Ch. 196..200: Charmed by the Billionaire CEO Chapter 196-200

Chapter 196: Mislead him

Grace wrapped her arms around Trevor’s waist burying her face into his chest. The thought of losing Dante was scaring the shit out of her.

"I will convince him... do you get me" she kept mumbling letting her tears flow.

Trevor just kept holding her close to his chest. She was a fragile lady when it came to emotions and would break down if anything comes to the people she love and care about.

"Nothing will happen to him. You have Taylor’s words" brushing her back gently Trevor kept hugging her until she finally relaxed and stop crying.

He feared she would faint again if keeps crying like this. Pulling away he asked roaming his eyes on her face," Better" scrunching her nose she nodded.

"But I haven’t forgiven you" wiping off her tears she raised her head and saw him gasp in shock.

Ignoring his look she turned and walked toward the bathroom saying," You will be sleeping on the couch tonight. That’s your punishment" stepping in she shut the door without waiting for his reply.

****

Ashley and Tristan spend some time with the family members before they drove back to the Brown mansion.

Ashley was content that Tristan was convinced by Taylor’s suggestion and even Grace volunteered to convince Dante for the surgery. Now all they wanted was for Dante to give and from that Taylor and Matt would handle the case.

Sitting in the back seat Ashley pressed the partition button blocking the front view and crawl onto Tristan’s lap taking him by surprise.

Tristan was caught off guard by Ashley’s sudden action but soon composed and secured her in his arms.

"You are seriously taking me by surprise" Tristan smiled watching her pursed her lips in embarrassment.

"You like me more this way" her words made him raise his brow," Is that so then, what do you think I do the rest of the time," he asked wanting to know what Ashley thought of him.

"Hide yourself from me" this time he was even more amused than before.

Tracing her finger on his thick brows, she cleaned the arch and leaned forwards to kiss his eyes simultaneously.

"When it comes to your problems you always conceal them from me" pulling away Ashley stared at those blue hypnotic orbs.

Tristan had never been vocal about his problem but with Ashley, he couldn’t hide them.

Tightening his hold on her waist Tristan rested his face on her chest and closed his eyes. Even though Taylor assured him still that little void inside his heart didn’t seal. Or maybe it will only relax until Dante’s tumor will completely gets removed, giving him a new life.

"I hope everything turns out as we are hoping it to be," he said, slowly opening his eyes.

Ashley kept caressing his back. Tristan and Dante’s bond was something she never understood. In front of everyone, they would keep arguing but behind the scene, they both were each other secret keepers.

And she happened to learn when Dante convinced her to step into Tristan’s shoes to understand him better. They had opposite personalities but deeper down they both carried the same aura behind a happy face.

Something dark which only came out when it had to...

Once Tristan felt better he pull away," Your embrace is my solace. I can feel my problems disappear when I found myself melting in your arms" he then pointed to her heart," And this is the sweetest melody that keeps me sane"

Ashley felt her heart skip a beat and she cupped his face making him look at her. She didn’t know the real meaning behind his words but whatever he said filled her heart with immense love.

Slowly moving her face closer to him, she sealed his lips. The kiss was gentle as she took her sweetest time to taste them.

Ashley by now was mastered kissing him. She wasn’t sloppy like before but wasn’t as intense as him. Licking her tongue against his lips she tasted them.

Her palm went on resting on his broad chest where she could feel his heart pound against it. It was beating just hers.

The effect they had on each other wasn’t something they could ignore. It was something that kept amplifying.

Tristan let her take the command and kiss him just the way she wanted. While his mouth kept working according to her rhythm, his hands didn’t stop moving all over her back.

The sensual sound of kissing echoed inside the back seat unaware to those who had no clue what was happening behind them.

"Umm..."

Tristan opened his mouth when he heard her moan and the next second she slid her tongue tangling it with his.

The mint flavor of his mouth succumb to her rational thoughts and she felt like drowning in his masculine touch.

Tristan moved his hand down to her buttocks, lightly squeezing them as he tried to suppress his urge of taking Ashley inside the moving car. He would lose himself when it came to her but he tried to control giving her the chance to devour him.

Their tongues danced rhythmically as they both got lost in the moment feeling the emotions through their actions.

Ashley’s kiss was slowly provoking his beast to stop being in control and just devour his prey the way he wants.

