In Love, Never Say Never

In Love, Never Say Never Chapter 1131-1132-1133-1134-1135

In Love, Never Say Never Chapter 1131-1132-1133-1134-1135

After giving it some thought, I thought I better have him back down a little. “Sure, I could sign on it, but on the condition that you promise not to push through the plans with GW within the next two years.”

The two-year period was a proposal after much consideration. I would be able to wrap up everything pertaining to my pregnancy during that stretch, and with Ashton’s ability, it should give him sufficient time to gain a foothold in K City.

I know that I would not be able to stop him from pursuing better avenues of development, but with an extended period for preparation, it might help mitigate any potential risks that may arise.

Ashton’s eyes widened momentarily as he considered his options. His lips then curled into a smile. “Alright, I promise.”

Ten years was enough time for me to learn how to discern when he was being sincere or deceitful. His eyes and his smile told me that I may dispense my suspicions.

I took the pen from him and scribbled my John Hancock above the line. Ashton followed up by having the document sent out to the Notary Office for processing.

The courier had just left when someone rapped at the door twice. “Mr. Fuller, the representative from GW Group has arrived.”

My gaze fell upon Ashton the second I heard that. I regarded him with ambiguity and shot him several looks. Would it not be a golden opportunity for him to prove that he had been straight with me?

Ashton gave me a knowing smile before he turned to Joseph. “Have them taken to the conference room.”

“Understood,” Joseph replied with a nod before he exited.

Ashton went around to other side of the table and retrieved his coat from the rack. He spoke as he put it on and checked his attire, “Come, Mrs. Fuller. You should try to resolve the matter with GW today while you are still able to exercise your rights as shareholder.”

He wanted to have me along for the meeting.

And I do not see why not.

I shrugged and put a hand around his arm as we made our way to the conference room.

The representative from GW Group was a blue-eyed blond. He was already seated when we stepped in.

Ashton had an arm around me when we approached. “Good to see you again, Mr. Blondell. May I introduce you to my wife, Scarlett Stovall.”

“Oh, my pleasure to meet the very lovely Mrs. Fuller.” Sean took ahold of and charmingly kissed the back of my hand before he recovered himself.

He had brought along three foreign assistants, all of them corporate elites.

All of us then took our seats.

Sean seemed to have come to us on his own accord with tremendous sincerity and started as soon as he sat himself down. “According to the terms that were presented to us, Mr. Fuller, GW would only receive a fifteen-percent stake for our investment. After conferring internally, we’re willing to settle for seventeen-percent. That would be our best offer. If you are amendable to that, then we would be able to finalize the contract today.”

The assistant closest to Sean got up on cue to place the contract in front of Ashton.

The financing proposal was something that Ashton had put on the agenda about a year ago, and Sean and his assistants had remained in the country for almost half a year since. Thus, their eagerness to wrap things up so that they may all return home was understandable.

I had gone through their proposal. GW’s original demands were for a twenty-percent stake in Fuller Corporation’s shares. After negotiation with Ashton, Sean was willing to concede three percent, which was considered very generous. No good business person would dabble in any losing propositions. As there was still some profit in it for GW, I need not be excessively obliged to them.

Ashton and I exchanged looks before he reached out and calmly nudged the contract subtly in Sean’s direction. “Thank you for your offer, Mr. Blondell. I may have to ask for your understanding as the hostility directed toward Fuller Corporation locally leaves me with other considerations to make. So I’m afraid that we may have to put this proposal on hold until a later time.”

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There was a sudden shift in Sean’s mood ,but he managed to force out a stiffened smile. “I hope you’re not being serious about this, Mr. Fuller?”

Compared to the behemoth behind Sean, Fuller Corporation was but a palm-sized company. GW had come halfway across the world to initiate the negotiations. They had gone through so many rounds of negotiation and saw various concessions made on their part. For Fuller Corporation to back out now, anyone would feel that they had been taken for a ride.

It would not be prudent to get on the wrong side of GW. Sean’s face had me fretting quite a bit for Ashton as spurning GW like this would likely earn Fuller Corporation yet another enemy.

