《Perfect Match: Irresistible Desire For You》 Chapter 2: Enter The Wrong Room Chapter 2: Enter The Wrong Room In the elevator, Ashley called Yasmin to tell her to head back first. They chatted for a while, and then Ashley ended the call. The elevator stopped at the 50th floor.When she stepped out, Ashley saw the lights overhead spin a little. Dizzy, she made her groggy way to Room 606, which matched the number on her key card. Ashley pushed the door open and stumbled in. What she did not realize was that she entered the room without even using her key card. Sleep began to im Ashley as soon as her back touched the soft, incrediblyfortable bed. However, she couldn''t fall asleep because her body felt umonly hot. With a low whine, she began pulling her dress, sighing in contentment as the fabric was lifted from her skin. At that moment, Joseph Helian exited the bathroom to the sight of a strange woman lying spread- eagled on his bed and pulling her dress. Contempt filled him as he surveyed this scene. Joseph despised women who used their bodies to curry favors. Granted, the woman''s outfit appeared to be on the conservative side, but her actions implied otherwise. ¡®Looks like Zachary has a death wish.¡¯ Joseph approached the luxurious bed with the intention of kicking the unknown woman out of the room. However, as soon as his hand touched her arm, Ashley threw her arms around his neck. At that moment, Joseph froze. Owing to the shower he had just taken, his skin felt cool to the touch. Ashley''s body instinctively arched against him, seekingfort from the unbearable heat burning under her skin. Joseph''s handsome face darkened. Upon closer inspection, Jason did not find the woman to be repulsive. She had a delicate face with fair, porcin- fine skin devoid of heavy makeup. His nose did not detect any cloying perfume; instead, a light, pleasant scent teased his senses. Even so, he never liked having intimate contact with women. Thus, Joseph forcibly pulled Ashley''s arms from his neck and threw her on the bed. "You''re hateful.Damn bear, why won''t you let me hold you?" Ashley muttered in a child-like voice, her eyes still closed. In her mind, she was lying on the bed in her apartment. The bear she was referring to was a stuffed toy as tall as she was; she usually hugged the bear while sleeping. Just now, in her subconscious state, Ashley thought that the man was her bear. ¡®Bear? Is she crazy?¡¯ His brow frowned in irritation. Joseph looked at the woman who was still rolling on his bed. He needed to get rid of this reckless person fast. The heat inside Ashley had be unbearable, and she wished her dress would just disappear so that she could feel some relief. Therefore, she did what she thought. With a ferocious scowl on his face, Joseph decided to haul the woman out of his room when the sight of her fair, slender legs were suddenly revealed to him. Ashley''s beautiful face and scantily-d body proved to be his downfall. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Joseph could feel his manhood swell up and take notice. "You asked for this," Joseph said in a firm voice. He decided to teach the woman a lesson. Even if he hated the situation, he found the woman rather attractive, and her odd attempt at seduction seeded to lure him in. It was time to have a taste. As Joseph''s body covered hers, Ashley was actively seeking something cold against her. As her senses were enveloped by the cool skin and masculine feel of the man above her, she arched her back to burrow closer into the blessed cold. Finally, their two bodies came together. The presence of a barrier as he plunged into the woman''s body stunned Joseph. Thest thing he expected was for the seductress on his bed to be a virgin, and he felt an inexplicable relief at the discovery. However, the thought soon flew out of his head. At Ashley''s groan of pain, hemanded his body to move in slow, gentle motions. After who knew how many times, the heat in Ashley''s body was finally sated, but she passed out from exhaustion. Eventually, Joseph drifted off to sleep, his body pleasantly sore from exertion and he was deeply satisfied. Chapter 3: Fury After The One-night Stand Chapter 3: Fury After The One-night Stand When Ashley woke up the next day, she felt a dull ache all over her body. The pain was even worse than when she was training for her ck belt in Taekwondo. She slowly eased herself up into a sitting position, which caused the nket to slide down her body. Ashley''s skin was covered with marks indicative of a night of passion, and her brows furrowed in confusion. A figure caught her eye, and she turned her head to find a tall and muscled man sleeping soundly with his back facing her. Realization dawned on her. She had just engaged in the trendy phenomena: the one-night stand.Thest thing Ashley wanted was for her family to find out about this, so she carefully got out of bed and collected her clothes strewn all over the floor. Before she left, Ashley paused and silently mourned the loss of her virginity. She made sure to leave a tip for the man still sound asleep in the bed. For a while, she rummaged through her wallet, only to find three hundred dors inside. She still needed money for a taxi, so she kept fifty for herself and left the rest for the man. Spotting a piece of paper nearby, she wrote a quick note for the man that said, "Damn you, gigolo! I can''t believe I slept with you.This is two hundred and fifty dors for your service." Ashley quickly sneaked out of the hotel and called a taxi. When she was seated, she began to recall what happened the night before. Her entire body felt like it was boilingst night, and she couldn''t handle the heat. She remembered approaching the man to cool herself down. Things seemed to have spiraled out of control from that point on. ¡®¡¯Something doesn''t feel right.Why did I feel so hot?