When Tristan felt that it was his last string of patience, he let go of her butt and moved his hand on her two-round mound, and pressed them.

He felt like milking them with his mouth but his cavern was already busy savoring his wife’s mouth.

Before Tristan could reach his limit the car suddenly turned to the right taking them by surprise. Pulling away Tristan held Ashley closer and frowned. He realized that the car was driving faster than the normal speed.

Pulling out his phone. Tristan dialed Sky’s number. Before he could question Sky spoke," Boss someone is following us"

Sky was the one driving the car while the other guards were tailing them from behind. But because of a quick turn Sky took another route and the guards lost their track.

"Mislead him" he instructed and end the call before looking at Ashley who had this horrified expression on her face.

Chapter 197: Are they after your life

Tristan pulled Ashley closer to his heart until everything was under control. He could tell that she was scared as it was evident by the way she looked at him.

Sky on the other hand did was Tristan told him to do. He tricked the follower, misleading him by taking another route, and speeding off the car until they finally lost him.

A few minutes later, their following cars joined them and finally, Sky released a sigh of relief when he found it was their men.

Normalizing the speed, Sky drove them safely to the Brown mansion. Once they reached the house Tristan asked Ashley to go ahead while he walked to Sky and stood in front of him.

"False Alarm. It was just a random passing car" Sky said with a displeased tone.

Tristan frowned listening to his words, but he was glad nothing happened to them. If he was alone, he would’ve handled the situation on his own but with Ashley around, he had to be careful.

"I don’t think it was a false alarm. With Gabriel’s threat lurking around we can’t ignore anything. Ask our men to inspect the area. I know there is something more to this" instructing him a few things Tristan walked inside the house.

Heading straight to their room, Tristan stepped in only to see Ashley sitting on the couch absentmindedly.

Taking a deep breath, he approached her took the seat next to her, and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Ash" his soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to see him.

"Who was following us Tristan" she didn’t hold back and asked him straightforwardly.

Tristan kept staring at her. She was scared and he could see through her eyes.

"Don’t try to brush my question this time Tristan. I want an answer" Ashley had never felt so scared but today the way they escaped terror was something that got engraved in her heart.

Even if she tried to forget that moment, how was she supposed to ignore the fact that they were being followed and she had no clue who it was?

Closing his eyes Tristan took a deep breath before confessing," I just don’t want you to freak out Ash, but there are some people who couldn’t stand me and I doubt it was one of them who was following us"

"Are they after your life?" this question came out of instinct and gasped in relief when he shook his head.

"Oh, Tristan..." pouncing on him, Ashley hugged him firmly. She just didn’t want him to answer otherwise. Something happening to him meant she would eventually stop breathing.

Tristan kept caressing her back until she relaxed and her hold on him loosened. Just one thought and she was so scared. What will happen to her if she finds it’s not him but her whom his enemy is targeting?

He couldn’t imagine himself standing in her place. The way she reacted now was way too different from the way he would behave. He knew the monster inside him would destroy everyone around him before following his beloved.

Once he felt her completely calm in his arm. He slightly pulled her back with their face just a few inches away from each other.

Cupping her face, he looked straight into his eyes before opening his mouth to confess," My life isn’t simple Ash. I have made many enemies in these few years and I fear to get me down, they would come after my loved ones" Ashley creased as she heard him say.

"And now... they have come to find my weakness" Ashley’s eyes widen when the realization hit her. She opened her mouth to say but closed it back as she couldn’t voice her thoughts.

"Promise me... you will protect yourself no matter what" Tristan didn’t hold back his anxiousness and leaned forwards resting their forehead together.

"For now... I can only open to you this much, but make sure you won’t take your surrounding lightly because now... they know who you are to me" Ashley looked up meeting his serious eyes.

There was just a small gleam of fear but what made her gulp was his dark eyes that conveyed something dangerous to her.

Ignoring her reaction Tristan pulled her closer, hoping she would somehow understand the undefining truth behind his words. He only hoped she won’t estrange herself from him after this conversation.

****

Noah was playing a game trying to fight his enemy. But every time he charged to attack them they would trick him and instead knock him down.

"Argh!!! this is so frustrating" throwing away the controller Noah unplugged the chords from his ear and flung them on the couch.

