by Alison Mello
“Hi Judy, it’s Layla. I am at Ashton’s house and I can’t get in. Is there a code or a key?” I asked.
“On the right side of the wall is a key pad. Enter the code 1990, then when you leave, enter it again to lock the door.”
“Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, honey.” With that, she hung up.
I saw the keypad and entered the code. How had I not noticed that before? The keypad was high tech and asked if I wanted to unlock or lock the door. Hitting unlock, I heard the door unlocking itself and the pad dinged to let me know it was open. I opened the door and trudged inside with the suits. I figured I should put them in his closet, so I walked up the stairs and into his room. Being back in the room reminded me of when I slept in the same bed as Ashton. I wasn’t going to lie, that was the best I’d slept in a while. Pushing that thought away, I put the suits in a space in Ashton’s closet.
Not wanting to be here any longer than necessary, I quickly shut the closet doors and went back downstairs remembering I was supposed to check if his maid cleaned up and stocked the fridge. My heels clicked on the tile floor as I walked to the kitchen. After seeing everything stocked up, I looked in the living room and saw everything was how it should look. Deciding everything was done there I walked out the door, pressed the code in, and made my way downstairs. It seemed I would make it back in time.
The whole way back I was glad I got in early today and already had most of the stuff for the meeting done. All I needed to do was get all of the stuff from Mr. Holland’s account. We pulled up in front the company building at 11:30. I shouted a quick thank you to Clark before I was out of the car and running through the front doors. Neena sat at the front counter and I shot her a quick wave and smile before impatiently hitting the up button and tapping my heel against the ground.
I tried not to yell in frustration as the elevator took its time coming to a stop at the lobby. I had thirty minutes to get everything ready and taken to the conference room. Fortunately, the doors opened with a ding a few minutes later. I got pulled in along with about twenty other people. I was once again surrounded by the awkward elevator music. There was nothing worse than being packed inside an elevator with twenty or so other people and having to deal with the awkward silence. I had to stop myself from tapping my foot as we had to come to a stop at almost every floor.
By the time the doors opened to my floor I was fidgeting, anxious to hurry and show Ashton up. I knew who I had to go to, so instead of heading to my office I walked in the opposite direction, which I hoped was Liam’s office. Seeing his name on a door up ahead, I quickened my pace. I knocked on the wooden door and waited to hear Liam telling me to go in. A faint “come in” reached my ears and I opened the door.
“Liam?” I asked, stepping into the room. His office was the complete opposite of Ashton’s. Where Ashton had dark wood and couches, Liam had a tannish brown couch in the corner and a light brown desk. His walls were painted a pretty deep green color and he had a pretty view out the windows behind him; not as great as Ashton’s, but still great.
“Layla! What are you doing here? Not that I don’t mind that you are,” he said, getting up out of his chair.
“Hi. Sorry for just coming by, but I need something from you.” I came to a stop in front of his desk. I took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. I noticed it wasn’t as comfortable as Ashton’s. Layla, stop!
“Sure, what do you need?” He slipped back into his chair and turned to me.
“I need everything from Mr. Holland’s account. I know it’s so sudden but I need it like right now. I have a meeting with him in twenty minutes.”
“Wow, cutting it short, aren’t you?” he teased but noticed the look on my face and quickly turned to his computer. “It’s no problem getting it. Just let me type his name in and print it off.”
“Thank you, Liam, really,” I said, relieved he could do it and hoping it took only just a second.
“No problem.” We were quiet and the only sound that could be heard in the office was the sound of the computer keyboard and the mouse. Just a few minutes later, he turned to me. “There you go. They are just printing. I don’t have a printer so it’s down the hall.” Before he even had the words out of his mouth, I was up and out of my seat.
“Thank you so much. I owe you!” I called over my shoulder as I left his office. I walked briskly to the copier room. By the time I made it there, most of the papers were printed off and I couldn’t be more grateful. I made two other copies of them and stapled them together. I glanced at the clock on the wall and almost choked. I had less than three minutes to get to the conference room before Ashton and Mr. Holland.