¡¯¡¯ Ashley thought to herself. She tried her best to recall everything that happenedst night. All of a sudden, Ashley remembered the drink that Charlie had given to her. ¡®¡®It can''t be! Why would he do that to me?¡¯¡¯ Ashley was stunned at the turn of events. Last night, she was being busy discussing a cooperation n with Yasmin. When they finalized the n, they left to eat and went to Charlie''s birthday party afterwards. Right as they arrived at the party, Ashley spotted Charlie, greeted him, and then found a corner to rest in with Yasmin. She was certain that she only had one drink at the party. It was obvious what happenedst night, but Ashley still couldn''t wrap her head around it. Charlie was gentle and elegant. Because of his nature, Yasmin''s persuasion, and his relentless pursuit of her, Ashley had finally agreed to date him. They had been together for almost a year now. Although Ashley wasn''t head over heels for him, she trusted him. Charlie was the ideal husband in her eyes. She wanted to save herself for him on their wedding night, but she didn''t realize how impatient he''d gotten. Ashley was suddenly overwhelmed by anger and sadness. She couldn''t believe what happened to her. Inside the hotel room, Joseph slowly woke up. When he recalled the night before, a warm feeling bloomed in his chest. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. He smiled to himself, but when he noticed that the woman had already left, his handsome face turned cold. He shook his head and thought it was better that no woman was bothering him. He schooled his features back into their usual cold expression. As Joseph was about to get out of bed, he spotted a note next to him. He bent over to pick up the note. The handwriting was beautiful, but he couldn''t say the same about the words written. The message grated on his nerves. After that, he spotted money left for him next to the note, which only irritated him further. "Damn it! How dare she treat me like a gigolo? I''ll teach her a lesson the next time I see her!" Joseph growled, then crumpled the note and threw it across the room. He promised himself that he would make her pay the price the next time heid eyes on her. After freshening up, Joseph whipped out his phone and dialed Zachary Shangguan''s number. Zachary was pleased to receive a call from Joseph at this time. He was out on a blind date with a woman his family set him up with. She was suggesting where they should go next. The woman was starting to get on his nerves, and Joseph''s phone call saved him from her. "I''m sorry I have to take this call," Zachary interrupted. He stood up and walked away before he answered the call. "What took you so long to answer?" Josephined. "Were you the one who got a woman for mest night, Zachary? Damn it!" The anger was evident in Joseph''s voice, and Zachary smirked as he said: "I didn¡¯t do anythingst night.Based on what you''re telling me, does this mean that you''re not a virgin anymore?" Every time Joseph checked into Zachary¡¯s hotel, thetter always made sure to provide a woman to keep himpany. Joseph''s grandfather thought it would be best for him, and Zachary was also curious to see if Joseph could have sex at all. He was curious to find out why Joseph didn''t seem interested in beautiful women. Every time he did that, Joseph would always throw the woman out of his room without mercy, but it never stopped Zachary from trying again. Could it be possible that something finally happened this time around? The thought excited Zachary as much as traveling to a new continent did. "Shut your mouth, Zachary! Do you want to go on blind dates forever? Or do you want to take over your family business?" Joseph shot back. Zachary didn''t arrange the woman for him, so there was no need to tell him anything.Zachary was a bbermouth, after all The phone was silent on the other end, and Zachary got Joseph''s unspoken threat.He quickly fawned over him and said "Joseph, don''t do that to me! I have no idea what you''re talking about.If it makes you feel better, I can help you find out which woman dared to enter your roomst night." Chapter 4: Depressing Atmosphere Chapter 4: Depressing Atmosphere Zachary knew that Joseph had many ways at his disposal if he wanted to give him a hard time. Joseph''s face was always expressionless, but the viciousness inside him was unmatched. His ruthlessness was one of the reasons why he could grow Empire Group, A City''s premierepany, into its current international scale. Almost everyone in this field knew of his iron fist with which he ran hispany. Zachary was the eldest son of the CEO of Shangguan Group, one of the most well-knownpanies in the country. However, inheriting thepany did not hold an appeal to him, so he roamed all over the country to live freely. At the age of 20, he came to A City, one of the most prosperous cities in the country and became friends with Joseph, who was a year older than he was, through a bet. At that time, aided by his extraordinary business acumen and social skills, Joseph managed tond the backing of a major Americanpany within two days. Zachary did the same in three days. The terms of the bet were as follows: whoever sealed a business contractter than the other would have to work for the winner for ten years. Zachary might have lost the bet, but at least Joseph would ensure that Zachary would not be forced back to take over his family business. In the end, Zachary became Joseph''s special assistant. During the past seven years of them working together, Joseph''s Empire Group steadily became a world-renownpany. "No, thanks.You can go back to your blind date." As soon as Joseph finished those words, Zachary immediately heard the sound of the call being cut. The Shangguan family let Zachary go under one condition: If he still didn''t have a suitable girlfriend at 25, he would ept the blind dates that would be arranged for him until he got married. For the sake of his freedom, Zachary agreed. Now, he needed to deal with blind dates arranged by his family every several days. