"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 was quite dissuaded that she was proving him right by being too enthusiastic to see him. The image of Ashley he had in his head before this whole thing happened would have asked why he wanted to see her and be shy, but this Ashley sounded almost like she would've come anyway if he didn't invite her.
A lot of things were going through Ashley's mind as she dressed up and drove towards Liam's office. She could have taken a cab, but she knew her father would be furious if he found out that she had taken a cab to see Liam instead of taking one of the expensive cars in the mansion.
Ashley has hated driving ever since she had an accident in her junior year of high school, but she has been able to get over the trauma bit by bit.
She couldn't help but wish that she was entering Liam's office building under different circumstances. It had always been her dream since she graduated college to work here, but she knew that her father would never approve his daughter being adopted or not working under someone like Liam.
Someone like Liam is someone who came from nowhere. Ashley's father doesn't believe that young men of today are capable of sustaining businesses like he did when he was young, especially if they do not come from old money and do so on their own.
Ashley walked towards the receptionist with what she hoped to be a friendly smile on her face, but the receptionist looked anything but friendly.
Ashley had seen this scene where the receptionist is rude to visitors or other employees in the office for no reason at all, and she never thought that she would one day experience this since she had never been to her father's office.
"Who are you and who are you looking for?" she asked rudely. Ashley didn't have to work in offices to know that the receptionist was being rude, but she decided to ignore it.
"I'm Ashley Valencia; I'm here to see Liam Abbot," I said, and I watched as the bored expression on her face changed from bored to angry, surprised, and then jealousy.
"Oh, so she is one of those employees who hopes that the boss will one day notice them and they will have their happy ever after," Ashley thought to herself, bemused.
"Oh, hello. Take the elevator to the 13th floor, and you will meet Mr. Abbot's secretary, who will direct you to his office," the receptionist said, giving Ashley a fake smile, but she decided to ignore it and just go about with what she came to do in the office.
She couldn't help but feel very nervous and agitated throughout the elevator ride. She couldn't help but wonder what it was that Liam wanted to talk to her about.
She saw Liam's secretary almost immediately when she entered the room. He looked so nice and was smiling at her, so Ashley couldn't help but smile back.
Her smile disappeared from her face, though, when Liam's personal assistant, who introduced himself as Ethan led her into Liam's office.
She didn't know what to expect and was surprised when she saw that his friend and Lawyer was there with him in his office.
"Hello, Miss Valencia" he said shaking my hand and the gestured for me to sit in front of him. I would admit that his cold attitude kind of hurts since he had been so kind and attentive to me at that gala.
"Look at where that got him" Ashley said to herself bitterly.
"Well, I will go straight to the point. Here is a contract that was drawn up by my lawyer. This whole scandal has spiralled out of control and I do not want it affecting my business so I would love to get into a contract marriage with you" he said bluntly and Ashley jus sat there shell shocked.
She had played different scenarios in her head about how this talk would go but she never for once thought that he would propose a contract marriage.
Ashley know that her father wanted her to get a relationship out of this whole scandal which she suspect he created but she still can't help but feel disappointed
"But…" she started wanting to protest but he interrupted her.
"Miss Valencia, I am sure that this is what you wanted when you created this whole scandal and don't bother trying to deny it. This whole was blown out of proportion that anyone with brain would say someone actually invented these stories and it just had to be you."
Her heart literally broke hearing that. To know that he thought she would be conniving enough to do this felt like someone was calling me her father which is not in anyway a compliment.
Knowing that this was exactly what her father wanted anyways. Her father didn't care if the relationship was real or not, that he just wanted a public relationship, she decided to just accept his proposal for a contract marriage.
"So, where do I sign?" she asked sounding so cold and detached.
She could have sworn that Liam looked disappointed when she said that but he ignored it.
"Well, you can take a look at this contract and add your own clauses to it." Isaac said for the first time since she got there.
