No one in the office had ever seen Ashter print something like this before, but everyone was too afraid to ask why he was doing it while his assistant stood by, doing nothing but watching.
"I... I'm sorry, sir. I'll make sure to learn this. Are you mad at me?" Crystal asked, her big brown eyes wide with concern, a half-pout forming on her lips.
Her cute reaction made Ashter's world pause for a moment.
"If you ask like that, how could anyone be mad at you?" he thought to himself.
"Well, you were so confident during the interview. I didn't think you wouldn't know this simple thing."
"Oh... yeah..." Crystal replied, looking genuinely shocked and confused, as if she didn't remember what had happened earlier.
"Sir, after the meeting, you have dinner scheduled with Mr. Chairman. Do you need any extra preparation for that?" she asked, trying to shift the conversation to something she was sure of.
"Don't worry about that. Ian will handle it. Just bring me all those pending files. It looks like I have nothing else to do this evening," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, though Crystal couldn't miss the underlying sadness and guilt.
"Is he really going to cancel dinner... with his dad?" she muttered under her breath. "Anyway, it's not my place to say anything."
As they continued their conversation, Ian rushed in, breathless, with big news-the company had secured a huge loan for charity, and the meeting was postponed until tomorrow.
"A loan for charity? You take loans for charity?" Crystal asked, slightly shocked.
"Yeah... and this forces us to make twice as much as the loan," Ashter replied with a smirk.
"Wow, that's... cool," Crystal said, still surprised.
With the meeting approaching, they both got engrossed in their work, but their brief interaction was lingering in Crystal's mind.
The day ended with a quiet sense of good bond they shared, maybe a little friendly or maybe more than that.
Over the next week, they grew closer, almost like friends. But everything they had built was shattered by the arrival of Lily, the girl Ashter was being forced to marry.
•••
YOU ARE READING
Crystal Hearts
Любовные романыCrystal, a 21-year-old girl, grew up in an abusive family, and now she struggles with PTSD. Then there's Ashter, a guy who despises people with dual personalities because he believes anyone who cares for him is only interested in his wealth. But as...