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. In thest two years, Zachary had had three girlfriends to avoid the blind dates, but he ended up breaking off with them when he got annoyed with the women for some reason or another. After ending the call, Joseph realized that the reckless woman had been influencing his mind too much, so he resolved not to think of her anymore. Soon after departing the hotel, Joseph went back to work. Zachary finally found an excuse to ditch the blind date. He returned to thepany instead. Despite his burning curiosity, Zachary curtailed the questions at the tip of his tongue when he saw the cold expression on Joseph''s face. He had been sharing Joseph''s office space for some time now, so he was used to the frigid atmosphere hereabouts, However, today, the chill was particrly cutting. Zachary couldn''t ask any questions because Joseph said so. Going against the CEO''s orders would result in a horrible death. All throughout that half-day of work, Ashley''s stunning face and alluring body haunted Joseph''s thoughts. His attempts to quash the memory proved futile and served only to make him even more restless. His disquiet resulted in a colder environment than usual, as sensed by Zachary. Even the employees felt the heavier atmosphere in and around the CEO''s office. No one dared to provoke the god-like figure that they feared. All of the senior employees in thepany knew that their CEO not only had a perfect face but also a cold, detached character to prevent strangers from getting too close. Except for Zachary, nobody in thepany dared to initiate conversation with the CEO about matters unrted to work. The employees would usually report to Zachary, who would then either ry the matter to Joseph or deal with it himself. Several young and beautiful senior secretaries in thepany had been fired by the CEO because they had tried to seduce him. From that moment on, only male employees were assigned to work on the same floor with the CEO. In the upper levels of Empire Group, there was an ongoing rumor stating that the CEO liked neither women nor men. Spections about his virility were rampant. This rumor assured many male employees that God, after all, was fair. Indeed, nobody was perfect. What they didn''t know was that the CEO gloriously ended his virginity with a bang the night before¡ª thoroughly and many times over. Chapter 5: Calm Down Chapter 5: Calm Down After the taxi stopped at an apartment building, Ashley dragged her tired, sore body into her spacious apartment. Once inside, the neat,fortable interior of her own space calmed her down somewhat, with its light- colored essories andmon furniture that were selected for function rather than form. Ashley found this apartment after she had persuaded her family to let her work in anotherpany instead of the family business. It was conveniently located close to the city center and a mere thirty-minute drive from Ling Group. Ashley entered her bedroom and headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower. One look in the mirror showed her the bruises and traces of sexst night. Then, she proceeded to scrub every inch of her body, as if that would erase the shame ofst night. When her family agreed to let her work for anotherpany, she gave them her word that she would take good care of herself. For her self-protection, she enrolled in sses teaching Taekwondo and other martial arts. Still, she inexplicably lost her virginity in such a manner. How could she exin this to her family? All throughout the cab ride home, Ashley thought about the events of the previous night and was convinced that it was Charlie who set her up. Even so,st night had happened, and there was nothing she could do to change her situation. Thus, she had resolved to treat the experience as if a dog had bitten her. One thing was for sure: she would never give Charlie another chance. A man like him wasn''t worth it. Despite her resolve, that twinge of sadness in her heart was inescapable. Ashley thought that she had finally found the person she would spend the rest of her life with, butst night''s incident happened. Although she belonged to the upper ss, she never put on any airs of superiority, nor did she care about money or status. She had always thought that as long as she met someone who treated her well and she had feelings for him too, then she could marry that man. With those considerations in mind, Charlie seemed like the ideal man for Ashley. However, contrary to what she had expected, he was not the right man for her. It was a terrible feeling, really¡ªto be treated like that by somebody she had always trusted. After the shower that ended upsting for an hour, Ashley put on her pajamas and threw herself on her soft bed. Her exhaustion went bone deep, and so she ended up passing out soon after her head touched her pillow. Everything that needed to be solved could wait until she woke up. At noon, Ashley was pulled from her deep sleep by the sound of her phone''s vibration. Without looking at the