After meeting his mother, Noah returned home. Anna had given him two days to think of whether he is willing to introduce Alice to them or if, she would find a way to set a meeting with her instead.

The way his mother was acting stubbornly made him cry like a baby. He didn’t know if Alice was ready to meet his parents or if she would end up thinking him pushy.

Slumping down on the couch like a defeated warrior Noah started on the television screen before his face crumpled and cried," Wuahh..." tapping his feet in annoyance Noah whine like a child.

"What are you doing?" snapping his attention at the door Noah shut his mouth and quickly composed himself.

"AHEM...NOTHING" changing his entire aura Noah stood up and adjusted his clothes before looking at her as if nothing happened.

Alice stared at him in amazement guessing how fast a person can quickly change his entire aura within a second. She had seen him whine like a baby but the second he saw her his entire personality changed.

She approached him steadily and stood in front of him. The way he tried to act all calm and composed added fuel to her doubt that something was bothering him. And he was just trying his best to conceal it.

"I get it that there is nothing wrong with you but why have you worn your t-shirt inside out?" Alice had already seen him act like a kid but he also happen to dress like a kid.

Noah’s eyes popped out in shock and he looked down at his attire. Damn... he had lost his mind and now even Alice came to notice there was something wrong with him.

Quickly removing his shirt, he wore it back but this time the right way, and ruffed his hair once he was done checking on himself.

Alice found his action cute and she pinched his cheeks which were puffed because of his stupid action earlier.

"What took you so long?" he asked when he couldn’t take her intense gaze. They were already intimidating him and feared, that he would spill everything without a proper setup.

Alice pursed her lips recalling her meeting with Avera. She was still upset with the fact that Avera came to blame her for whatever happened with Dylan and his company.

Heaving out a sigh, she walked ahead and sat on the couch lazily. She tried to brush off her accusation but the more she ignored the more she would see her hate-filled eyes.

"I went to meet Avera to tell her that someone is trying to use your name and targeting Dylan instead. And you know what’s the funny part of that meeting" Alice chuckled making Noah frown.

"What?"

"Avera thinks I am trying to clear your name by manipulating her and the one who wants to see Dylan’s downfall is me. I am using you to target Dylan for whatever he did to me in the past" Alice closed her eyes as her smile slowly disappeared.

Noah sat next to her. He could tell that Alice was upset with Avera’s accusation. Even if she scoff it off saying she didn’t care, deep inside Avera’s words would keep ringing in her ears making her feel guilty.

It was his stupidity to attack Dylan first without Alice’s concern and now whatever will happen to him Alice would eventually blame herself.

No... he can’t let her do that. For something which they did, Alice couldn’t come to accept Avera’s accusation.

"I know who is behind this" he exclaimed making Alice snap open her eyes.

She straightened up on the couch facing him and saw Noah looking at her in worry.

"Who is it?" she asked without doubting his skill. Noah was a tech and finding information was a plaything for him. He could do it effortlessly.

Noah took a deep breath as his heart began to pound against his chest and without wasting any time further he said," My parents... They are behind Dylan Grey’s suffering"

Alice was stunned to learn the truth." It’s y-your parents behind everything" she asked still hesitant to accept what she heard right now.

Noah nodded before lowering his head. He should’ve told her everything from the beginning but now he didn’t want to hide anything from her. His parents had no ill reason behind this. All they did because they couldn’t take whatever Dylan and his father did to her.

Chapter 198: I am not capable

Reaching out he held her hands and looked up. Alice was still doubtful, whether she heard him right. But when he nodded she quickly pulled back her hands.

"W-why..." she stood up looking down at him in confusion.

As far as she knew, Noah didn’t disclose their relationship with his parents. Then, why were they targeting Dylan?

"Because they know we are together" Noah stood up standing in front of her and declared.

He thought, that they would take their time to know each other, and once he was assured that Alice was ready to take their relationship further, he would introduce her to his family.

But before all of this could happen, his father came to know about his relationship, and being a faithful husband to his wife, he spilled her everything.

He should’ve known just because he moved out from Wayne Mansion, that didn’t mean he could stop his parents from spying on him.

Alice felt her head spin as she tried to grasp his words. H-his parents knew about them... Then does it means they also know about her past with Dylan?