At this moment, Ashton suddenly adjusted his seat to move closer to me. One long arm wrapped around and pulled me in while he had another hand gently placed upon my abdomen. His eyes were filled with hopeful anticipation. “I am, Mr. Blondell. I’m sure you’ve been thorough in doing your due

diligence on me. My wife had already suffered through two miscarriages. It was hard enough for us to be able to conceive again so I do not wish for any more mishaps. Before my child is safely delivered and survives till one, I would not be looking to make any major moves in my business ventures.”

I was astounded to hear that I was pregnant. How could it be that I was unaware of that?

Ashton cast an affectionate glance my way before he turned to regard Sean solemnly. “It’s only human to aspire for parenthood so I believe this is something that Mr. Blondell and the directors at GW Group should be able to appreciate, would you not agree?”

Every word of his was resolute but not aggressive, which left Sean with no avenue for dissent. The man could only frown distressedly as he sat slump in his seat.

Sensing that Sean had been subdued, Ashton promptly withdrew his eyes and lowered them upon my belly. He nonchalantly rubbed a supple palm upon it as he spoke softly. “If you should find it difficult to answer to your superiors when you return, I could prepare a separate contract for you. In the event Fuller Corporation intends to reopen for fund raising internationally, GW Group would be first in line for consideration. What would you say to that?” That was how thorough Ashton always was, leaving his opponents with no chance to react.

Sean got up and went outside to make a call. As expected, he accepted Ashton’s offer, and left quietly with his team once the paperwork was completed.

Their departure from the conference room left just Ashton and myself alone in it.

“The audience is gone, so cut out the act.” I reached out and batted off the hand Ashton had on my abdomen. “Don’t think about taking advantage of me!”

Ashton was sulky as he shrugged it off. Men were animals who wouldn’t know when to stop.

The discontent on Sean’s face when he left the conference room was in stark contrast with his gentlemanly and amiable demeanor when he first entered. This had me worried. In my esteem, GW Group could not be that easy to pacify, so I was wary about collaborating with them in future. “Do you still intend to collaborate with GW?”

“What do you think?” Ashton leaned back against the back rest, seemingly quite at ease with himself.

Trying to work out what was on the other’s mind had developed into a form of routine between us. Left with little choice, I exhaled as I played along. “With the contract inked, there doesn’t seem to be any other option?”

Ashton laughed, “You’ve said that you’d never want to see me again before, but aren’t you still messing around with me in bed every single day?”

“Ashton Fuller!” I grabbed the pen, the only object on the table, and hurled it toward him. Then, my eyes burned at him.

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Ever since we had accepted each other, Ashton had only become more thick-skinned.

He deftly intercepted my missile and started twirling it between his fingers like a toy. The insouciant man did not appear to be threatened by me and continued in his roguish tone, “The contract only stated that we need give them first consideration, and not necessarily to work with them. If a better offer comes along and GW’s development ideals does not align with Fuller Corporation’s, we could easily cook up an excuse and blow them off with it. What’s there to be concerned about?”

“So you’re pulling a fast one on them?” I was quite astonished.

As the reality in business was ever changing, it would be necessary to be adaptive should one wish to take it by the reins. I had seen Ashton being swift and decisive, and also seen him lay low. Witnessing him throwing fits and playing punk with a large investment group was something new.

“Whoever said that the boss of a listed company couldn’t do that?” Ashton said as he carefully helped me up and led me outside, as though I had really conceived. “Don’t be fooled into thinking that GW are upstanding people just because they gave up three percent to us. The truth of the matter is, the shares of the company is a battleground for control. I could still manage if I let out fifteen percent. But if I were to relinquish another five, I’d be looking over my shoulder wondering when GW might knock me off my perch. I’m extremely cautious when it came to the stock numbers. Hence, GW’s the real hooligan here. By offering them my verbal assurances, I’ve already shown them ample respect.”

That got me thinking. Though I was not able to fully grasp the implications of this, I found myself somewhat in agreement with him. The expression that Sean ultimately showed us was indeed no different from that of a thug. Sooner or later, we might likely find ourselves on the losing end should we choose to deal with someone like that.

