Chapter 69
O Gets
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His tone made me want to slap him. Like we couldn’t take a lunch break because of deadlines?
Before I could snap back, Ashton spoke up. “It’s our day off today.”
Logan glared at him, then turned to me. “Who approved this day off?”
“I requested it,” Ashton answered again.
Logan’s face hardened. “You? You’re just a lighting tech. What right do you have to ask for time off? Your job is to help us complete and verify the lighting adjustments.”
His words were straight–up insulting.
That got me fired up too. ‘Mr. Mercer, I’m in charge of the amusement park project. I approved today’s break. You can’t expect people to work non–stop without eating.”
Not the best metaphor, but it made the point.
Ashton added, “I might just be a lighting tech, but aren’t you the ones who desperately need us?”
Logan, getting it from both sides, was fuming.
“Fine, take your break. Eat well and recharge. The company’s paying,” he snapped, storming off to the
counter.
I smirked. “Mr. Drake, we should’ve ordered more.”
Ashton just looked at me, making me feel weirdly self–conscious.
I was about to look down when he said, “You got a text.”
“Oh? Let me see.” He passed me my phone. One look and my ears turned red.
It was from Nora: “Is Mr. Drake impotent? How else could he share a room with a hottie like you and
not make a move?”
I wanted to die. This was totally my fault for telling her.
I’d texted her this morning about awkwardly falling asleep in Ashton’s room. She hadn’t replied until
now.
If she wasn’t going to answer right away, she shouldn’t have answered at all. Why did she have to text right when Ashton had my phone? And with that message?
Too embarrassed to look up, I heard Ashton’s low voice: “I’m perfectly healthy. Everything works fine.”
I was speechless.
I wanted to crawl into a hole. But playing it off would just make him overthink it.
Plus, he was getting so casual with me. Doing and saying whatever he wanted, no filter.
That thought made me look up normally. “Oh yeah? Can’t just claim something without proof.”
“It’s true.” Ashton sipped his drink before adding, “I can-”
Red flags went up in my head. “Stop right there, Ashton.” I’d lost this round.
“I was just going to say I could get a medical check if you need proof,” he finished.
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Even though it wasn’t inappropriate, it made me overthink. Why did he need to prove anything? I wasn’t anything to him
“Save the proof for your future wife,” I said, getting up to escape to the bathroom.
But as I turned the corner, someone grabbed my arm. I recognized the cologne – I knew who it was without looking.
Logan gripped my arm. “Elaine, isn’t this too much? Having lunch with some tech guy at a place like this?”
Seeing his jealous face, I laughed. “What, we can’t eat here? Did you buy out the whole place?”
“Elaine.” Logan was getting angrier. “If you’re looking for someone new, at least find someone decent.”
He kept putting Ashton down, trying to mock me too.
“Ashton’s a senior engineer with two degrees from Cambridge. What credentials do you have?” I shot back.
I’d learned that from his file this morning.
Logan looked embarrassed. Even as company president, his grades were nothing special. He couldn’t even compare to Miles academically. Sure, Logan was clever – you need that to be successful in business. He’d taken over his dad’s company and made it an industry leader in just a few years.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. But Logan was too arrogant. He only saw his own success, never others‘ talents.
“Am I such a disappointment to you, Elaine? Logan’s face was red with anger.
“You’re not a disappointment.” I wasn’t totally trashing him. I’d loved him if he’d been a
for 10 years. disappointment then, it would’ve said more about my judgment.
“But you’re not better than Ashton.” Since he looked down on Ashton, I used that comparison to knock him down a peg.
Logan squeezed my arm harder. He’d been so gentle with Selene earlier, but here he was, nearly cru shing my arm.
The contrast stung. “Logan, like I said, we’re done. Who I have dinner with isn’t your business anymore.”
Logan’s face darkened, but he forced a mocking smile. “Don’t you care what people think? Like I said, if you want to prove something, find someone better than me.”
I laughed. “You don’t care what people think about you dating a widow, so why should I?”
“True enough. If you’d found someone better, I would’ve wished you well. Too bad you ended up with a widow carrying another man’s child-”
I paused for effect before adding, “Though I guess it shows how generous you are.”
“You…” Logan was too angry to speak.
I yanked my arm free and went to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I realized I didn’t look much
better.
Even though we’d broken up, his words still hurt.
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