"H-how can this be possible... T-they can’t know about us...about me..." Alice suddenly began to panic.

She wasn’t expecting something like this. She wasn’t a perfect girl, to begin with. She had scars from which she was healing. She had a long way to go before she could come out as a capable person who won’t be bothered by her past.

Noah frowned when he saw Alice act strange. She was blabbering something to herself and when the scene hit him, he quickly pulled her into his embrace.

She was having a panic attack. It appeared after so many days. The last time he had witnessed her vulnerability was when she told him about her horrible past.

Alice was trembling as her demons surge up whispering into her ears.’ You are not capable Alice’ she heard them after so many days, they talked back to her.

Covering her ears, she shut her eyes tightly and clench her teeth trying her best not to get affected by them.

As she thought, her world turn dark, she heard Noah’s soft voice calling her name," Alice...shh..." his gentle yet enchanting voice made the whispers falter.

The sound of their voices slowly disappeared and she raised her head to look up. The unshed tears in her eyes roll down as her vision cleared and Noah’s serene face came into her view.

She felt all her fatigue vanish as she slowly loosened up into his arms letting her palms leave her ear and rest on his chest. His pleasant heartbeat passed like a waver to her heart and she felt herself getting relaxed.

She didn’t say a word and let herself immersed in his magnetic eyes. They were asking her to have faith in him. That one contact made all her worries fly away from her heart and she finally moved her trembling lips.

"W-what if t-they don’t like me?" she asked the most piercing fears that stabbed like a knife in her heart.

Every parent wants their child to have a partner who was perfect for them in every way. But she... she wasn’t up to the mark.

She was the girl who was used by her parents for their benefit and who also happened to abandon her when she decided to stand up for herself. She was used by the man who was supposed to be her life partner, whom her parents trust more than their child.

She was almost tainted by him, and the scars that the incident left on her were still present in her heart. How can anyone want a girl like her for their son? He was a perfect man but she... she wasn’t perfect like him.

Noah could see a rush of emotions flooding through her eyes. She was worried that his parents would not accept her but this stupid girl had no idea that they already take her as their family member.

Keeping his eyes fixed on her face, Noah cupped her cheeks and wiped off the tears.

"They accepted you the day, they found their son had become a monk stopping his whoring and leading a life they always wished him to live. They saw him turning into a mature man who stands by his girl when anyone tries to harm her" his words made her crease her brows.

"They didn’t see you to be the capable girl for me.... but rather found me becoming a capable man of taking care of you" Alice felt her eyes well up even more.

"They know everything about you. In their mind, you are already their daughter-in-law" Noah held back and expressed everything.

He can’t let Alice doubt herself. She was perfect the way she was, scars or not, she was a loveable girl who could win anyone’s heart with her unique way.

Alice’s lips trembled as she could stop herself from crying. She wanted to say something but Noah didn’t let her speak and pulled her by her neck, sealing her lips into a passionate kiss.

****

Bedroom

Ashley laid on the bed with her arms wrapped around Tristan’s torso while her head rested on his firm chest.

She had her eyes wide open as she couldn’t fall asleep. The words Tristan said earlier kept ringing in her ears like a whistle. It was like a warning, she felt.

Tristan’s had enemies who were trying to target her. But what kind of enemies he had made that came after his life? He was a reputed businessman with no ill records then who were these enemies he was referring to?

Were they his business rival who he happen to conquer or they were any outsiders?

Ashley’s mind was a mess as she couldn’t figure out his words. He was like a mystery she was trying to crack. His puzzled words make her debate with her thoughtful mind.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled away removing her arms from his waist and laid back on the other side with her front facing the white ceiling.

She tried her best to brush off the invalid thoughts but couldn’t. He asked her to promise him that she would protect herself as she couldn’t trust anyone around her. With his enemies lurking around she would never come to see if the people around are friends or foes.

While she was busy sorting her muddle thoughts, strong arms snaked around her waist pulling her closer to the firm body.

"Ah..." Ashley snapped out of her thoughts when Tristan pulled her closer to him and buried his face into the crook of her neck.

Laying next to him like a statue, Ashley quickly shut her eyes hoping Tristan won’t find her awake. If he did then they would end up doing something that would make her wake up late the next day.

She had a shoot the next morning, and Ashley wanted to be on time. She didn’t want to put a wrong impression on the people she would be working with henceforth.

