C7 The past

"Hey, wait up!" The girl kept on going, increasing her pace instead. "Hey Thea, stop ignoring me, okay?"

"Thea!" He gripped her arm and she was quick to recoil from his touch. His grip was strong, strong enough to keep her from leaving.

"What do you want? I've told you countless times, I don't have feelings for you, Ash."

"Really," he moved closer to her, matching her stare. "You don't have feelings for me?" He asked with a smug look.

She scoffed. "Why would you think that in the first place? I'm not like the other girls that swoon over you so easily, Ash-ton. And might I remind you, I'll never make that mistake. Now let go of me!"

Something snapped in him and she could feel his jaw tighten. He pulled her closer, very close, so that their noses were almost touching and she gulped nervously.

"No," he simply said. "You say you feel nothing for me yet your heart wants to jump out of your chest anytime you see me,"

She furrowed her brows in confusion. How'd he know? Oh my goodness, Jennifer was a traitor!

She saw a smirk begin to grow on his face.

"I overheard you two, Jennifer said nothing to me." He said, reading her mind.

"Let go of me Ashton," he didn't hesitate, he let her arm be. "So what now, are you going to rub it in my face that I like you just like you did to Amelia!"

"I did nothing of such to Amelia!" He retorted. "I don't know what she said to you."

"Yes you did, she said you told her that you liked her, she fell for you and then you left her just like every girl!" Thea blurted out.

"Those are lies, Thea. First of all, I never wanted to be in a serious relationship before I met you Thea. You're it for me! If she did like me, I don't know and, sorry if I didn't have a pleasing personality before I met you, but I want to change for you. Is it that hard to give me a chance?" Ashton blurted out.

"It's not hard, Ashton, I'm already feeling this way and we aren't even a thing yet. I'm afraid that if I give you all of myself, I'll just be like other girls to you someday."

Ashton's grip loosened on her arm. He went still, trying to put the pieces together. "Is that why you've been ignoring me?"

Thea's eyes darted to the floor at his question.

"Answer me Thea! You feel you'll just be like other girls to me. That's what you think?"

"I don't know! Okay, I don't know. I'm just looking out for myself, I'm sorry." With that she walked away from him in a direction opposite to where she was formally headed.

---

He gently stood upright and walked to his table. Her eyes stung as she remembered the last time she saw this man.

"I want nothing to do with you anymore, maybe you can go back to the father of that baby you're carrying!" He yelled at her as she cried uncontrollably.

"Ashton, hear me out please!"

"So you can say what? That I am the father of that child. I'll only listen to you if you give me one valuable reason why you, of all people, work in a club. The same woman that said she hated clubs was seen at one. Why?"

"I-" she paused when she remembered the promise she made to Mr Austin Ryder when they met. She shook her head. "I can't," she whispered mainly to herself, but he caught it and swallowed.

"Fine, if that's how you want it, don't ever show up in my face ever again!"

"Ashton?" She whispered mainly to herself.

He took his seat before scoffing. "Are you the so-called Private Secretary?"

She recollected herself immediately and nodded.

He hummed in understanding. "Mr Maxfield really did have a bad taste," he said, and she began to fumble with her nails.

"Why did you arrive late, Miss Kennedy?"

Miss Kennedy?! Oh right, they are formal now.

"I'm sorry I over slept," she said to him.

Shit! That was a flimsy excuse. God, what is happening to me? She thought.

"And yesterday?" He asked with a raised brow.

"I wasn't feeling too well sir and Mr. Maxfield gave me a day off." She said.

It wasn't all a lie, Mr. Maxfield did give her a day off, but still, keeping the fact that her mother was sick away from him, still hurt her like hell.

"I'm sorry, it will not happen again." She said again.

"You're not only lazy, but also clumsy. Are you sure we can work together, Miss Kennedy?"

"I'm very sorry-"

"Stop apologizing!" She froze at the harsh tone of his voice. He realized himself when he caught her recoil in her steps slightly. He released a silent breath to calm himself down.

"Stop apologizing when you can actually do something about it!" She quickly bent to start picking up the files, tears stinging her eyes.

"What files are those?" He asked. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his leg over the other.

"For the ongoing project sir," she stood once more to face him.

"Dispose of them!"

"Sir?" She asked, shocked.

"I said, do away with them, I'm taking the building down and turning the plan into something better. Now get me the files for the exportation. I'm very sure Fiona can't find them where you kept them!"

"Right away sir," she turned to leave.

"And Miss Kennedy?" She halted immediately before turning once more to face him. "I'll pity you this time because I can actually see that whatever kept you from your bed must be serious, but from tomorrow I will not tolerate such actions."

"Yes sir, thank you sir," she dashed out of the office without second thoughts.

Ashton let out a breath of relief immediately she had gone out. He never knew seeing her could be this hard. God! He missed her so much and now he'd seen her, he had lost the right to give her a hug or a kiss. He wondered what kept her so late. Should he send Samuel to-

No, no, bad idea. She wasn't supposed to be his business and he, hers. So Samuel wasn't going to do anything.

So this is where she worked, not too bad actually. He last heard of her job at the restaurant. Why'd she change?

He shook his head, dismissing his thoughts of her before carrying on with what he was doing.

Minutes later, there was a knock which he answered and Thea came in again.

"Here are the documents, sir."

"Drop it on the table and leave," she nodded and did so without hesitation. She didn't want to be in his presence again.

Her journey to the restroom was a short one. Sitting on the toilet lid, she cried her eyes out.