I had reached the lobby without realizing it and had no idea when Stella had started following behind. She took the initiative to move ahead and hold the elevator for me.

With little else to concern myself with since the issue with GW was now concluded, I heeded Ashton’s words and made my way home first.

Stella rode shotgun with the chauffeur in front while I occupied the backseat on my own. Even though my relationship with her had been decent before, neither of us tried to converse with the other en-route the whole way home.

I was not sure whether it was owing to my awareness of her feelings for Ashton, or out of a sense of guilt for rejecting her application for promotion previously, I do not feel the need to go out of my way to

act friendly with her.

So it was said that a woman’s intuition was kind of a scary thing. You would never know when it came and went, but once it showed up, it would lead you by the nose and would not let up.

I could tell that Stella was not a happy camper through the rear-view mirror. She was a little down, probably because she just went from being a working professional to a nanny-like attendant. The abrupt change in mindset might take some time to adjust to.

Soon, we were home.

Before the chauffeur even stopped the car, I was able to see Emery’s car parked by the side of the road from a distance.

Our eyes met as we alighted about the same time as she did.

“Back in from the hospital?” Emery had an arm around me as we walked toward the inside. She noticed that Stella was following close behind. “Who’s this? Did Ashton find you a new nurse?”

Even if it was unintended, that came across as quite vicious. Stella might had only been a receptionist before, but she was now Ashton’s assistant. For the assistant to a general manager of a listed company to be described as a mere nurse, even I would not have been happy about it.

I felt bad and did not dare to look at Stella’s expression. Then, I patiently explained to Emery, “No, that’s Ashton’s assistant. He’s concerned whether I might need help with certain things ahead of my pregnancy, so he assigned her to assist me temporarily. She would be returning to the company eventually.”

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“I see.” Emery did not much care to know and quickly moved on. “I’ve been thinking lately that perhaps I should purchase the villa next to my place and gift it to Hunter’s parents. What do you think?”

I goaded her in good humor. “Is the five-hundred square-foot home of yours not spacious enough for the five of you?”

We arrived at the living room as we chatted. I saw that Stella was standing by the door, not quite sure what to do with herself. “You don’t have keep staying with me. Since we’re at home, do make yourself comfortable. If you’re bored, you could take a look around and familiarize yourself with the environment.”

The corner of Stella’s lips perked up gratefully before she went through the nearest side door and toward the garden.

Emery paused and cast her eyes inquisitively in the direction of the woman’s footsteps. “Ashton’s such a pervert. He couldn’t resist the advances of his assistant, so he sends her here to let you clean up after him?”

I laughed when I recalled how Ashton thought I might have fancied Stella, and collected myself before I waved her off. “You’re overthinking this.”

“It’s you who’s not thinking hard enough about it.” Emery sounded somewhat perturbed. “Ashton might be considered the reliable sort, but I bet that there are plenty of girls who would be drawn to that handsome face of his. You won’t always be young, so it’s imperative that you be more attentive.”

Nonetheless, I took this in my stride. She looked sideways at me, quite exasperated before the admission material on the table caught her eye. She picked it up and casually flipped through it. “Are you preparing for another admissions test? Why are you wasting your time on this?”

“How could this be considered a waste of time?” I replied with a smile. “After all, I’m a shareholder at Fuller Corporation. It seems a little embarrassing to show others my current academic credentials. Besides, I intend to try for the bar examination afterward. With Ashton forbidding me from any involvement with the company, surely I have to find something else to do.”

She placed down the book. “Then, why don’t you go straight for the bar examination?”

“Can I do that?” That was something that did not occur to me before. “Why not?” Emery said candidly. “Even if you managed to get yourself into graduate school, whatever you learn from books would have little practical use. I’d say you might as well go straight for the bar examination. With a few years of experience under your belt and connections through the Moore family and Fuller Corporation, you’d be starting your own practice in no time.”

I was not that fixated on whether I would be able to start my own thing, but Emery’s analysis did align with my own interests.

Going for the admission test was something that I always wanted to do. Perhaps it had been an oversight on my part that I could pass it up and go straight for the bar examination.