Before she didn’t care but now, she wanted people to see the real person within her.

As she silently lay in Tristan’s arms, feeling his hot breath fan against her neck, Ashley thought her husband was fast asleep. Assuring herself, she was about to turn herself when suddenly he pressed his lips on her skin entirely freezing her on spot.

Chapter 199: I am Riel

Ashley bit her lower lips trying to suppress her moan. She thought he was asleep but what was he doing now?

Holding her might, she cornered her eyes only to find his eyes close and Ashley felt like a bucket of cold water thrown on her.

’Huh!’ Ashley couldn’t believe her eyes. Tristan was doing stuff while he was still sleeping. This was something new she learned about this man.

Maybe all the nights when they finished their heated activity, she never had the strength to stay awake and she never saw him doing something like this.

Closing her eyes shut, Ashley clenched her palm into a fist trying her best to hold the moan from coming out of her mouth. This man was nibbling her skin so damn hard, that she wasn’t able to restrain.

Just when she thought she was on the edge of submission, she felt his hand moving up from her stomach straight to her chest. In no time his palm cupped her breast and started kneading it.

’Oh my goodness, why is he so aroused even when is sleeping’ Ashley voiced her thoughts but in her mind. She didn’t dare to speak because her head had started to spin.

His hand was squeezing her breast like a softball and she felt like bursting out of sensational feeling.

’This feels so damn good’ she thought and this time she could stifle the moan anymore and let it out," Umm..."

Ashley was feeling a rush of waves passing through her entire body reaching her brain and shuffling every other thought out from her mind. She even forgot what she was thinking a while back.

His sudden action made her retreat from her thoughts. She could feel getting wet down there. With this pace she thought, Tristan might suddenly open his eyes and hover over her, burying his erect inside her soft pot and making love to her.

But all her imaginary thoughts broke when he suddenly stopped her she could feel his breath fanning steady against her neck.

’Huh! Why did he stop.... that too now?’ his lack of movement snapped Ashley out of her dreams and she shot open her eyes.

Pulling her head back she saw him snore faintly. Ashley’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw Tristan sleeping back peacefully. This time she couldn’t hold her annoyance and pushed him away removing his arms from her and turned to the other side with her back facing him.

She couldn’t believe he pleased her like he was awake, making her wet, and just when she thought something more coming in, he again drifted back to sleep.

"Such a tease..." Ashley muttered in annoyance and closed her eyes. A few minutes passed and she finally fell asleep.

Once her breathing steadied, Tristan slowly opened his eyes, staring at her back. He was all awake the entire time.

Ashley’s conscious movement never let him fall asleep. He just laid there with his eyes close sensing every move. He knew his words earlier were bothering her but as he told her, he would open up a bit by bit to her.

Just a small exposure and she wasn’t able to sleep. He doubted if she would be able to grasp the things he would further tell her.

Moving closer to her, he wrapped his arm around her and buried his face into her hair inhaling her sweet smell. He wanted to calm his nerves and her odor had that calming effect, that soothe his rushing blood and messed up mind.

Once he felt everything around him silence Tristan too fell asleep, holding Ashley closer to him.

*****

"Noah!!! Wake up, you sleepyhead..." Alice yelled her lungs out startling the sleeping man on the bed.

Horrified, he jerked up on the bed and sat straight," Huh... What.. what happened?" looking frantically his eyes stopped at the woman who looked at him in disbelief.

Once his chaotic mind settled Noah finally calmed down and asked like a whining child," Alice... what are you doing early morning" falling back on the bed he closed his eyes when Alice threw a pillow on his face.

"Ow..." Noah brushed his nose and looked at Alice angrily.

"Are you going to keep on sleeping after throwing a bomb at me? Get up and help me before I kick you" Alice was going nuts since last night when Noah informed her that his parents wanted to meet her.

At that moment, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep, cuddling in his arms but later snapped out when she finally registered his words. Since that moment she couldn’t get back to sleep.

She kept thinking of different ways how she would impress his parents since it was their first meet. Earlier she wouldn’t get worried about her appearance, a comfortable pair of clothes were enough to make her look presentable but today... it was different.