If someone would have seen me right now they would have thought I had ran a marathon or something. My hands were shaking and my face felt flushed as I opened the conference door and practically threw the papers on the table. I felt like I had drunk five cups of coffee. I sat my bag I still had on my shoulder on a chair, and straightened out the papers. As soon as I smoothed out my skirt, the door opened and in walked Ashton and who I assumed was Mr. Holland.
I turned and plastered a smile on my face as they turned to me. I would have liked to see surprise or even admiration on Ashton’s face when he saw I was there on time, but there were no emotions on his face. His face was blank and his blue eyes stared down at me as he walked to his chair at the head of the table.
“And who is this?” Mr. Holland asked Ashton as he walked around the table to his seat. He looked to be in his late fifties and had some gray in his brown hair at the temples. Wrinkles circled his brown eyes and mouth. He looked like a man who has laughed a lot, but at the same time can be serious when he needs to. I opened my mouth to answer but Ashton beat me to it.
“No one of importance. So, Henry, I brought you here so you can see exactly what has been happening with your money and our company,” Ashton said. I bit back the hurt at how he just brushed me off to the side and took a seat to the right of him and across from Mr. Holland. My mind started to wander as Ashton talked to Mr. Holland about his stuff. I was starting to feel the ache in my feet and my head was starting to hurt. I was hoping this meeting wouldn’t be too long so I could go eat.
“Ms. Kingston.” The sound of my name being called jerked me out of my thoughts. I blinked, clearing my eyes and saw both men staring at me.
“Yes?” I asked, hoping I wouldn’t get in trouble for not paying attention.
“Henry here wants to know what you think about his investments,” Ashton said, his jaw clenched. He stared at me angry, almost like it was my fault Mr. Holland wanted my opinion.
“You want my opinion, sir?” I asked, making sure they were asking the right thing. Mr. Holland nodded at me. I sat up straighter in my chair.
“Well, sir, in my opinion I wouldn’t go anywhere else but here. Nowhere else will you get a full review of all your investments and the truth of what your money is going to. You are trusting us to put your money to good use and to make you more money in return, right? Yes, you could go somewhere else and maybe get the same result but other companies weren’t built the way this one is. It is family based and everyone here has the same goal: to make sure the money we are entrusted with goes to a good cause. The best part about Miller Industries is you can go online right now and search up about anything you want about us. You can see our numbers, data, what our money goes to. What other companies would do that? I am not going to try too hard to convince you that we are the right choice. It is your money and you have the full decision to what you want with it,” I said.
He sat there staring at me for a full minute before he opened his mouth.
“I like this girl. Is she your PA?” Mr. Holland asked, turning to Ashton. Ashton stared at me before looking at Mr. Holland and nodded. “It’s nice seeing someone knowing what the business does in depth. Mr. Miller, you don’t have to worry about me leaving. I know I am in good hands. I better get going I have to go have lunch with my wife.” He
stood up and shook Ashton’s hand. He nodded at me and left the room. I watched him leave and then turned to Ashton. He sat there stiffly clenching his jaw and I thought I saw his fists being clenched underneath the table.
“Ashton, you okay?” I asked softly. I felt like I needed to approach Ashton slowly, almost like he was a caged animal.
“No, I am not,” he said, his voice so hard it could cut rocks. I sat still in my chair staring at him. “I was going to wait until later to do this but I am not going to.” I felt something drop in my stomach and I knew something bad was about to happen. Am I going to get fired? I did everything he has asked of me. It’s only been two days. How much damage could I have done? Questions flew into my mind as I waited for Ashton to talk.
“We are done. Whatever we had is over and was never real. I do not want to keep going on and pretending anymore. I never liked you. I only went out with you out of pity and because I felt the need to after saving you from those guys in that alley. I mean hell, look at you. Who would like you? It’s no wonder you are single. You’re nothing worth bragging about. Someone like me doesn’t belong to someone like you; you’re too low class for me and honestly not worth it.”
