Surprised Ever After

Ch. 15: Uncharted Territory

Ashton

June is always the most hectic moment for my company. The mid-year is the critical moment to foresee whether we will make the annual sales target. However, we know this year is tough. It's not just about pushed-back deadlines because of the incidents, it's also about losing potential clients because of the disturbing speculations about my company from the public. And this is all my fucking fault.

I made mistakes before, of course, or got screwed by my business rivals, but this one hit me harder because of the whole situation tied to it.

I'm still suspecting Frederick has something to do with the last two incidents, directly or not. But for now, I just need proof so that I can hit his ass twice hard. He has been keeping it low since he bought my shares, but his every move carries an agenda, and this time it's my mother. That man will not stop until he wins her back. To him, my mother is the loss he's not willing to swallow.

The thought throws me back to the night when she broke the news about her summer plan at the Trisure party. She started with her relief at seeing her company was now in expert hands. It was the very reason she decided to retire fully; she was not needed anymore, anyway.

"You're doing this because of whatever arrangement you have with Frederick, right?" I asked my mother.

"What arrangement?"

"You tell me."

"Ashton, I don't know what you're talking about," she denied. "I've told you nothing is going on between Fred and me. We have a history, I know, but before that, we were good friends. What we're doing now is to clear up the misunderstandings between two families that took place in the past and be friends again."

"And how has the reconnecting been going? Going great, I suppose?"

She gave me a strained look before sighing audibly. "Ashton, I will not let things go too far and hurt us again like the last time."

"Come on, Mother. Don't give me this bullshit."

"Language. I'm still your mother, and I demand you to show a little respect."

"Okay. Sorry." I shouldn't have said that to her, I was aware, but I was not in the mood to talk about trivial things when a horrifying incident just hit our cargo. She knew I just received bad news from work, despite my refusal to tell her the whole story. At least, not yet. I wasn't going to give Frederick another reason to celebrate. "You know you can see whoever you want, even him. It will not hurt me nor affect me in any way. But I need to say this in advance: If it's Sauer, then you know I will not welcome him into my family."

It was where we stood when I left her before I headed home to demand a follow-up regarding the hijacking news. She never brought it back up when we met at Emily's birthday, probably because she'd learned I'd been dealing with a heavy case that required my attention, especially after how ugly things became.

It has been almost a month since the incident hit us. People have started to forget about it since the case occupies the news less and less, and the rhythm in my office is slowly back to normal. While waiting for the updates from the official investigation — also from my private investigator, I can take a little breather before diving into new plans to catch up with our targets.

The first thing in my head is my girlfriend; my sweet, compassionate Char. She has been so understanding in the past month, even though I deliberately neglected her. Not a word escaped her mouth, complaining about me being too absorbed in my world. Again, how did I deserve her?

It's the very reason I'm on my way to her work to surprise her; to pick her up and take her for dinner. I'm driving my own car because I want it to be just the two of us, and this time, she can choose wherever she wants, even the horrendous pizza place she went to with Chadrick the last time. I know he agreed to go to that place to impress her because Chadrick Maxwell is everything but eating dinner at cheap places. Everyone knows he's more extravagant than me.