She couldn’t just walk in to meet them wearing casual clothes. Sighing in defeat, Alice walked to the bed and slumped down in defeat," I don’t have anything nice to wear..." she felt like crying all of sudden.

Noah was surprised by her different shades of emotions. One time she would bully him showing her frustration and the next second she would act like a small little kitten.

Getting up Noah crawled, sitting next to her, and pulled her onto his lap with a swift move. Alice kept her eyes lowered, feeling sad. She so wanted to look presentable in front of his parents but now, she doubted if she would be able to impress them.

Watching her silence, Noah brought his hand under her chin and made her look at him, "You don’t have to impress them, Alice. They love you just the way you are" his soft voice made her soothe her worries a little.

"Just be yourself," he said pecking her lips and a little bit of anxiousness flew out from her body. Slowly composing in his arms Alice nodded her head.

Smiling, her eyes fell on the watch placed on the bedside table and she squeal covering her mouth. "Did I wake you up at six in the morning" she mumbled looking at Noah in worry.

Pouting his lips like a child Noah nodded his head and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Babe... I am still sleepy" he mumbled against her skin.

Sensing the tiredness in his voice, Alice climbed down from his lap and crawled back to the bed laying straight, and widened her arms saying," It’s time to come to bed BABE..." purposely stretching the last word Alice winked her eyes playfully.

Noah was flattered by her sweet action, and pounced on her, with his head resting on her chest. Wrapping his arms around her they both cuddled before falling back asleep.

By the time they woke up, it was eleven. Quickly taking a shower, they got dressed and leave to meet Noah’s parents.

*****

Climax Studio

Ashley reached the studio along with Miley. She reached on time knowing the director she was supposed to work with didn’t like latecomers.

After the script selection, she had taken some points into consideration regarding the people she was going to work with and this was one of them.

The director was a well-known person who had done many successful works and it was his first time working with her. She didn’t want to upset him. Apart from that, there was also a new model they were going to introduce through this ad. But she was yet to see him.

Getting ready, she stepped out of her changing room and walked towards the crew. The dress she wore perfectly fitted her body, making her look elegant.

Memorizing her lines, Ashley stood in front of the camera preparing for the director to give a nod when a strong smell of manly cologne hit her senses, and she turned to the side.

Next to her stood an extremely handsome man, wearing a well-fit customized suit that perfectly fitted his masculine body. Her breath hitched the second he turned his eyes to look at her.

Ashley was surprised for a second when he passed her a sweet smile. There was something about this man that made her run her thoughts.

His perfectly contoured face kinda looked familiar to her and that smile he passed her was something she had seen before but where.

"Do you like my face" his deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Ashley looked at his hazel brown eyes that flickered, after teasing her and she cleared her throat.

Ignoring his mischievous grin, Ashley turned around to face the director. She didn’t expect the man to be such a dickhead.

"Stupid" she muttered under her breath ignoring his useless words. She just wanted to finish her work and get away from his annoying presence.

"By the way, I am Riel" leaning next to her, he muttered and pull back.

Ashley shot a glare at him and watched him smile. She felt like punching his face, but she held herself back telling herself to control her anger.

 

Chapter 200: I like it

Ashley could tell that he was purposely annoying her. If she weren’t standing in front of so many people, she would have swollen that perfect face of his.

Averting her eyes from his smug smile, Ashley watched the director walk towards them. Before beginning the shot he made them understand some significant points about the camera angles and how they were supposed to deliver their lines.

Ashley was the one who had more lines than, the male model who was just a showpiece standing inside the footage.

Understanding his points, the director went back taking his seat, and begin the shoot.

Ashley closed her eyes trying to soothe her nervousness. She could feel her heat pound against her chest as she took a deep breath before opening back her eyes and heard, "ACTION!!!"

Since it was a cosmetic ad, she had to promote the product with the model as the prop. Recalling her lines Ashley began to speak. She took the director’s instruction into consideration and performed her task.

Though she was nervous, Ashley didn’t let it appear on her face and kept her smile as she spoke her lines.

People around were surprised to see her act so expressively that no one doubted it was her first time.

Even Riel standing in front of her found her charismatic as she delivered her line professionally.

This woman was a package of surprise, he thought as he turned and delivered his lines matching her pace. Though he wasn’t that up to the mark still he managed to speak the line without stuttering.