Why complicate matters when it would all lead to the same outcome?

After careful deliberation, Emery and myself signed up for the closest available date for the bar examination online right there and then.

Once this was done, Emery stretched herself and started looking around for Summer. “Where’s Summer? I haven’t seen her since I’ve been here.”

“She might be playing in the rear house with Mrs. Eriksen.” Summer could withstand the cold fairly well for someone of her age, and would engage in snowball fights ever so often. With the snow in K City yet

to start melting, she must have dragged Mrs. Eriksen off to build snowmen again.

With that, Emery and myself linked arms and made our way to the rear house.

We barely stepped onto the gravel path when Summer’s laughter filled the air. That did much to uplift my mood.

When I got closer, I saw that her petite hands were reddened from the cold. There was still a half- formed snowball inside her grasp which she threw across the way.

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I thought she was with Mrs. Eriksen, but when I turned around, it was Stella.

The seemingly frail girl did not seem to mind the weather as she engaged Summer. Not a single hit registered on her, but it was obvious she was not going hard at her opponent at all.

Mrs. Eriksen was smiling as she stood by the side with their coats.

I had not noticed the change in Emery’s expression. Relinquishing my hand, I went over and stooped down in front of Summer, then pretended to chide her angrily. “Why have you come out to play when it’s so cold?”

Summer pouted, seemingly a little unhappy. However, she wisely loosened her grip on the snowball in her own hand, allowing it to fall upon the ground and shatter to dust.

Mrs. Eriksen hurried over to help her into her coat. “It’s all my fault for failing to look after Ms. Summer.”

At this moment, Stella suddenly decided to chime in. “I guess this must be Summer. She’s really adorable.”

I lifted my head to see that the woman was all smiles and full of tenderness for Summer. The discomfort she had from before seemed to have vanished completely.

I ought to be impressed by such adaptability, yet all I felt was displeasure and it showed on my face. A rather patronizing thank you was all that I could muster.

Summer had a perceptiveness that belied her age. She raised her head in pride as she knew Stella was praising her. “I like Ms. Collins, Mommy. Could she play with me next time?”

Stella got in ahead of me. “I could do that. As I’m your mother’s home care aide, we’ll be able to see each other quite often.”

“Oh yeah! There’s someone who can play with me!” While the girl bounced up and down like a little monkey, my own sentiments could only be described as one of ambivalence.

As I expected to be busy preparing for the bar examinations, I would not have as much time to spend with Summer. Despite that, I could not help but feel a little jealous allowing Stella to get close to my own daughter.

Any mother would understand how possessive they could be of their own children. No one would want to share them with other women.

Emery was not the type to hold back on anyone, so regardless of how Summer might have felt about it, she barked sternly at Stella. “A home care aide, huh. Since Ashton’s paying you so well, you ought to earn your paycheck. Now, go on and get Scarlett and myself two glasses of warm milk, and head out to buy the latest materials for the bar examination. Make sure you’re back within the hour as we’ve other tasks for you.”

Though the villa was in the suburbs and not that far from the city center, a round trip would take close to forty minutes. Taking into account the time needed to make the purchases, an hour’s time was

considerably tight.

Stella’s expression stiffened, but she dared not protest in the face of Emery’s overwhelming presence. The woman merely nodded timidly. “Understood. I’ll get right to it.”

With that, Stella made her way out in double quick time.

It was hard for me to see her in such harried form. “Hire a ride, and remember to get the receipt so that you may claim for your expenses when you get back.”

Stella stopped and turned around. She nodded in gratitude. “Thank you, Mrs. Fuller.”

Then, she departed without looking back.

Emery rolled her eyes and snorted at the choices of a person like me who was too nice for her taste.

My eyes brows perked up and I pretended that I did not see that.

Once I had Summer settled in, I went on to the study with Emery. I bought a bunch of study material for the admission. In spite of the change in direction, there was still some amongst them that could prove useful.

Emery sat at the chair, drinking her milk. She observed as I categorized my books and started harping on it again.

“I’m curious as to how you manage to remain so calm when she’s that close to shitting all over you, Scarlett?”

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