In all her years on this earth, she had never waited for anyone.
So, in her eyes, waiting for Ashlyn meant that she was being sincere.
The elevator doors slid open and Talia, Ashlyn’s secretary, came out.
Denise stood up and sauntered over to Talia with an arrogant air. “Where is Ashlyn?”
Talia looked at her expressionlessly and said in a flat voice, “I’m sorry but Miss Ramos has a full schedule today and can’t spare the time to see you.”
Indignant, Denise’s eyes went as wide as saucers. She snapped, “I just need five minutes of her damn time. Can’t she give me that?”
Talia remained unfazed. “I’m sorry.”
If it was in the past, Denise would’ve bypassed Talia and gone to see Ashlyn regardless.
But now, everyone knew that Ashlyn was Steve’s daughter and that the Ramos family was even more powerful than the Jones family. Before Denise came here, Nathaniel repeatedly warned her to swallow her pride and apologize to Ashlyn.
Standing there, Denise gritted her teeth and Talia could see the shifting emotions in her eyes. Finally, she could do nothing but ask, “Then when is Ashlyn free? This evening? I can invite her have dinner with me.”
But Talia still shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
Hearing Talia’s fake apology, Denise almost cursed her on the spot. Swallowing her anger, she hissed through gritted teeth, “Then I’ll get going.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned around and left in a huff, her high heels clacking against the floor.
After she left, Ashlyn came downstairs. She had a lunch appointment to go to.
Talia briefly told her what just happened, which made Ashlyn smile. “Okay, leave her alone.”
It was high time Denise knew what it felt like to be given the cold shoulder.
After Ashlyn had married into the Jones family, she had wanted to get along with Denise, but the latter had always been cold and made things difficult for Ashlyn again.
Talia nodded. “Copy, Miss Ramos.”
The two of them shrugged the matter regarding Denise off and headed to the car.
The driver was already waiting for them, with the car parked at the entrance of the Fairway Group building. As soon as the two walked out, they saw the car and the driver.
But they didn’t expect to see Denise.
Denise was about to call her bestie to rant about Ashlyn, but when she picked up her phone, she saw Ashlyn coming out of the building. With a guilty conscience, she put away her phone and ran towards her. “Ashlyn!”
Ashlyn glanced at her indifferently. “What?”
“I’m here to apologize. I was young and stupid. Please forgive me,” Denise said as she handed several gift bags to Ashlyn.
Young and stupid?
If Ashlyn’s memory served her right, Denise was around the same age as her.
Ashlyn couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Weren’t you born in February? I was born in September.”
In fact, Ashlyn was younger than Denise by half a year!
Ashlyn chuckled. Ridiculous!
Denise was furious, and for a split second, her mind felt empty. But before she realized herself, Ashlyn and Talia were already seated in the car.
Talia asked the driver to set out immediately, giving Ashlyn no chance to attend to Denise’s outburst.
As the car drove past Denise, she stomped her foot so hard. She glared at the car, raising a fist in anger.
“Ashlyn! How dare you call me old?” Denise screamed after them.
Ashlyn looked at her through the rearview mirror and smiled at her crazy countenance.
The car halted in front of a hotel in fifteen minutes, and the driver hastily alighted and got the door for Ashlyn. “Thank you,” she said with a smile.
“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Ramos.”
Ashlyn grinned with obvious pleasure.
Since her identity as a Ramos was revealed, many people tried to curry favor with her.
She understood that they were only treating her this way because she was Stevie’s daughter, so she tried not to get so flattered.
Tonight’s dinner was for the land in the north of the city. When people didn’t know Ashlyn’s identity, Walton Garcia, a government official, refused to meet her.
Immediately after the news about who her father was got out, Walton’s secretary booked an appointment with Talia yesterday, offering to have dinner together.
A lot of families were interested in the land, and Keenan Haynes made a lot of effort in securing it. Ashlyn knew that it would be difficult to compete with him for the land.
The dinner was pleasant. However, Walton didn’t give Ashlyn any useful information.
Ashlyn was not disappointed. Anyway, the Ramos family still had a chance.
“Thank you for having me, Mr. Garcia.” Ashlyn smiled broadly.
“Anytime, Miss Ramos. Stevie must be a proud father,” Walton complimented.
“This way, Mr. Garcia.”
“My regards to your father,” Mr. Garcia said as he walked past her.
“Okay.”
For a while, Ashlyn watched Walton as he walked away. She looked at Talia afterward and said, “Let’s get going.”
“Alright, Miss. Ramos.”
Ashlyn and Talia took the elevator to the ground floor. As they walked out, they saw Arabella striding into the hotel.
Arabella was shocked to see Ashlyn and her expression changed. Then, she forced a smile and said, “Hi, Ashlyn. It’s been a while.”
“Indeed,” Ashlyn said with a faint smile.
Arabella also knew Ashlyn was Stevie’s daughter.
Arabella could not come to terms with the fact that Ashlyn was now far wealthier than she could ever imagine.
Gordon had sent Arabella abroad because of the video and recordings uploaded by Ashlyn six months ago. Although Arabella had come back, she wasn’t welcome by the Jones family.
The released video and recordings brought shame to the Jones family. Besides, Arabella’s husband, Amor, was dead. Nathaniel no longer treated Arabella as a member of the family.
Arabella wasn’t comfortable that Ashlyn was living a better life than she was. It filled her heart with bitterness.
The more Arabella thought about it, the more envy took hold of her.
Although Arabella knew that Ashlyn was way out of her league now, she still tried to irritate Ashlyn. “I wasn’t the woman that night.”
“Go ahead, Talia. I will join you in the car.” Ashlyn turned to look at Arabella. For some reason, she was interested in whatever she had to say.
Glancing at Arabella, Talia nodded and took her leave.
As Talia walked toward the door, her thoughts were filled with what Arabella had to say to Ashlyn.
After Talia left, Arabella became bolder. “I didn’t mean whatever I said. I only said those words to get you upset. I didn’t expect you to misunderstand Gordon and me. Anyway, Gordon feels nothing for you. He only married you to please his family.”
Arabella flashed a smug smile. “Gordon was with someone else last night and not me. But I guess you wouldn’t mind since you and Gordon are divorced.”
“Are you done?” Ashlyn asked nonchalantly.
The sarcasm in Ashlyn’s tone froze Arabella for a while. “I am.”
“You are right; I don’t care about anything about Gordon since we’re divorced. You shouldn’t have bothered yourself saying this to me. Why don’t you go and tell the two receptionists?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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