screen, she epted the call and heard Yasmin on the other end. Before she could say anything, the other woman yelled, "Ashley, why didn''t youe to work?" The agitation in Yasmin''s voice made her sit up.Her friend continued: "Besides, why are you picking up the call just now? I''ve been calling you all morning! I was starting to think that aliens had abducted you and taken you to Mars or something." With her mind now wide awake, the problems she had left behind when she slept suddenly came flooding back. "Why don''t you say anything? Is there really something wrong? Hello?" Yasmin began to ramble when she heard no response from her. "I''m fine.I had a few shotsst night and felt tired so I went home to sleep.I didn''t hear your phone calls.That''s it.Don''t think too much," This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Ashley replied in a cating voice, rubbing a hand across her face to wipe the sleep from her eyes. "Really? Then why didn''t youe to work?" "Well, I forgot to ask for a leave." Nobody spoke for a moment. "But..." Ashley didn''t want Yasmin to know what had happened to her, so the best way was to keep her exnation simple. Before her friend could ask another question, she hastily chimed in, "I''ll go to workter.I have to go and prepare lunch now.See youter." Without another word, she ended the call. Yasmin stared at the phone in her hand, filled with an odd sense of disquiet. She could tell there was something going on with Ashley, but she didn''t know what exactly it was. Ashley was known in thepany for having a remarkable work ethic. She had never reported to workte, nor did she skip work or leave early. Today, she skipped work without asking for a leave. That in itself was so uncharacteristic of Ashley that Yasmin urgently tried to contact her. Maybe she wanted to give the matter a rest, so Yasmin took her friend''s exnation at face value. Thus, she dismissed the matter to the back of her mind. After lunch, Ashley took a taxi to thepany. Yasmin was waiting for her, so she greeted her friend and headed straight to her office to work However, less than half an hour after she sat down, a call from the general manager''s secretary, pushed through. The secretary asked her to report to the general manager''s office immediately. The thought of facing Charlie again was unbearable, but Ashley was a professional. She would let her emotions interfere with her work. After hanging up the phone, Ashley made her way upstairs to Charlie''s office. After her three perfunctory raps on the door, Charlie''s voice responded from inside. "Come in, please." Chapter 6: Questioning Chapter 6: Questioning Charlie''s indifferent expression greeted Ashley as soon as she walked into his office. After staring at her without a word for some time, he asked in a slow, measured tone, "Where did you gost night?" His look deepened and became more searching. This morning, Charlie asked Yasmin if she had heard from Ashley, to which the woman replied that his girlfriend went back to her apartment and slept until noon. However, Charlie didn''t believe it. He saw Ashley consume the drink with his own eyesst night. The aphrodisiac was an especially potent one that he had imported from overseas, and there was no way she would have been okay if she didn''t have sex. Ashley was ring at him coldly. She still looked so elegant, this girlfriend of his, but never had Charlie felt the distance between them so keenly than at that moment. "Where do you think I wentst night? Mr.Ling, if this conversation doesn''t pertain topany matters at all, then I''d like to get back to work," Ashley firmly replied, ignoring the slight disappointment in Charlie''s tone. "Don''t you have anything to exin to me, Ashley?" His weighty stare was making her ufortable, but her face did not show it. At the sight of Ashley''s calm face, Charlie grew more annoyed at being ignored. "Mr.Ling, is it interesting for you to ask what you already know?" Ashley had never realized until now the extent of Charlie''s shamelessness. How could he have the nerve to question her and ask her to exin what he had done to her? He already knew what happened, but he still looked like she owed her an exnation. If they weren''t within thepany premises, she would have definitely beaten him up. After taking a couple of seconds to calm herself down, Ashley dered in a cold voice before Charlie could say anything else, "Well, events transpired as you probably expected, except you weren''t the man involved.Charlie, there''s nothing more to say between us.We''re through." Then, with a scathing look at the man, she turned around and walked out of the office without a regard for his reaction. Charlie snapped out of his daze to watch Ashley''s rapidly departing back. She was beautifully slim and fragile, but oh-so proud. The thought of her reply made him sneer. ''Who does she think she is? She has nothing going for her but a beautiful face.Without it, how could the most eligible bachelor like me fall for an ordinary employee?¡¯¡¯ From the beginning, it was Ashley''s beauty and indifferent attitude that drew Charlie to her. Wanting to conquer that unshakeable facade, he began to pursue her, with the final goal of marrying her. However, after spending more time with Ashley, Charlie had started to feel that she was a cold person through and through. Several times, he had dropped hints that he wanted to have sex with her, but she didn¡¯t budge. Charlie had nned to act on his desire to make her his woman in every sense of the word because of his baser nature as a man, and he had arrangedst night''s scenario. What he didn''t expect was for another man to walk into the scene. Last night, when Ashley told him that she was heading up to her room to rest, Charlie had nned to enter her room in half an hour, which was when the drug was expected to take effect. After that, everything would just naturally fall into ce. However, on the way to her room, thest thing he had expected was to be waid by his own father, James Ling, who called to ask him to go and deal with an urgentpany matter. