CEO's Contract Obsession-Chapter 288: Potential Consequences

"Move in with me," Ash swiftly said.

"What?!"

The two stared at each other with wide eyes and pounding hearts, both shocked by what they just said to each other. The silence between them lasted for a good minute before Ava break it.

"No–"

"Are you rejecting it?" Ash briskly replied.

"No, yes, I mean, I don’t know. We’ve just been together for a few days. So I am not sure about what you are asking from me," Ava explained.

Ash clarified to Ava, "I’m not proposing marriage to you, Ava. You don’t have to give up your apartment either. We can plan specific days for where we’ll stay. The nephew of my housekeeper enjoys spending time with Beethoven, and I’ve even extended an offer for him to live there once he goes to college. I’ll sponsor him as well since he’s a bright young man, so Beethoven won’t be alone when I’m not around." Ash paused after his explanation to think carefully about his next words.

With a mischievous grin, Ash added, "Furthermore, I want you to feel secure. If you can witness firsthand that I am no longer interested in Amy, perhaps your insecurities will vanish. Besides, I’ll be by your side every day. It’s a win-win situation, don’t you think? What’s your take on it?"

Ava leaned back and propped up both her legs, placing them on the coffee table, as she responded, "I’ll consider it, but before that, you mentioned reviving your dream. Please go on." She reached for one of the beer bottles from the ice bucket that Ash had prepared earlier and took a sip directly from it.

Ava’s sudden change in mood and demeanor left Ash thunderstruck. They had gone from sharing an intimate moment, on the verge of taking things further, to Ava reverting back to her investigative and cautious self in the blink of an eye.

Ash’s gaze involuntarily drifted towards Ava’s unzipped shorts, her long, slender, and smooth legs, causing him to gulp as he realized how close they had come to taking things further. Regret filled him for stopping and not pursuing his desire to undress her, leaving him with an unfulfilled longing for the woman he desired.

Shaking off those thoughts, Ash cleared his head and resumed narrating his thoughts to Ava, just as she had requested.

Ash provided an explanation, stating, "If I were to accept Amy’s business proposal, it would bring substantial income to the company. Dimitri acquired his oil well from another party a while back, but its reserves are depleting rapidly as they were limited from the start.

The sole objective my father had for me was to secure a significant deal that would showcase my capabilities to the board of directors, ensuring a smooth and effortless transition of power. All I need to do is make reasonable demands to Amy that both she and my father would agree upon."

Ava reminded Ash of the potential consequences if the exclusive contract with San Francisco Petroleum Corp was breached, potentially resulting in significant financial penalties for his company.

"I recall there being a clause within the contract that could potentially terminate the exclusivity," Ash replied. "I’ll review it carefully and seek assistance from my lawyers to explore possible options. Besides, I have a personal distaste for that individual, so it presents an opportune moment to eliminate him and assume the CEO position from my father."

Ava raised her question while taking a sip from the beer bottle she held. "Can I go ahead and inform Amy that you’ve agreed to meet up with her?"

Ash watched attentively as Ava placed her lips on the bottle’s orifice. He instinctively licked his lower lip before giving it a gentle bite. As a professional bodyguard, Ava was trained to be observant of such subtle body language, and witnessing Ash’s response brought a smirk to her face.

Unbeknownst to Ash, Ava is purposely delaying their oh-sweet time to make him more aroused. Observing his reaction, Ava felt confident that her deliberate actions were effective and progressing as planned.

"Ash, can I inform Amy that you’ve agreed to meet with her?" Ava reiterated her question, noticing that Ash had already forgotten her previous inquiry.

Ash’s absentmindedness was abruptly interrupted when Ava stood up and discarded her shorts, leaving her underwear on. "This beer is making me feel warm. Can you hold this for me while I turn on the air conditioning?" Ava requested, handing her bottle to him before heading towards the console table where the air conditioning remote control was located.

And if Ava’s long smooth slender legs are not torture enough for Ash, he saw Ava wearing a beige lace thong as soon as she turned around to get the remote control. Ash swallowed his imaginary saliva as he stare at Ava’s smooth and flawless bottom.