"CUT" they heard the voice of the director on the mic and the shot ended.

"Well done" the man praised the actors as he was convinced with the shot and decided to end the shoot.

Ashley stood there feeling content with the way she performed. She never felt so anxious even when she elegantly walked the ramp with her head high but with acting it was different.

Everything was delivered through expression, even with the smile it should look convincing.

As she was about to leave, the deep voice again stopped her," You are leaving just like that" Riel walked around standing in front of her, and smiled.

He was observing Ashley wanting to provoke her but to his surprise, she forced a smile acting calm, "Why? Do you want me to stand here and listen to your nonsense"

Ashley folded her hands against her chest and looked at him sharply. She wanted to know what was his problem. She didn’t know him but the way he was provoking her with his frisky behavior made her blood boil in anger.

Riel aka Gabriel was amazed by her bold nature once again," Hmm... feisty. I liked it. But don’t you think... you are kinda rude to a junior like me" he complained but sarcastically.

Gabriel had just begun his play and was kinda enjoying it. He met the girl once and he had seen how fierce she was who didn’t entertain him even that night.

Ashley rolled her eyes at his words. She couldn’t believe this man dared to point out her behavior when he was the one who wasn’t respecting their ranks.

Scoffing at him she chuckled," I don’t want to waste my time on a junior like you, who needs to learn basic manners" by the end of her statement her smile disappeared and her face turned into a blank.

Surprised by her change of facial appearance Gabriel kept staring at her. He didn’t let her words affect him because he wanted to see how far she was going to tolerate him.

He wanted to know what was so special about her that made Tristan fall head over heels for her.

There was a long pause as they both fight with their eyes with no taking a step back until Gabriel heard his name called.

The staring game came to an end when Gabriel turned and saw Lucan motioning to him. Sensing his actions Gabriel looked back at Ashley had was about to say something but she turned around and walked away from there leaving him alone.

He was once again amazed by her bold attitude toward him and his lips curled up into a smile as he watched her walking away.

*****

Changing room

Ashley stepped inside carrying a grumpy face and sat on the couch. The way Riel annoyed her the entire time she felt like beating the shit out of him.

Miley noticed Ashley’s displeasure and quickly approached with a bottle of water and gave it to her.

"Idiot" Ashley mumbled taking the bottle from her hand and gulped it suppressing her anger.

She didn’t expect to meet someone so unethical on her very first shoot. He kept on teasing her, pushing her buttons further until she thought she would blast at him.

Miley observed Ashley take a few deep breaths after she finished drinking the entire water bottle. Once her mood was back to normal, she went to get change.

The shoot ended way earlier than expected so Ashley decided to return home.

*****

Outside the studio

Gabriel stepped into the car along with Lucan. Removing the lens he blinked his eyes to adjust his vision. He used to contact to hide his emerald because he didn’t want Ashley to get suspicious of him.

In these two meetings, he came to observe one thing about Ashley and that was her scrutinizing gaze. The way she scanned her eyes on him, he felt intimidated by her which led him to break her trance.

If not for her observant eyes, he wouldn’t have acted the way he did back in the studio. He had planned to make friends with her but then her way of gazing made him change his mind.

"The director seems to be quite impressed by your looks" Lucan pulled Gabriel from his thoughts and chuckled.

"He should be, I’ve worked too hard to disguise myself" using a face wipe he cleaned his makeup exposing the scar next to his eyes. Back then at the launch party, he used a mask to hide his face, and now he used a load of makeup to hide his mark.

"Did you ask Tori to begin with her work" titling his head he looked at Max who sat next to the driver.

Getting a nod, Gabriel looked outside the window when Lucan’s voice again disturbed his peaceful time.

"Why did you ask her to install camera’s in Brown mansion when Ashley is already so close to you" Lucan couldn’t understand the purpose behind his installing spy camera’s on Brown’s property, felt curious.

"There are certain questions which I don’t intend to answer and this... is one of them" Lucan’s curiosity died the second he heard Gabriel’s deadpan voice and looked away hiding his embarrassment.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriel closed his eyes when Ashley’s face flashed in front of his and his lips curled up in contentment.

Unknown to him, a pair of eyes looked at Gabriel and bulge out in shock. Max had never seen their boss smile but now witnessed just a pleasant scene, he wondered whom he was thinking about.