Chapter 96
Rebecca felt unjust, her face contorting with frustration. As she saw Ashton leave, she insisted that she didn’t need Joseph’s help carrying her. While limping, she shot a glare at me and accused, “Scarlett, you did this on purpose.”
I exhaled softly, trying to remain calm. “I’m sorry, it wasn’t intentional.” The truth was, I had grabbed her instinctively out of panic.
Once Joseph had taken Rebecca away, Ashton came out of the office, carrying a first aid kit. He crouched beside me, his gaze intense.
“Give me your hand,” he said, his voice steady.
I pursed my lips and extended my hand to him. The cuts and grazes burned, and I hadn’t even realized when they had started bleeding. Ashton examined my hand, his brows furrowing deeply when he saw the blood. “Bear with me. This might hurt a little.”
I nodded, bracing myself as he began cleaning the wound. The sting from the antiseptic-soaked cotton swab made me instinctively pull my hand back, but he held onto it firmly. “It’ll be fine in a while,” he reassured me.
I raised an eyebrow. “Just bandage it and get it over with. It’ll hurt more if you keep being meticulous.”
He finished the dressing and looked up at me, his expression full of concern. “Is your knee hurt too?”
I shook my head quickly, not wanting him to touch it, and hoped he wouldn’t insist. It wasn’t obvious since I was wearing a skirt. But Ashton ignored my protests and lifted the hem of my skirt. A large red patch was revealed, making me wince at the sight.
“Don’t you feel pain?” he asked, his voice tinged with anger.
I pursed my lips and answered, “Nope!”
Without another word, he applied a little pressure to the wound, and I gasped in pain. “Ashton!” I exclaimed.
He lowered his head to focus on the injury and spoke softly, “I’m here.”
I knew he was doing it on purpose to tease me, but I couldn’t deny that his touch was gentle as he tended to the wound. Once the dressing was done, he made sure everything was secure before tidying up the first aid kit.
He then pulled out the breakfast boxes that Joseph had brought earlier. There was pumpkin soup, steamed buns, dumplings, and soy milk—far more than the two of us could possibly finish.
I looked at the spread with disbelief. “What’s going on in Joseph’s mind? How does he think we’re going to finish all this?”
Ashton placed all of the food in front of us, his gaze fixed on me. “Finish all of this, then lie down and take a nap.”
I raised my head and looked at him, feeling a little overwhelmed. “Ashton, are you raising pigs here? How are we supposed to eat all this?”
He nodded, his eyebrow raised in amusement. “Yes, two!”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “I can’t finish it all. Besides, I’ve already eaten.”
Without saying a word, he walked over to his desk and sat down, dialing a number on the phone. Not long after, Stacey arrived with a stack of documents. She looked at me, then glanced over at Ashton, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Ms. Stovall, these are the documents requiring your signature. We’re almost done with the work at AC Credit. Please take a look.”
Stacey placed the documents on the table, then winked at me as if trying to get a glimpse of what was going on between Ashton and me. I quickly packed up the untouched breakfast and handed it to her. “Well noted. You surely haven’t had breakfast yet. Eat up.”
Seeing the food shoved in her direction, Stacey shook her head in protest. I leaned in, whispering in her ear, “Don’t decline, just help me.”
She hesitated, “Ms. Stovall, I can’t eat all this.”
“No worries,” I replied with a smile, “There are plenty of people in the office. Everyone can share.”
After handing the food over to Stacey, I sat back on the sofa and turned to Ashton, who was staring at me intently. Feeling a bit guilty, I asked, “What’s the matter?”
He smiled, his gaze playful. “What am I going to eat?”
I froze, realizing he hadn’t eaten yet. “You haven’t eaten?” I asked, wide-eyed.
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.
I facepalmed, glancing at the glass of soy milk I’d taken a sip from earlier. “Do you want this?” I asked, half-joking. He was particular about hygiene and would never drink from someone else’s cup, especially after I’d already taken a sip.
To my surprise, he nodded. “Yeah,” he said, walking over to me. He sat next to me and promptly finished the entire glass of soy milk, as if it were nothing.
I stared at him, my mouth agape. He had drunk from the straw that had my lipstick stain on it. I was speechless for a moment, a strange mix of emotions running through me.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, wrapping his arm around my waist and gently rubbing my belly with his palm. His lips curled into a grin. “It seems like you’ve gained some weight!”
I rolled my eyes and pushed him away playfully. Then, I turned my attention to the documents in front of me. The audit for Fuller Corporation and Harrison Credit was complete. As for AC Credit, I still needed to sign it.
Ashton grabbed an audit report and began flipping through it. “AC Credit is in charge of Robinson Group’s audit?”
I nodded while signing the documents in front of me. “Yes, that’s right. I’ve been handling it, but Stacey took over when I was too busy.”
He flipped through a few more pages and then looked at me. “Who did you assign to this project?”
I paused for a moment. “Stacey. I was swamped at the time, so she’s been in charge of it. Why? Is something wrong?”
His expression grew serious, and I wondered if something had gone wrong. I quickly flipped through the files he had reviewed, but I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.