Every word that came out of his mouth was like a stab to the stomach. I stared at him wide-eyed, not wanting to believe what he was saying. He looked at me with a cold, blank expression. “I shouldn’t have gone on as long as I did, but who doesn’t like a good chase now and again?” He shrugged like it was nothing. “I will let you keep your job since it seems you need it by the look of your apartment. I still expect your work to be unaffected and done correctly. Now, if you will excuse me, I have someone I have to go have lunch with.” With that last word, he got up and walked out of the conference room leaving me sitting there stunned and with my eyes stinging.
I didn’t know what to say or even think. My eyes burned as unshed tears started to fill them. Not worth it. Never liked you. Low class. Never real. I shook my head at myself feeling stupid for even thinking Ashton could at all like me. Stupid, pathetic girl. Of course, it wasn’t real. I should have known someone like him wouldn’t go for someone like me. A traitorous tear escaped my eye and trailed down my cheek. I wiped it away. I stood up on shaky legs and took a deep, shuddering breath. I didn’t think I can stay the rest of the day, especially like this. Trying to compose myself, I grabbed my bag and left the room heading to Judy’s desk.
“Judy,” I croaked out then coughed to clear my throat. She looked up at me and her face instantly morphed into concern.
“Layla, are you okay?”
“I, uh, no. Is it okay if I take the rest of the day off? Mr. Miller knows,” I lied. “I know it’s a lot to ask but I don’t feel well.”
“Of course, dear. I will take care of everything. If you can’t make it in tomorrow as well, just let me know,” Judy said, smiling sadly at me. I nodded in thanks, grateful she didn’t press for details.
With my head down, I quickly walked to the elevator and out the front doors. I jumped into a random cab, barely remembering to tell the man my address. Once the cab started driving, I let my tears come. I stared out the window and saw my reflection staring back at me. Tears escaped my gray eyes that were starting to turn back to their regular lifelessness. My bottom lip trembled as I tried not to sob out loud. As I stared at my face, I felt anger toward myself bubbling up inside of me. Stupid fucking face. You aren’t worth anything! No sooner than I thought that, the cab came to a stop at my building and I handed the man some cash not bothering to say anything as I got out and slammed the door. I knew Kacey wouldn’t be there as I made my way up the stairs. This morning she told me she had some fashion show thingy to go to. I opened my door and let my bag drop. As soon as my bag hit the floor, heart-wrenching sobs burst free. It was those silent sobs that made your whole body ache and no sound to come out of your lungs. I collapsed on my bed and sobbed as I replayed Ashton’s words to me over and over.
***
Ashton
I left the conference room fighting not to turn back and run to Layla and tell her everything I said was a lie. I knew I hurt her, maybe too much, but it was for her own good. She would be thanking me one day that I ended it before it even began. She had to know that I didn’t have a heart and what I was capable of. Hurting women was what I did and Layla needed to realize that.
Walking past Judy and her questioning eyes, I left the building and slid into my car. Clark pulled away from the curb and drove me to where I was meeting Natasha for lunch. I took a deep breath and stared at the window, trying my hardest not to feel bad for breaking Layla’s heart.
Chapter 18
Layla
I spent the whole night holed up in my room not bothering to leave to eat, shower, or even to talk to Kacey. Part of me knew I was over exaggerating since I had only known Ashton for a week, but another part of me was really hurt at his words. I had heard the words plenty of times to know they were true, but having them come from someone you didn’t think would say them to you hurt worse than anything; worse than when my parents told me the same things.
Dinner had passed a while ago and I lay in bed staring at nothing, and hearing my stomach growl loudly through the room. My stomach was begging me to eat, but I didn’t want to get up. As I stared at nothing, my door flew open and in walked Kacey glaring at me.
“Layla Ann Kingston, you are getting out of that bed this instant,” she said, her voice low and dangerous. I rolled my head to the side and stared at her. I knew my face was not at all attractive at the moment. I bet I had mascara running down my cheeks, my eyes swollen and cheeks blotchy. I wish I was one of those girls who could look great while crying, but sadly I was stuck with looking like a zombie when I cried. If she was scared of my face, she didn’t show it. When I didn’t make any movement, she marched over to my bed and threw my duvet away from me.