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. James was the current CEO of Ling Group. For Charlie, his father was the perfect example of a dignified man with an iron-handed way of running thepany. Thus, he dared not disobey his father''s order. He was also perfectly aware that his father didn''t hold much affection for him. If he didn''t perform well, his father could easily rece him with another sessor to thepany. Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, he chose to give up his girlfriend temporarily and hurried to thepany. By the time Charlie had returned to the hotel and gone to the room he had booked for Ashley, it was already one o''clock in the morning. However, his girlfriend was nowhere to be found, and there wasn''t any trace of anyone having been in the room. He ran out of the room to look for her, but he didn''t dare to search her in other rooms on this floor. After all, all the rooms on this floor were presidential suites, and every person staying on this floor was basically rich and powerful. If his actions caused anybody any disturbance, then the news would definitely reach his father. That would undo several years of hard work he had aplished in thepany. Thus, seething with thwarted anger at failing to find his girlfriend, Charlie went back to the room he had booked to sulk. Chapter 7: Memories Of Last Night Chapter 7: Memories Of Last Night When Charlie went into the suite''s bedroom and turned on the lights, he found a naked woman lying on therge hotel bed. The red satin sheets showed off her fair, lush body to perfection, and he felt his anger evaporating at the alluring picture. He padded softly toward the bed. The woman''s figure was indeed bewitching. When he saw the woman''s face, which was slightly obscured by her hair, he couldn''t help the short bark ofughter escaping his mouth. This woman was an employee in hispany named Lina Liu, a well-known office beauty who was in Ashley''s department. Lina boasted of delicate features and an impable fashion sense. In fact, Charlie had known for a while that Lina was interested in him. During the times when he visited Ashley in her department to take her to dinner, Lina would sashay around Ashley''s office, swaying her hips enticingly. Although Ashley didn''t notice that, Lina trying to seduce him gave him a sense of superiority. Charlie had no intention of messing with Lina. After all, he had the feeling that she was only after his money. If he got involved with her, she would only pose a future problem. Besides, it would do him no good if his father found out that he dallied with women in thepany. Last and not the least, even with her charming countenance, Linacked the elegant temperament of Ashley, so she suffered harshly inparison. Thus, Charlie was not interested. Lina was surprisingly impatient. Well, she was the one who came and offered herself to him, and he was a hot- blooded man in his prime. Now that having sex with Ashley was out of the question, the woman on his bed was offering the perfect chance to ke his desire. With these thoughts, Charlie stripped off his clothes and threw them willy-nilly that they soon ended up scattered all over the bedroom floor. Charlie slipped on top of Lina and kissed the woman passionately. His hands started to roam her curves. Her smooth skin and heady perfume stoked his excitement, and his movements grew more aggressive. At that moment, Lina finally woke up. When she opened her eyes and found Charlie''s handsome face hovering over hers, all of her drowsiness vanished. Before she could say anything, Charlie became even more excited at the sight of her big, dewy eyes, and he quickened his grinding on top of her body.This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. "Ah, it hurts!" Lina cried out when Charlie finally pierced her body. Charlie felt the barrier, and satisfaction shed in his eyes as he watched the tears gather in Lina''s eyes. He murmuredfortingly, "Good girl.It will be okay in a moment." Lina did not expect her first time to be that painful, but she wasforted by the thought that she was finally giving herself to Charlie. At the prospect of bing the future hostess of Ling Group, she endured the pain and lowered her head, her eyes averted. As Charlie plunged into her body into her multiple times, Lina finally felt the difort fade and be reced with lust. Finally, she gasped out in a throaty voice, "Oh, Mr.Ling, it feels really good!" Charlie watched the woman''s heavy-lidded eyes and her flushed face. Her obvious desire for him stroked his male ego, so he worked her body even harder. In the morning, Charlie woke up refreshed from a particrly vigorous night of sex. Barely sparing one look at the woman sleeping in the bed, he pulled on his clothes and walked out of the suite. She was just a woman who satisfied his body''s needs. He didn''t need to care about her. After summarily dismissing the woman from his mind, he drove to thepany to work. Charlie recalled the events ofst night as he sat in his chair, lost in thought after Ashley walked out of his office. Ashley''s words came back to him. ¡®Break up? She is just an ordinary employee.How dare she break up with me?'' Besides, she had sex with