Chapter 38 – Twisted Fate of a Billionaire’s Daughter Undercover

Ashlyn looked at Doran calmly. “You’ve got me all wrong. How could I threaten you? You are reluctant to leave your homes, and we don’t want to force you.”

What Ashlyn meant was obvious. If the villagers agreed to the compensation plan and moved, Fairway Group would give them the compensation. Otherwise, Fairway Group would carry out the second plan and the villagers wouldn’t get a penny.

“Bullshit! This is nothing but bullshit! I want to see Mr. Perkins. Call him right now!” Doran was so angry that veins stood out on his forehead as he shouted. He looked at Ashlyn as if he was going to beat her up.

But Ashlyn remained unfazed. She locked eyes with Doran firmly and said slowly, “Mr. Perkins has given me the full authority on this matter.”

After a slight pause, she added, “Besides, I’m only doing what he asked me to do.”

If Elvin wanted to embarrass her, then she would answer in kind.

“You bitch! What bullshit are you talking about? He promised me yesterday that as long as I—”

“Miss Ramos, thank you for taking the time to meet with us. Allow us to think it over before we get back to you with an answer.”

Briar, who was sitting next to Doran, interrupted him mid-sentence. He looked at Ashlyn and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His attitude was friendly enough.

Ashlyn rolled up the blueprint and said expressionlessly, “Three days. I will only give you three days to think about it. Once the construction starts, it will be too late.”

After saying that, Ashlyn glanced at Talia and nodded.

The two women gathered their things and walked out of the room.

The second they stepped out of the private room, Ashlyn swayed a little bit. The strong effect of the liquor made her feel dizzy.

Ashlyn had just drunk four glasses of liquor, and it had been a long time since she drank so much. Now that her adrenaline had died down, she felt weak and hot all over.

Talia helped her up and asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”

Shaking her head, Ashlyn said, “I need to go to the washroom.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Ashlyn smiled and shook her head. “No, thanks. I can walk by myself. But could you call a designated driver for me?”

Since the two of them had drunk a lot, they couldn’t drive by themselves.

Noticing that her boss looked as calm as usual, Talia gave in. “Okay, I’ll call the designated driver now.”

Ashlyn looked for the washroom, stumbling slightly as she walked.

This liquor was really hitting her hard now.

Fortunately, the washroom was not far away. The waiter said that it was just around the corner.

“Sorry…”

Ashlyn bumped into someone when she turned the corner, which sobered her up somewhat. When she looked up and saw that it was Devin, she smiled in pleasant surprise. “What a coincidence.”

Devin looked at her ruddy cheeks and asked, “Are you drunk?”

“A little…”

Devin shook his head helplessly. “Where are you going?”

Ashlyn pointed to the washroom behind him and giggled.

He looked back and smiled. “Oh, I see. Go ahead.”

Ashlyn nodded and walked past him. She didn’t want to talk to Devin right now, especially not in this state of mind.

Once in the bathroom, Ashlyn splashed cold water on her face, which helped sober her up.

As she wiped her face dry, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was flushed and her eyes were watery. No wonder Devin asked her if she was drunk.

With a wry smile, Ashlyn tossed the crumpled-up tissue into the trash can, turned around, and walked out of the washroom.

To her surprise, Devin was still standing there. “Devin, were you waiting for me?”

Having washed her face, she was almost completely sober now.

Devin smiled at her dotingly. “My future girlfriend’s drunk. Of course, I was worried about you.”

Hearing this, Ashlyn couldn’t help but blush. “Well, my secretary is waiting for me outside,” she muttered shyly.

“Then allow me to walk you out.”

Devin’s request was reasonable, so Ashlyn didn’t refuse him.

They were just a few steps away from the elevator when its doors slid open and a women ran out abruptly, bumping into Ashlyn. Ashlyn was still a little dizzy from the alcohol, and after being bumped, she lost her footing and was about to fall down.

Devin immediately stretched out his hand and caught her. At the same time, Ashlyn regained her footing.

As soon as she steadied herself, she saw Arabella and Gordon entering the restaurant.

In that moment, Ashlyn became completely sobe

Arabella also saw Ashlyn. She glanced at Gordon and blurted, “Gordon, isn’t that Ashlyn?”

Gordon didn’t reply, but Arabella got her answer when she saw the coldness in his eyes.

Pretending she didn’t see the two people, Ashlyn looked away and walked past Arabella and Gordon.

Smiling faintly, Devin cast a glance at Gordon and then caught up with Ashlyn.

Gordon watched the two walk away with a cold expression. Finally, he withdrew his gaze and glanced at Arabella coldly.

Arabella had a difficult time finding an opportunity to go back home. Worried that Gordon would send her abroad again, she softened her tone and asked, “Gordon—”

“Don’t call me Gordon. We’re not that close.”

All the color drained from Arabella’s face and her heart sank to her stomach.

“Miss Ramos?”

Talia had already called the designated driver, who was to arrive in a few minutes.

Ashlyn nodded at Talia. The wind in February was bitingly cold, and as it washed over her, she sobered up. Standing at the exit of the hotel, she was somewhat absent-minded.

When Talia saw Devin, she was a little surprised. “Mr. Stanley.”

Devin glanced at her and asked, “You’re waiting for a designated driver?”

“Yes.”

Talia knew that Ashlyn didn’t have any feelings for Devin, a known playboy. Besides, a few days ago, Stevie had called her to tell her to watch out for Devin.