“You are going to get up. Shower to get your clown-looking face off, and then you are going to eat. While you are eating, you are going to tell me everything.” She grabbed my arm in a hard grip and pulled me straight off the bed. I squeaked in surprise at her strength. For someone so small, she sure was strong. “Get your ass in the shower right now while I grab you something to eat.” With that demand, she shoved me toward my bathroom and left the room. I sighed and headed to the bathroom.
Stripping out of my wrinkled work clothes, I stepped into the warm shower and let the warmth surround me. I thoroughly washed my hair and body, trying to get the day off of me. I stood in the water until it turned cold, then I finally got out. Wrapping a towel around me, I left the bathroom not even bothering to look in the mirror. I knew what I looked like and I didn’t want to scare myself. I pulled on my fluffiest pair of PJ bottoms and an old oversized shirt my last boyfriend left with me. Quickly running the towel through my hair, I brushed it and left my room, letting my hair air dry.
Slumping down on the couch, I stared at the TV. Not even a second later, Kacey put a bowl down on my lap and I saw she made me ramen noodles in soup form. Otherwise known as cheap college food. I shot her a grateful smile and started to eat. I didn’t know I was that hungry as I gobbled down my soup.
“Now that you are cleaned up and eating, care to explain to me why I came home to find you sobbing on your bed when you should be at work?” Kacey said, cutting the silence. I swallowed and looked down trying to gather my thoughts and say it without making Kacey lose her shit. “Wait! Was it your parents? Are they here?”
My head snapped up and I quickly shook it. If my parents were here, then the world would be ending. Kacey’s shoulders relaxed as she stared at me.
“I…Ashton broke up with me,” I finally spit out. I surprised myself with what I said. Ashton and I weren’t really an item. Why did I say it like we were? We only went on one official date.
“At work?” she asked, anger laying underneath the surface.
“Yeah. I know we weren’t really anything and I am overreacting,” I said, twirling some noodles around my fo
rk.
“He said something, didn’t he! What did he say to make you look this horrible?” I shot her a glare. Only Kacey would be thinking about how bad I looked.
“It was nothing, Kay. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Layla,” she warned.
“No. Kacey, it was really nothing. Nothing I haven’t heard before anyways. I don’t know why I am acting this way. I knew what he was like and I should have known I couldn’t change someone like him,” I said.
Kacey just stared at me. I gave her a look that said drop it and I heard her sigh.
“Fine, I will drop it. But if I see him I won’t hesitate to kick him in the balls, just saying.” She shot me a grin. “He let you keep your job as his PA?”
“Yeah, he did. It’s going to be hard seeing him every day but I am not going to quit and let him think I am weak,” I said. “Plus, tomorrow is Thursday and then Friday so I won’t have to see him for two days.” I finished my soup and got up to put the dish in the dishwasher. Just as I walked out of the room, I heard Kacey shout and her footsteps coming in my direction.
“I know what you need to do,” she said proudly. I looked at her and was afraid to ask what. When she got that look on her face, I knew what she was thinking wouldn’t be good. I looked at her hesitantly before asking her what she had in mind. “You need to look hot while at work. Show him what he is missing out on.” After she said it, she got a proud smile on her face like she had cured cancer or something.
“Kay, I can’t dress provocatively at work. It’s a multi-million-dollar company. I can’t have my ladies showing!” I gestured to my chest. Kacey just rolled her eyes.
“Layla, I am not saying wear a hooker outfit. I am saying you need to wear tighter clothes to show off your hot body, and maybe a few inches shorter of skirts so your long legs can be seen.” I instantly shook my head at her.
“No way in hell, Kacey! You know I am not like that! Just wearing one of your pencil skirts I felt like I was on display for everyone.” I continued to argue with her but she didn’t budge.