another man. It was ridiculous how she made it seem like she was the one who was wronged. ¡®¡¯Whatever! Break up or not, I don''t care! Slightly mollified by the thought¡± Charlie put away all of these thoughts in the back of his mind and started to focus on his work. Chapter 8: Provocation Chapter 8: Provocation Burning with disappointment and anger, Ashley stalked out of Charlie''s office. She took the elevator down to her floor and headed to thedies¡¯ room to calm herself down. She was about to ssh some water onto her face when Lina, an employee in her department, walked up to her. With an indifferent nce toward Lina, Ashley straightened up from her stance over the wash basin to exit the bathroom. To her surprise, Lina blocked her way. "Miss Yun, did you just see Mr.Ling? What did you say?" Lina, who wore full, heavily applied make-up, slowly approached Ashley. "Miss Liu, I am sure our conversation has nothing to do with you.Ah, and I''m afraid your foundation couldn''t cover up your pores," Ashley remarked in a cold, calm voice. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Lina''s face turned green at the cloaked barb. How dared Ashley imply that she hadrge pores? Her skin was smooth and fair! She didn''t want to admit it, but her skin was actually not as good as Ashley''s. Even so, she was famous for the beauty of her wlessly made-up face. She was much better than the dull Ashley, who didn''t even wear any makeup, not even a dab of lip gloss. "Don''t be so arrogant, Ashley.Last night, Mr.Ling and I spent a wild night together," Lina boasted in a sweet voice. Lina came to see Ashley today specifically to gloat about what had transpired between her and Charlie last night, as well as to warn the other woman to stay away from Charlie. Only then could she take her rightful ce by his side. Lina had been harboring a crush on Charlie for two years, ever since she had first joined thepany. She was obsessed with his good looks and gentle, elegant bearing. Then, after finding out that he was the heir to Ling Group, her fascination with him deepened by the day. Later, when Charlie got together with Ashley, Lina still paraded herself in front of the man, intentionally or otherwise, whenever he came to look for his girlfriend in their department. However, he seemed to be indifferent to her wiles. Lina could only helplessly watch them walk in and out of the office together. She had always been jealous of Ashley''s good fortune. However,st night, she finally got what she wanted. During Charlie''s birthday party, she paid close attention to him and found out about the suite he had booked beforehand. After Ashley left, she quietly went upstairs and slipped into his suite. She then took a quick shower to prepare herself. In thest two years, tonight was the only chance she had to get intimately acquainted with the man. Lina had jealously guarded her virginity for Charlie, so that he would be ensnared by her. To carry out her n sessfully, Lina decided to show up naked in front of Charlie in order to seduce him. However, after a long time waiting in bed, she dozed off without him making an appearance. After a while, she was awakened by a strange feeling and saw Charlie, who was in her mind day and night, grinding crazily on top of her. His fierce side and endless lust held her captive. The next morning, Lina woke up with the other side of the bed empty. Even so, in the cold, sobering light of the morning, she could still see a bright future as a senior executive of Ling Group. Eventually, Lina got up, put on her clothes and left the hotel to go back home. After taking a shower, she quickly donned her clothes and headed out to work. Oddly enough, Ashley wasn''t in the office when Lina arrived. Despite her confusion, Lina remained in a good mood and resolved to dere war on Ashley. When Ashley came in the afternoon, she was immediately told to report upstairs. Lina knew that Ashley went to see Charlie, so she prepared to confront the other woman as soon as their meeting was over. If Ashley were a smart woman, she would give up Charlie on her own. If the woman would still chased after him afterst night, Lina would make it her personal mission to have Ashley give up. Ashley heard Lina''s sharine tone and finally noticed the changes in the other woman. Lina was dressed more conservatively than usual, but there were some hickeys, just like hers, peppering her neck. Ashley was sure that Lina told her the truth. ¡®¡¯Charlie is so shameless.He not only set me up, but also found another woman to sleep with.I''ve been so blind all this time.¡¯¡¯ However, it was a smallfort that she found out what the scumbag was really like before it was toote. Chapter 9: Small Talk Chapter 9: Small Talk Seeing Lina''s cheerful gloating, Ashley replied with a sneer, "Don''t worry.Mr.Ling and I are over.He''s all yours Congrattions!" Then, she slipped past Lina and let the bathroom.Ashley''s uncaring response gave Lina pause. She didn''t expect the other woman to be so amodating¡ªit was too easy. Anxiously, she yelled after her, "No take backs, and don''t regret it!" Ashley thought that the woman''s fears were ridiculous. She whirled around and reassured Lina, "Don''t worry, I keep my word.Let this be a gentle reminder, however¡ªif you want him, you better make sure to hold on to him." Lina stared at Ashley''s receding figure, excitement slowly filling her.She paid Ashley''s reminder no heed. As long as Ashley would keep her word and back off, Charlie would be hers.She went back to work in a good mood. Ashley returned to her office, sorted out her thoughts, and started working. At the end of the work day, the