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The Russian gangster stares at me for a second. Then he nods. “I guess kind of sweet, no?” he asks Ashley, turning to her.
“At first I was mad that he lied to me,” Ashley admits and then pauses to look at me. “But the more I thought about it, the more I realize it was just another side of him that I was falling in love with.”
Now it's my turn to fucking freeze. Is this really happening?
“And while it took me a while to make peace with it, gentlemen, the thing you have to understand is that the time Arsen spoke to me added to my totals. And so the program automatically sent me more people to talk to because it thought I was that good—able to keep people on the line for a long time. And I was so hot from talking to him, maybe I was actually able to keep people paying.”
“So…all the profitability that we see, is because of the two of you?” Luca Giannoni asks, starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Ashley nods and I jump in, ready to make the final sale.
“Maybe it’s not 100% me and Ash,” I say to Luca, “But the fact that I’m calling specifically for her and I don’t care how much it costs me is causing the computer to send more clients to her.”
“And I have so many regulars now, gentlemen, that if I were to leave the company, it would start being unprofitable fast,” Ashley interjects.
“That’s actually true,” I tell the two men. “After Ashley quit when she found out, the company began a stretch of negative revenue days that hasn’t picked up yet.
“And just to let you know, I’m not coming back if Arsen sells Simulated Pleasures to you,” Ashley finishes off. She turns to me and looks me in the eyes. “I think it should stay with him. Something that maybe we can build together.”
“So without this girl, we’d be buying a money-losing venture?” Mozorov asks Luca. His lawyer only nods.
Mozorov turns to me and looks me in the eyes. “Is there any way you can see yourself forgiving me for getting out of this deal, Mr. Hawke?”
And there you go. The tables have fucking turned.
I lean back, taking Ashley’s hand in mine. Her eyes are on me. They’re filled with love.
Gerard is looking at me as well. His eyes are filled with admiration.
Luca and Mozorov are looking at me, their eyes filled with hope. That I have mercy in my soul.
I look across the table.
“I think if you can pay for dinner, we can call it a day,” I say with a smirk.
“Done,” Mozorov says, raising his glass and holding it out.
“Deal,” I say raising my scotch glass. We clink and drink.
I turn to Ashley. I don’t even fucking care that there are people around me as I look into her eyes.
“Ash,” I say. “I’m sorry…”
But she doesn’t let me finish. Instead she places her index finger over my lips. She holds it there for a second, and then gives me a smile.
I can’t fucking help it at this point. I reach over and bring her face closer, drawing her in for a
kiss.
When we come up for air, the people around the table are smiling.
And the world has been made whole again.
Ashley
Happy endings… They are real. Forget everything you have ever read about the cold harsh world where no happiness can be found: it’s all bullshit. If you know where to look, it’s there, waiting for you. Sure, it doesn’t show up on your doorstep with a bow wrapped around it, but it exists. If I found happiness—and love—why can’t you and everyone else?
It started when Arsen Hawke entered my life out of nowhere, hijacking my taxi. And now here we are, checking in at the Hilton, barely able to keep our hands off of each other. We left the restaurant in a hurry, all thoughts of business vanishing the moment our lips touched—all that mattered was the heat in our bodies, the incessant desire that wrapped itself around both of us. Our minds and bodies burning, there was little else we could do than leave Del Frisco's and head straight for the closest hotel; lucky for us, all it took was a short stroll to the other side of the street.