"So are you going to answer my question or not?" Ava asked one more time after adjusting the temperature of the air conditioner.

"T-Thursday or Friday will be good," Ash stammered as he watch Ava approach him. "And also, I wouldn’t mind if Anton and Henry would be there I kinda also need them there. I have a proposition to Welsh Holdings for the..." Ash paused when Ava sat on his lap straddling him, "...deal."

"Why do you look so distracted today, Ash?" Ava chuckled seeing Ash’s expression.

"Anyone would be distracted by you, Ava. And don’t pretend that you are not seducing me, I can clearly see that you are," he said before pinching Ava’s ass.

Ava chuckled and bend over to kiss Ash, but she halted hearing Ash’s phone ring. Ash quickly place his hand on her nape trying to make Ava continue what she was trying to do earlier but Ava didn’t budge.

"Aren’t you going to answer that?" Ava pointed to his phone that is on the coffee table.

Ash gently push Ava’s face to look at him and said, "No, let it be. Ignore it."

"But it says babysitter," Ava worriedly said, she is guessing that Beethoven’s dogsitter is the one calling.

And she is right, Ash hurriedly stood up, gently pushing her aside to reach for his phone, "Why are you calling? Is something wrong with Beethoven?" Ash questioned the boy with a worried voice.

Ava watch Ash listen to the person on the other line and Ava’s worry increased as Ash’s facial expression changed and he looked exasperated.

"I’ll be on my way," Ava heard Ash says before putting the phone into his trouser’s pocket.

"Hon, I am sorry but I have to go home," Ash said as he look around, gathering his belongings and putting them in his bag.

"What happened? Is Beethoven ok?" Ava’s crease on her forehead deepens.

"Don’t worry he is fine. It’s my dad, he is in the penthouse now and wanted to talk to me about Vanessa. Looks like that woman is looking for trouble," Ash then gently pulls Ava by the waist and kisses her on the lips, "I am sorry about this. I just need to address this first. My dad sounded worried and serious. It must be important for him to even visit my house which he never does. I will make it up to you."

"It’s ok Ash, go on. Don’t worry about me, I understand. Be careful on your way," Ava gave him a hug before walking with him to the door.

She immediately looked for her mobile phone to inform Rei. If it involves Vanessa, she is sure that it involves Amy and Henry too. And even a small hunch like that must not be taken lightly. The real mastermind of everything that is happening with the Welsh couple is still out there and they must be careful and should not let any single lead slip their watch or else someone might get hurt.

Ava tried to reach Rei multiple times but to no avail, so she decided to alert the Welsh’s security team that are on shift at that moment.

Once done, she clean up the bottles of beer that Ash prepared earlier, putting them back in the fridge. "Vanessa, you’ll pay for this one day. You have disturbed me multiple times already, one day I’ll definitely get back to you," she murmured to herself.

As she was about to head to her room, her phone rang which she immediately pick up without reading the name that appeared thinking that it is Rei. "Why are you not picking up your phone, goddamnit!" Ava exclaimed.

"Uhm... I don’t think I have received a call from you."

Ava turned pale after hearing Henry’s voice, "S-Sir, I am s-sorry, I thought it was Rei. I’m really sorry, but may I know why are you calling?"

"You put the security on high alert, what is going on?" Henry asked Ava, who promptly explained the situation, "Alright, I understand. Be careful too, bye–"

"Wait! Is boss Amy with you, I just need to talk to her for a quick moment," Ava hurriedly asked.

Henry handed over the phone to Amy who eagerly took her call, "Hey, aren’t you suppose to be on a date?" Amy teased.

Ava blushed without her knowing but disregarded it for she has other important matters to address, "Uhm, he agreed and has come up with a proposal. Well, more likely a demand, I will set it up on Thursday. He also wants Henry and Anton to be there, for they are part of the deal, so you might want to use this weekend to break the news to your husband," Ava warned Amy who agreed with her advice.

Ava went to bed anxious, she is worried about Amy for Vanessa might be planning something sinister since it was already late and Ash hasn’t updated her yet.