employees filed out of the office building one after the other. As usual, Yasmin rambled about what happened to her. "By the way, Ashley, my mother is forcing me to go to a blind date again! She keeps on talking about this young man, as if he''s the best in the world," Yasminined to Ashley, pulling at her friend''s sleeve as she began toment her hardships during blind dates. Ashley knew that Yasmin''s family constantly arranged blind dates for her. Actually, Yasmin was not a native of A City¡ªshe actually hailed from C City. ording to word of mouth, she came to A City to chase after a senior she liked in high school. Then, she met Ashley and found a good job in the city, so she decided to stay. Probably due to the fact that Yasmin lived apart from her family and hadn''t had a boyfriend for so long, her family arranged blind dates from time to time because they were worried about her ever marrying. However, Yasmin had only attended three or four of those dates, and she usually never went out with the same man twice because the men she met during those blind dates were not her type. "Well, you could always just choose not to go.After all, it''s not like it would be the first time," Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. Ashleyforted her friend calmly. "No way! My mother said that if I dare not to make an appearance this time around, she wille here and haul me back to C City herself! She will marry me to someone as soon as I get back.Ugh.Why do I have such a mother?" Yasmin continued the barrage ofints. "She also said that the man is absolutely outstanding, and that he also came from C City.Jeez, there''s no way out for me this time around!" "Your mother always says that about your blind dates, but you always end up finding fault in them.Well, who knows if she''s telling the truth this time?" After a pause, Ashley added, "Since you can''t escape, you should get used to such a miserable life." "Ugh.That makes sense.Fine, I''d better deal with it! Let''s stop talking about me, okay? Do you have something to tell me?" Yasmin prodded, thinking of her friend''s uncharacteristic absence from work this morning and her low spirits. Ashley shrugged. "It''s nothing serious¡ªI just broke up with Charlie." The tness of her tone contrasted with Yasmin''s sharp exmation. "What? Break up? What are you talking about? How is your breakup not a big deal?" Yasmin cried out in surprise. "Keep your voice down!" Ashley growled out to get her friend to control herself. At that moment, they were seated in their favorite restaurant where they usually had dinner. The diners were, more or less, people from the samepany. Ashley wanted to keep a low profile. After all, a lot of people in thepany were aware of her rtionship with Charlie. Suddenly realizing where they were, Yasmin calmed down and whispered, her eyes clouded with confusion, "Why? I thought you two had a good thing going on.Besides, Charlie''s a good catch." Ashley sighed. "I''m telling you right now¡ªCharlie Ling is not quite the good man we all thought he was.Oh, and he had sex with Lina from my department." As she spoke, Ashley''s face was expressionless, as if they were discussing the weather or something equally mundane. "You see people''s true colors with the passage of time.After everything, some people are just not meant to be yours." Yasmin heard the self-mockery in Ashley''s voice and smiled at her tofort her. "Cheer up, you will have tons of handsome men lining up for the chance to be with you.You''ve broken it off with Charlie, so what? Good riddance! Don''t forget that I''ve been suffering with blind dates from hell while you have your pick of the good men." "You''re wee to all of them.Take them all!" Ashley teased her with a smile. "Fine, fine, let''s stop this conversation here.It''s time to eat! Let''s toast to a much happier life in the future for us singledies!" Yasminmented as she eyed the dishes on the table eagerly.After dinner, they went back to their respective homes. Chapter 10: Gossip Chapter 10: Gossip Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Ashley still lived a simple life of an office worker, with her regr schedule of going to thepany, working, clocking out, and then going back home. During this time, thepany grapevine was abuzz with gossip of Charlie and Ashley''s breakup. There were spections at first, and then the gossip was confirmed as fact when people found out that thepany''s premiere couple were no longer in contact with each other. Everyone had yet to recover from the news when another bomb dropped. Charlie, the hero of thest incident, announced a few days ago that he was dating another beautiful lady, again from the marketing department. This time around, he was more high- profile than before¡ªhe and his current paramour were always showing off their new rtionship in from of the employees all day long. In the crowded senior staff restaurant, Ashley and Yasmin were seated at a corner table, chatting while having lunch. They wanted to have a quiet meal, but still several discussions made it through their personal filters. A female employee asked, "Isn''t that Mr.Ling''s ex- girlfriend? They used to be a good couple.Why did they suddenly break up?" Another female employee replied, "We don''t know what''s really going on with the higher-ups and their rtionships.Let''s just eat." At this time, a male employee cut in, "Although the two female leads are both beautiful and attractive, men prefer Mr.Ling''s current girlfriend.She''s so charming." While speaking, he had a dreamy, faraway look on his face. Silence befell the two friends. After hearing suchments, Yasmin raised