'Did she... Did she just hit my boss?' thought Josef.
He was dumbstruck for a moment. This clearly stunned Andrew too. He just sat there, rooted to the
spot, staring unblinkingly at Ashley.
As for Ashley, she remained perfectly still, but in her mind, her thoughts were running wild. She
regretted it the second she hit Andrew. 'Oh my god! What did I do? Why did I do this? Did I hurt him? It
sounded bad. Ouch! My hand hurts. Yup! It definitely hurts. I used all of my strength to slap him. God!
Why did I do this?'
Ashley was panicking. She couldn't figure out what to do next.
Her hand was already swelling up. Her beautiful, white fingers turned red.
'Calm down, Ashley. He asked for this. You just tried to protect yourself!' Ashley was trying to calm
herself down.
'He brought this all on himself. No man would poke a girl's face like that! I was just trying to protect
myself. If you really want to poke a face, poke yours!'
Although loud, the slap didn't hurt Andrew much. It really was not a big deal in comparison to what he
had suffered in the past.
Andrew recovered from the shock and saw Ashley staring at him in embarrassment. He wasn't upset at
all. Her cheeks were puffed out in anger. The only thing on Andrew's mind right now was how cute she
looked. He just wanted to poke those cheeks.
But he didn't. He knew his limits. If he crossed the line, she would just slap him again.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to offend you but I just couldn't help it," said Andrew. He looked at Ashley
earnestly.
Ashley had mentally prepared a whole bunch of excuses for her actions, but Andrew didn't give her a
chance to say a word. She gulped uneasily.
Andrew had apologized in all sincerity, so she decided to let it go.
"Alright, just this once!" she said.
Andrew didn't respond. He loved teasing her. How could he promise it would be the last time?
Ashley took his silence as agreement. She didn't say another word either.
Josef who was driving couldn't believe what he had just seen in the car.
He thought he was delusional.
It was just too hard for him to believe that the guy in the backseat apologizing to the lady was his
normally cold and ruthless boss.
His boss was not the kind to apologize to a girl, especially one who had just slapped him.
He suddenly remembered Johnny's words. He had told him to be careful about what he saw in the car,
keep his eyes on the road and his mouth shut.
It seemed like Johnny had preempted this sort of situations.
Josef appreciated the fact that he had told him beforehand what he should do in these scenarios.
Josef and Johnny were not related. They just happened to have the same last name.
Josef was formal and exact but tactless too. He was a bit of slow compared to Johnny. Johnny was a
smart man. He could be as flexible as the situation demanded. That was why Andrew absorbed him
into the business, and kept Josef as his driver.
"What do you want for dinner?" Andrew asked, moving closer to Ashley.
Ashley's mind was not on food, but when Andrew mentioned it, she felt her stomach rumbling. She
thought about the dinner that she and Ellie had made. She didn't even get a chance to taste it. She just
wanted to tear this man apart.
But Ashley would not waste her energy on anger right now.
Ellie had recommended a new restaurant, which was very popular and had really good food too.
She googled it on her phone and showed it to Andrew.
Andrew took a look and asked Josef to drive them there.
Josef made a turn and got on the road to the restaurant.
It was around six or seven o'clock. There was a lot of traffic as it was the rush hour.
Fortunately, the restaurant was nearby, else it would have taken them hours to get there.
The restaurant had a beautiful name — The Time Shore. The decor was very nice and not too opulent.
It was simple, but the owner had put a lot of thought into it.
It was quite busy. When Andrew and Ashley walked in, no one came to attend to them. The place was
packed.
All the tables were set for two persons. Ashley suddenly realized it was a restaurant just for couples
and she felt a little awkward. Ellie didn't tell her this was a date place! ! !
Ashley blushed when she saw couples sitting close, holding hands and sharing their food. She lowered
her eyes.
The decor didn't seem so nice to Ashley anymore. Not good at all! ! For her, this place had turned to a
pink palace full of red hearts flying in the air.
It was her first time in such a restaurant. She hadn't planned this. Andrew was really smart. Surely, he
knew that she didn't mean to bring him here. Right? Ashley guessed and peeked at him to see his
reaction.
Andrew felt her eyes on him when he looked away. He, too, had figured out that this was a romantic
restaurant.
In fact, he had known it when he saw the outside of the restaurant itself. He had been frowning ever
since.
It was a nice place compared to a lot of restaurants, but it was not in Andrew's taste. He was obsessive
about cleanliness and very particular about the ambience.
But this was Ashley's choice, so he decided to go along with it.
He got the hint and relaxed instantly, and broke into a smile.
Ashley took a stealthy glance at Andrew while fake coughing. "Let's go to another place. What do you
think?" She suggested.
"Since we are already here, let's just take it easy," said Andrew politely rejecting her suggestion. He
glanced at Ashley
Just then a waiter arrived. "I am sorry, Miss and Sir, to keep you waiting here. We are really busy right
now. Please forgive us!"
Ashley smiled and replied, "No worries, we are fine. Do you have a table right now?" Andrew hadn't
agreed to change the place, but the waiter's apology just gave Ashley an idea.
This place was crowded. If there was no table and she complained that she was really hungry, Andrew
would have to take her somewhere else. Ashley was so proud of herself for coming up with such a
brilliant idea. She just couldn't hide her smile.
She quickly looked around to double check that the place was indeed packed.
Andrew figured out her sneaky little plan. He, too, smiled and looked at Ashley without saying a word.
Observing his smug expression, Ashley wondered if he had seen through her little trick.
God seemed to like to play with Ashley. Her plan didn't work.
The waiter responded with a smile, "Usually we wouldn't have a table at this hour without a reservation,
but today is your lucky day! We just have one table. Come with me, I will take you to your table."
Ashley's smile froze on her lips. She could feel her heart sink.
'What the hell?' That was the only thing on Ashley's mind.
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