Surprise Me Maybe

15. Cornelian Dilemma

It's just hilarious how I feel like a teenager having her first crush once again. My days have been filled with an adrenaline rush, the smile that never leaves my lips, and the optimistic feeling as if life has become ten times better than it has ever been. Yes, I'm on cloud nine because of Ashton.

As expected, it's not easy to find time to see each other during weekdays since we can't interact in the open, at least not like how we do in private. Besides, his tight schedules keep him away most of the time. Once he's in his office, he spends his time glaring at the reports of our sales figures before summoning the managers to cook them alive.

I don't understand why he can't be a hot-and-cold CEO like those characters in romance books, where the boss's job is only to sign documents, and the company rolls by itself from there so that he can spend more time seducing his employee. In this case, me.

But I can't complain. Ashton has shown up at my place every night this week after he managed to get out of his demanding workload. Chloe was already in her bed by then but still, we needed to be careful. That's how we always ended up in his car in my dark driveway, talking or making out, or more.

The ringing intercom on my desk pokes my premature daydream. I pick it up out of reflex, and Max's voice vibrates on the line before I have a chance to greet him. "Charlie, are you free for a talk during lunchtime?" His tone sounds different. Something is off.

"Yes, sure. Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure, but we're going to discuss the issue at lunch," Max replies. "And Mr. Knight asks you to be in his office once you're done with the clients' data. Is eleven-thirty perfect?"

"Y-yeah. Eleven-thirty is fine."

"Good." With that, Max hangs up and his voice is replaced with the beeping noise from the phone receiver. I haven't even had a chance to ask for what reason I'm being summoned to our CEO's office room.

Filling in my clients' data has never been this long because my head is elsewhere. It's nine floors away from where I'm sitting now, to be precise. I have to meet Ashton in an hour and then I have something seemingly important to discuss with Max at lunch. What's going on? Did one of my clients file a serious complaint about me? Or oh, did he magically find out about me and Ashton?

When I finally arrive at his office, Ashton's door is wide open while he is sitting behind his desk, eyes on the papers in his hand. I'm almost sure I can hear his buffalo grunts within this distance.

"Ms. Garnett is here, sir," Andy, the executive assistant, informs after softly knocking on his boss's door, prompting Ashton to lift his gaze. His piercing green eyes turn slightly softer when our gazes meet.

"Ms. Garnett. I'm glad that you show up as per request," Ashton greets before looking at Andy. "I'm not taking any calls until after lunch break. And, the venue for the two o'clock meeting will be in a meeting room instead of my office."

Andy gasps. "But I'm afraid there will be no room available due to this very short notice."

"Just find a room for me, Andy."

"Y-yes, sir." With that, Andy tiptoes back to his desk.

From the corners of my eyes, I can see Andy glancing at me as I slowly enter our CEO's room. As Ashton's former personal assistant, I know what is going on inside Andy's head right now. He's pitying me because Mr. Knight requires my presence in his lion's den. He's probably expecting me to come out of his boss's office room ruined and soulless.

"Can you close the door behind you, Ms. Garnett?" Ashton commands.

Without wasting any second, I close the door without breaking eye contact with him. Once we're hidden from Andy's sight, he roams his eyes shamelessly over my body as his gaze turns darker.