CHAPTER 114: DARE TO LOVE ME Ashley is her name
Ashley
“And I remember a baby named Noah, Alaia’s son, who is Patrick’s daughter,” Frank said thoughtfully, holding his hand to his chin.
What a detail you’ve overlooked, Ash, I scolded myself and looked between the two of them,
putting my mind to work.
“You’re right, Frank.” I shifted to assume a relaxed pose despite the nerves that had gotten to
- me. “I’m Kurt Russell’s illegitimate son. I’ve never been close to the family. I always lived with
my mother, and in recent years I was at a military school in Russia.” I cleared my throat, thinking of more lies, of course. The fewer people who knew my truth, the safer I’d be here.
Will raised both eyebrows when I mentioned military school and looked me up and down.
“Were you bringing them refreshments while they were training?” he asked mockingly, and I
narrowed my eyes at him.
“We don’t have to be huge beasts, full of balls, to be good soldiers,” I retorted, and William
laughed, increasing my anger.
“Do you speak Russian?” Will asked, raising his chin.
“Da, mudak (Yes, asshole),” I replied, and now Will was the one narrowing his eyes at me, while
Frank watched me with a lot of doubt.
“He’s recently decided to acknowledge me, and here I am,” I explained to Frank, gesturing to
myself with my hands.
“Kurt did the right thing,” Frank said, nodding once.
“We can begin.” I pointed to the table, and they both sat down in the chairs. There was also a girl sitting there, whom Frank introduced as his assistant.
We described the product references we needed for the project, and Frank’s assistant took
note of the requirements.
But it was so hot. I fanned my face and realized that Frank had looked up and was staring at me. I lowered my hand and discreetly sat up straighter in my chair. William kept his gaze focused on the papers on the table, as was his habit when he was working.
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” I stood up and headed for the bathroom. I needed to freshen up and put on some sunscreen. I carried a couple of important things in my jacket pocket. I didn’t
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know how men lived without a purse, my God.
On my way to find the bathroom, I came across some beautiful children who quickly reminded
me of my own, my almost–children, Noah and Alana. I stopped for a second and watched them. How cute they were.
“Hello.” Two of those little creatures of God spoke to me from below. Delighted, I leaned down to the girls and smiled. Their mother looked at me from nearby, and I nodded to her.
“Hello, my darlings.” One of them was just taking her first steps; the other must have been six
years old at most.
“I like your hat,” the older one said and touched it.
“It’s a beret, sweetie. Thank you, you’re very kind,” I replied, and we both smiled. I could have
sworn she knew I was a girl just like them.
“Beet,” the little one tried to pronounce the name as she took my beret and made it fall behind
my head. Holy mother! I grabbed it quickly.
“I’ll be right back,” I told the girls as I ran to the bathroom, where I stopped dead in my tracks, not knowing which one to enter. But judging by my appearance, I decided to go into the men’s
room, lest I run into some feminazi who accused me of harassment or worse.
I locked myself in one of the stalls once I was inside.
I fixed the beret as best I could, looking at myself in a small pocket mirror I always carried. When I thought everything was in order, I came out of the stall and looked at myself in the large bathroom mirror, where I checked myself over quickly.
“Everything okay?” someone asked, and I jumped.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I replied to Frank, whom I saw in the mirror, as I calmed my heart and turned to him.
He approached silently and showed no reaction.
“I knew I’d seen you somewhere,” he said and pulled a long strand of hair that was sticking out from behind my ear.
f**k, f**k, f**k. My eyes widened more than usual.
That was a huge oversight on my part.
“You look a lot like a girl I saw years ago at a meeting. She was with Kurt and Elise. She was a teenager, Ashley is her name,” he said, and I listened to him as I tucked away the strand of hair he had just touched. This man had a good memory. “I believed your story about the
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CHAPTER 114: DARE TO LOVE M…
illegitimate son because you resembled her, but now I assume you’re that girl.”
He’d caught me. Okay, it was just the beginning. I’d have to be more careful from now on.
“I am,” I confirmed, having no other choice, and I continued checking that my hair was in order. “To make a long story short, I’m running away from my father, who wants to marry me off to a jerk I can’t stand, and he mustn’t find out I’m here for any reason. If he does, I’ll have to flee to Cambodia this instant and believe me, I’m doing very well in this city,” I spoke quickly.
The man nodded and I saw him smile. I wrinkled my nose, not understanding.
“So Kurt is still the same intransigent man,” he said, and I nodded.
“The one and only,” I replied, to Frank’s amusement.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Needless to say, I offer you my help if you ever need it,” he said and patted my shoulder gently.
“I wasn’t expecting that, huh? I thought I was going to have to kill you right here, but thank
you.” My words made him laugh.
We left the bathroom together and walked towards the table.
“Will doesn’t know?” he asked, looking at me.
“No, the fewer people who know, the better to keep my secret safe,” I assured him, and Frank
nodded.
We finished the long negotiation and it was time for dinner, to which Frank had kindly invited
- us. He took us to a fancy restaurant. We had dinner, and they had a conversation about what
they’d been doing since they last saw each other. Frank was a businessman who traveled all
the time, while Will told him about his business strategies, which Frank didn’t hesitate to
praise.
“I’ll buy you guys some drinks,” Will said as we were leaving the restaurant.
“I’m in,” Frank said quickly.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I began to say, declining to go. It had been a long day.
“I’d like you to join us, Asher,” Frank said kindly as Will frowned. Frank had been such a gentleman today, so much so that it had been refreshing, so…
“Okay, maybe for a couple of hours.” I agreed and looked at the time, noting Frank’s good
mood at my answer.
I got into Will’s car and we headed to the club.
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William was on his phone on the way, and I wasn’t surprised to see Jessie’s name on the screen. I had eyes, and I’d seen it by chance.
We got out of the car and headed for the entrance with Frank. Both men attracted the attention of the girls as we entered the club. I knew that just by looking at them, you could tell they were successful businessmen, and I wasn’t surprised to see Will smile charmingly at all the women who smiled at him.
I rolled my eyes. When he was focused on his work, I forgot he was a womanizer until he had a couple of girls in front of him.
They showed us to a table and I ordered a beer. I didn’t dare drink anything stronger. I didn’t know what I’d do if I got drunk.
Not ten minutes passed before a small group of girls was brought to our table, Jessie among them. Frank and Will stood up, and I remembered that I should too, so I sprang to my feet.
Jessie threw herself at Will and hugged him, planting several kisses on his face, to the little jerk’s delight, as he lifted her off the floor.
It was time for introductions. Jessie greeted me kindly and shook Frank’s hand.
“This is Valeria, my best friend, and Joy, my little sister.” She introduced the two girls, and we first saw Valeria, who smiled. Behind her appeared Joy, who first shook Frank’s hand and then
came up to me.
The girl must have been 18 years old.
“Hi, I’m Joy,” she said sweetly and smiled, touching her hair. I took her hand, and she ran her thumb over mine, at which point I realized the reason for these movements.
Was she flirting with me?!
