“Hmmmm”
Ashley glanced at her parents and her eyes met their cold, and unforgiving eyes. She could tell that they were curious as to why Liam Abbot was talking to her, but she couldn’t tell whether they were mad at her or not.
“Have a dance with me. Remember, you ruined my shirt, so make it up to me by dancing with me.”
She glanced at her parents again, and knew they would not like it.
“I'm waiting, miss, what is your answer?” Also, I still don't know your name.
The next day, Ashley woke up as she took her phone. She went through it as a notification came in.Ashley saw the news about her. Immediately she sprang up from the bed, and switched on the TV, and the news about her appeared on the screen.VALENCIA'S ELDEST DAUGHTER IS DATING THE MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR IN US, LIAM ABBOTVALENCIA ADMIT THEIR DAUGHTER HAD BEEN IN A SECRET RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM FOR A YEAR, AND SHE'S ENGAGED TO HIM WITH A PLAN TO GET MARRIEDAshley could not believe the news, as her phone started ringing. She picked her phone from the bed, and checked the caller ID.It's Chris, The team leader of the PR team in her parent's company. Ashley is not surprised by his call because she knows how much her father hates scandal and unnecessary attention that won't fetch him any benefits.So he's calling because of the news.“Chris, I swear I don't know how the news broke. Truthfully, I had a dance with him which lasted for just thirty minutes before I ended the dance” Ashley spok
Liam, and Blake walked down the hallway as they heard towards the meeting room, Blake’s personal assistant behind them.The meeting room was filled with employees that were presenting today. He had announced a competition among the employees.The competition was about coming up with a proposal for one of their clients, and whoever came up with the best idea will be promoted.Everyone jumped on the idea and the day was finally here. ZEDD tech ltd is one of the most employee friendly technology companies in the world, and it is the dream of almost every technology student to work there because they are always provided the opportunity to learn and grow.Business has not been good lately for Liam as they had lost 3 deals consecutively, so he knew that they had to get this next deal no matter what.Despite this, though, Liam still couldn’t get the girl he danced with last night out of his head.“Focus man, the future of your company relies on this” he told himself.He listened to his emplo
“Are you sure you want to do this, man?” Isaac asked, staring at Liam with doubtful eyes.Liam and Isaac have been friends for the past 3 years, and Liam has always found a way to surprise him in everything he does.“I know that I am probably the last person you want to hear this from, especially because of how my marriage ended, but marriage is meant to be sacred and taken seriously.” He continued.“I have no choice, man; you know how important this deal with Mr. Ross is to me. Besides, she started the whole mess by creating the scandal, and I am sure that she would be more than glad to become my fake wife.” Liam said he was trying to convince Isaac.Isaac looked at Liam, his best friend since childhood, with a mix of concern and skepticism. He understood the importance of the deal with Mr. Ross, but he couldn't help but worry about Liam's emotional well-being. "I get that this deal is crucial for your career, but are you sure entering into a fake marriage is the right solution? I kn
Ashley is kind of torn about what to do at the moment. Her parents had never asked her to do anything for them; in fact, they have always ignored her and only acknowledged her when they were in public.Ashley's conflicting emotions were pulling her in different directions. On one hand, she felt a sense of duty towards her parents, wanting to prove herself and gain their approval. On the other hand, she couldn't ignore the deep-rooted resentment that had built up over the years due to their neglect.Being the adopted and eldest child of the Valencia family, she had no expectations from her parents, but she burdened herself with trying to be up to their standards.She always tried to be the best at everything. Be kind to others, be prudent, and have good grades. Nothing she did ever made her parents notice her, but she never gave up.That was probably the reason why she danced with Liam that night. She knew her parents liked the idea that
"Hello, is this Ashley Valencia?" Liam asked immediately, and she picked up the call. Of course, he knew that it was her he was calling. He had done a thorough background check on her and was able to get her number through his private investigator. Ashley's mind raced, wondering what Liam could possibly want from her. She tried to maintain her composure and replied, "Yes, this is Ashley Valencia. How can I help you, Mr. Abbot?" Liam was surprised that she knew that it was him calling, but he hid it. He couldn't help but become more wary of her. "What else does she know, and what is she planning with her father?" He thought to himself, but decided to compose himself and go straight to the reason why he called her. "Well, I was wondering if you could stop my office later today to discuss this predicament that we have both found ourselves in," he said, and Ashley could feel her heart jump. "Uhmm, alright, I will be there in an hour or two," she responded without thinking twice. Liam
Ashley couldn't help but feel offended when she went through the contract and saw that Liam had offered to pay her a total of thirty million dollars if she agreed to the contract. She was okay with clauses like they should stay out of each other's personal lives and that they can date someone else but have to be discreet so as to avoid a scandal. What made her not okay was the fact that Liam thought he could buy her with his money. "I am okay with everything here except for the compensation aspect," she said with a frown on her face. "I am not surprised; how much do you want me to add to it?" Liam said bitterly, but Ashley just ignored him. Liam and Isaac were both surprised when she took a pen from her bag and crossed the part out. "I do not need your money," she said. "So, you are telling me that you would just marry me without getting anything out of it?" Liam asked. "Believe what you want, Mr. Abbot, but not everyone is out to get your money, and I surely am not. Besides, I
Ashley exchanged a glance with Liam, her amusement fading slightly at his cocky response. She couldn't help but wonder if he was truly taking advantage of the situation or if there was something more behind his decision. Nonetheless, she remained silent as Isaac entered the room, ready to finalize the contract.As Isaac began explaining the terms of the contract, she couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that Liam had some ulterior motive for proposing this arrangement. However, with no other viable options and a deep desire to escape her father's controlling grip, she reluctantly picked up the pen and prepared to sign her name on the dotted line.She couldn't help but feel like she was signing her life away as she stared at her copy of the contract, but she couldn't do anything about it. She knew that her father would have arranged her marriage anyway if the scandal hadn't happened.She would rather enter a contract marriage with Liam than get married to an odd man who would be cons
Ashley had been staring at her phone, waiting for the call that Liam told her that he would make to her through his personal assistant, for the past two days since she left his office.Her mind has been a jumbled mess since then, and she just can't help but want to know what to do next. She has been replaying the whole conversation in his office in her head and just hopes that all this is a joke.She knows it isn't, though, and she is still worried about whatever he was going to say to her. As the days passed, Ashley's anxiety grew. She couldn't shake off the feeling of uncertainty and the fear of what Liam's call might bring.She can't help but think about the potential consequences of her contract with Liam, especially if the media finds out that they got into a contract marriage. Despite her best efforts to distract herself, she couldn't escape the nagging question: What next?"Would she have to move in with him or will she stay with her parents?As much as Ashley was scared at the