So when Devin asked her this question, she gave a perfunctory response.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Devin studied Ashlyn carefully but didn’t ask anything more.

Seeing that Ashlyn looked a little pale, Talia walked up to her and asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

Her voice brought Ashlyn back to reality. She smiled wryly and answered, “Yes, I am.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ashlyn saw that Devin was waiting with them a few steps away. “Are you also waiting for a designated driver?”

Devin looked into Ashlyn’s charming eyes and chuckled. “I’m keeping you company.”

Ashlyn chuckled. “Didn’t see that one coming.”

“You should know that I’d love to stay by your side.”

The smile on Ashlyn’s face faded and she didn’t answer.

Fortunately, the designated driver arrived just then. Ashlyn waved at Devin goodbye. “I’m off.”

Then she got into the back seat of the car and left.

Talia didn’t get inside her own car until Ashlyn’s car drove away.

Because she had drunk a lot of alcohol that night, Ashlyn felt a little stuffy inside the car. After a while, she rolled down the window to let the cold wind whip against her face.

But she didn’t care about the biting cold on her face. What hurt more was the pain in her heart.

“Such a loser, Ashlyn.”

Ashlyn cursed herself.

By the time she got to the underground parking lot of her apartment building, she had a headache from the cold.

Rubbing her temples, she took the car keys from the driver and thanked him. Then she texted Talia to let her know that she was home. Finally, she stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button to the first floor.

The moment the elevator doors slid to a close, Ashlyn felt stuffy again. When she reached the first floor, she suddenly had an impulse to smoke.

She had never smoked before in her life, unlike Jessie, who would sometimes smoke for fun.

As soon as she walked out of the elevator, Ashlyn heard someone calling her name.

She looked up and found Devin in the lobby. “Devin?”

“Hey, where are you going?” Devin asked when Ashlyn started to walk away.

Ashlyn paused and cast a glance at him. “Do you have any cigarettes?”

“You want to smoke?”

This question made Ashlyn smile slightly. Devin didn’t ask her why she wanted to smoke. He only asked if she wanted to.

Ashlyn nodded. “Yes.”

Devin smiled and waved at her. “Come here.”

Clutching her handbag tightly, Ashlyn didn’t budge. She looked at Devin, who turned around and started walking, and said, “I didn’t say that I wanted to smoke with you.”

She just wanted to smoke. Period.

Devin burst into laughter. He raised his eyebrows and shook his head helplessly. If she was an inexperienced girl, she would’ve gone with him after seeing his mischievous smile.

Unfortunately, she was not an inexperienced girl.

“Are you planning to smoke here?”

After a short pause, Ashlyn realized that she was standing in the lobby of the apartment building.

This wasn’t an appropriate place to smoke.

“Then where are you taking me?” She finally relented and walked up to him.

Devin answered, “My car is parked right over there.”

As he spoke, he walked towards his conspicuous sports car, opened the door, and waited for her. “Here you go.”

Ashlyn eyed him warily, which Devin noticed. “Don’t look at me like that. It makes me feel like I’m trying to lure an innocent girl into my car.”

With a chuckle, Ashlyn obliged and got into the car.

Devin carefully shut the door and then went to the driver’s seat.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment and handed one stick to her. “You ever done this before?”

Ashlyn answered honestly. “No, never.”

The man raised his eyebrows and looked into her eyes. “Then let me teach you.”

He pulled out one stick for himself and explained, “It’s really not that hard. Once the cigarette is lit, you just breathe in.”

He said it wasn’t hard, but the second Ashlyn took a drag, she started coughing. The strong smell of smoke made her tear up slightly. Why on earth did people like smoking?

After regaining her breath, Ashlyn gave up. “I can’t smoke.”

Devin chuckled and took out an ashtray. “Here. Give it to me.”

When Ashlyn handed him the cigarette, Devin stubbed it out in the ashtray. “I know what’ll cheer you up. Do you want to go for a ride?”

But she shook her head. “I have a headache.”

Although she had sobered up, she still felt traces of alcohol in her system.

Perhaps it was because Ashlyn choked on her first try, but she felt silly for wanting to smoke.

She lowered her head and asked softly, “Am I silly?”

“Let me check.”

As soon as Devin finished speaking, he suddenly leaned towards her.

Ashlyn shrank away from him abruptly. However, instead of bumping the back of her head against the window, she felt something warm and soft. It turned out that Devin had reached out in time to protect her head from hitting the window.

There were only a few inches in between their faces. Up close, Ashlyn could see that the usual carelessness and boyish charm in his eyes were gone. Instead, as he stared at her, his eyes were full of love.

Ashlyn was about to push him away when Devin suddenly withdrew his hand. “You are indeed a little silly.”

As he spoke, he sneered. “Do you think Gordon’s better than me?”

She liked Gordon, and she didn’t like Devin.

This question made Ashlyn chuckle. “Well, he’s more faithful than you.”

But Gordon wasn’t faithful to her. He was faithful to Arabella.

It had only been half a year since their divorce, but Gordon couldn’t wait to get Arabella back.

How affectionate they were!

As Ashlyn laughed, tears welled up in her eyes.

She quickly raised her hand to wipe her tears away, but the man was quicker than her. His fingertips were already stroking the corner of her eye. “If you’re sad, then cry. Why do you pretend to be strong?”

Devin gently wiped her tears away and cupped her cheek. Then he pulled Ashlyn into a warm embrace and murmured, “Just cry. I won’t see.”

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