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
Ashley contemplated not going to the meeting, but she decided that she had to. After all, she had signed a contract with Liam stating that she was going to follow him to any necessary meetings.She also knows that this might be quite important for him, so she had to prepare if she wanted to be a good fake partner for him."I think I should call Ethan and ask him who the person Liam was meeting is," she thought to herself. She didn't want to look all clueless like arm candy at the meeting.She doesn't need much time to dress up anyway. She never liked make-up, so all she had to do was just look for proper attire suited to the type of people that she and Liam were going to meet and the location."Hello Ethan, sorry for bothering you, but who is Liam meeting today and where is the meeting? I want to do my research before the meeting so that I won't be totally clueless," she said immediately. He picked up her call."Oh, hello, Miss Valencia. The person Mr. Abbot is meeting is Alexander Ro
Liam knows that cutting Ashley off and springing this on her out of nowhere was an asshole move, but he couldn't seem to be able to stop.He could tell that his words and actions were hurting her, but he also felt like she deserved it. After all, they wouldn't be in this mess if she hadn't planned and created the damn scandal.He also couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he had with the strange lady who had been waiting for him outside the door when he got there. She had introduced herself as Mary, and he could tell that Mary genuinely cared about Ashley.He had gotten out of the car and was about to go knock on the door when she approached him.Liam's conflicted emotions were tearing him apart. On one hand, he recognized the pain he was causing Ashley, yet on the other hand, he couldn't shake off the feeling that she somehow deserved it due to her involvement in the scandal.As he replayed his encounter with Mary in his mind, her genuine concern for Ashley puzzled him even m
Ashley couldn't help but feel anxious as she walked towards the restaurant with Liam beside her. She didn't know what exactly the deal between Mr. Ross and Liam was, but she was worried that Mr. Ross would greet her as if he knew her.A waitress was waiting for them when they entered."Hello, Mr. Abbot and Miss Valencia, your table is ready. Mr. and Mrs. Ross will be with you shortly," the waitress said, smiling at Ashley, and she smiled back.Liam couldn't help but be appalled by the exchange because it was obvious the waitress was trying to flirt with Ashley with the looks she was giving her.Liam could tell that Ashley was too naive to notice that, and that made him even more annoyed."What is it about her that makes everyone want her? She's mine," he thought to himself. The fact that he said she was his startled him, but he decided to ignore it.Liam couldn't stop glaring at the waitress, who wouldn't stop talking and flirting with Ashley, who was oblivious to everything even afte
"The lines between real and fake are starting to blur, Liam," he thought to himself. The rest of the entire meal course was spent with Mr. and Mrs. Ross teasing Liam and Ashley and also telling them about their relationship when they were their age. The two of them had met when they were just 16. Their parents had arranged for them to get married, but the two of them fell in love before they found out that their marriage was arranged by their parents. Ashley knew bits of this story already, but she couldn't help but feel like she wanted that kind of love too. She loves the couple honestly, but being with them always makes her remember that she might never feel the type of love the two of them had. She knew that having love was almost impossible for her anymore, especially with the contract marriage thing with Liam. Not that she ever felt like it was possible. The only friend she has ever had even left her because she was so unloveable. They had both gotten into an accident, and sh
A lot of things had been going through Ashley's mind since they left Gwen's restaurant two weeks before. She was glad the whole meeting went well because she had been so stressed about the meeting not going well because she knew that Liam would blame everything on her.She was currently working on an app that she was creating when her phone rang. She had not gotten any calls from Jacob since her last job, so the only way to keep her mind from overthinking is by coding. She hadn't really faltered, like hacking into any server.She picked her phone up and saw that it was a call from Ethan, Liam's secretary. Her heart literally jumped to her chest, seeing that.She knew that it was not going to be Liam that would be at the end of the call, but that doesn't make her any less anxious. She knew that he was most likely calling to tell her about the trip tomorrow.Liam had told her on their way from Gwen's restaurant that she should get prepared and that they would be going to Carlifonia to m