her voice and remarked, "Goodness, gossip never changes.In my opinion, you are the most beautiful woman in the world, Ashley!" After this pronouncement, she kept nodding to herself. The friend seated in front of her not only had delicate features, but also fair, smooth skin and an impressive figure. Ashley never liked make-up, but she was one of those few people who were lucky enough not to need it. Besides, her calm, understated elegance made her even more beautiful. "We don''t need to care about others¡¯ opinions.People really should mind their own business instead of nosing around in other people''s lives." Employees had been gossiping about Ashley non- stop for the better part of the month. At first, she was difited by the attention, but she had grown used to it by now. The news of their break-up must have leaked out because of Yasmin¡¯s outburst during dinner in that restaurant that time. Now that the break-up had happened and been confirmed, there was nothing left to say about it. Even so, Ashley didn''t expect Charlie and Lina to get together so soon after the break-up, nor did she foresee how outspoken they were about their new rtionship. Lina was in good spirits because of her now flourishing love life. However, Ashley''s indifference in the face of their highly publicized affection rankled. Ashley had already seen Charlie''s true colors, and there was no way she would ever get back together with such an untrustworthy man. It was a good thing that she was not blinded by love. On his end, Charlie never contacted her after the break-up, which made Ashley feel relieved. "That makes sense! The break-up was Charlie''s loss, not yours." Yasmin nodded to emphasize her statement. "By the way, what happened to the blind date you mentioned before?" Ashley asked to change the topic. She suddenly remembered Yasmin''s blind date. For once, Yasmin seemed enthusiastic to talk about it. N?velDrama.Org (C) content. "Well, I made it this time! The man isn''t so bad.Actually, we have reached an agreement to act like a couple in front of our parents so that they would stop setting us up on blind dates in the future." Yasmin felt that she had gained a lot during thatst blind date. Last week, after her mother''s repeated instructions and threats, Yasmin had no choice but to go on the blind date. ording to the information provided by her mother, the blind date was with the heir of the well-known Shangguan Group, Zachary, a handsome and low-key young man. The blind date was proposed by the man¡¯s parents to hers. During a business function, Juliet Tan, Zachary''s mother, found out that she and Zara Ye, Yasmin''s mother, were school mates. At first sight, the two women felt like they were long-lost friends. So, from that point onwards, they kept in touch with each other. They had bothmented about their children to each other and eventually found out how both young people were still single and living in the same city. The two mothers then happily exchanged photos. The more they looked at the two of them, the more they wanted to get them together. "No wonder we became so close so soon.We''re destined to be inws!" Juliet gushed in excitement to Zara as she stared at the photo of the young, beautiful Yasmin. "My daughter has been away from C City for many years now, and I have been worried about her marriage.However, that silly girl has fooled us and evaded the blind dates we have arranged for her." Zara sighed heavily. "Maybe this is fate.They can take care of each other in A City.Let''s arrange a blind date for them.What do you think?" Juliet''s smile was full of satisfaction. "Okay, that''s exactly what I want.However, my son hates blind dates too.I need to find a way to get him to listen to me." With a militant gleam in her eye, Juliet started nning how to get her son to agree to go to the blind date. "Let''s give them an ultimatum and make sure they can''t escape.Otherwise, they should bear the consequences themselves!" Zara smiled. She had already told Yasmin that she would drag her back home to C City and marry her off to some random man if she didn''t attend the blind date. She was curious to see whether the threat worked or not. She knew that Yasmin wanted to stay in A City, where she and her good friend took care of each other. She actually had no objections to her daughter living away from home for the sake of her daughter''s development. Besides, her daughter was a free spirit who hated being bound. She would never agree to marry a man she had never met. Despite Yasmin''s independent soul, she was, first and foremost, a filial daughter. She never disobeyed her parents¡¯ requirements, so the threat struck Yasmin exactly where it hurt. "Well, that''s it! Let''s inform them.We have to work harder to get them together." With great enthusiasm, Juliet waved a determined fist at Zara. At first, Zachary left his family in C City because of a yearning for freedom that burned inside him. He travelled around for a while and ultimately became the special assistant of Joseph, a powerful business man. Joseph had spoken to Zachary''s father and reached an agreement with him where Zachary was concerned. Zachary''s father, Callum Shangguan, also known as the current CEO of Shangguan Group, thought that his son''s temper and willfulness could be curbed by working under Joseph, who was known as a tough character. Moreover, Joseph had promised that after ten years, Zachary would be a changed man¡ªone who could aplish things on his own and in his own terMs.After weighing the pros and cons, Callum finally decided to let Zachary stay in A City. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!