Perfect Match: Irresistible Desire For You
Chapter 43

Thanks to Zachary’s sudden interruption, the tension between the two had been defused. At this point, Ashley felt like she already said her piece. Facing these two men with completely contrasting personalities by herself, she had nothing left to say. More importantly, there were a lot of watchful eyes around them. So, of course, she wouldn’t want to be taken to task by everyone. After all, in the eyes of some of these onlookers, she had monopolized these two handsome men’s attention.

Gently nodding her head, Ashley greeted the two of them and wanted to leave as soon as possible. However, after she had taken a few steps forward, a familiar voice came from behind and called out to her, “Ashley, there you are. What happened? Is everything all right?”

It was Mike. He went to the restroom earlier and had to answer a phone call that was related to business. The conversation lasted for over 20 minutes. When he hung up the phone and was about to walk back inside, something happened from out of the blue. Someone stole a k**s from him! Because the area was dimly lit, he couldn’t make out the face of the woman who kissed him from out of nowhere before running off. The woman’s distinctive scent made his body turn stiff, and his heart almost leaped out of his chest. However, when Mike finally came back to his senses and tried to run after the slender figure who stole a k**s from him, she disappeared in the blink of an eye, and he couldn’t catch up to her. He tried to look for her in the lush garden at the back, but she was nowhere to be found.

Mike bent over backwards to replace her, but to no avail. In the end, he decided to go back to the party and see if he could replace her there. She was the first woman who had ever dared to do something like that to him and disappeared without a trace. Because of this, he was determined to replace her no matter what so that he could let her know the consequences of provoking him. He walked around the party for a while, but he still couldn’t replace the woman, nor did he see Ashley. Knowing that his sister didn’t like being in a big crowd, he checked the corners of the venue to look for her. When he saw his sister talking alone with two tall men who didn’t seem familiar, he quickly walked up to them.

“Nothing. Let’s go.” When her brother came over and asked her looking so confused, Ashley told him that it was nothing. After all, she didn’t want to get him involved and thought it would be better to just walk away with him.

As if Joseph had read her mind, he took the initiative to introduce himself to Mike and explained the situation to him, “Mr. Guzman, I’m Joseph Marshall. Your sister was being harassed just a moment ago. We just helped her out a little.”

At that moment, Mike was a bit worried about his sister, so he didn’t really see the faces of the two men who were talking to her. Hearing Joseph’s deep and strong voice, he shifted his gaze towards the handsome man in front of him, and a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes. As it turned out, it was Joseph, a legend in the business field who was revered by almost everyone. Being the head of a big enterprise himself, although they belonged in different business fields, Mike really admired him a lot because of his achievements and his unique style.

They had already met at a high-end business party once. Be that as it might, at that time, he only saw Joseph from a distance. And he really seemed as cold and intimidating as the rumors said. Now, he was standing face to face with this talented man. What was more, Joseph even took it upon himself to introduce himself to him. Because of this, Mike couldn’t help feeling a little flattered. As for the reason how Joseph knew that Ashley was his sister, Mike assumed that it was probably because Ashley had already introduced herself to him earlier. ‘Anyway, Joseph has a powerful information network, so it shouldn’t be surprising for him to know who she is,’ Mike thought to himself. After getting caught in a daze for a while, Mike finally came to his senses and replied, “Mr. Marshall, I’ve heard so much about you. I would like to thank the both of you for helping Ashley.”

Mike was completely clueless as to why Joseph wanted to explain the situation to him. In truth, Joseph was only planting a seed for his future. Since he wanted to make Ashley his wife, her brother, Mike, would be his future brother-in-law. For this reason, he wanted to leave a good first impression on him. Although Joseph would usually be very indifferent towards other people, he knew how to carry himself well. So, Zachary thought that Joseph was going to be just fine, and there was probably no need for him to worry about him.

That being said, when Zachary saw that the man who suddenly appeared looked so handsome and even seemed to be very familiar with Ashley, he thought that Joseph had met a formidable rival in love. ‘He hasn’t even had a chance to make a move yet.’ At this moment, Zachary couldn’t help feeling sorry for his friend, completely oblivious of the fact that Mike and Ashley were actually siblings. Looking at Mike, Zachary cudgeled his brains for information about this so-called ‘Mr. Guzman’. He assumed that this man, who seemed to be very close to Ashley, must be the CEO of the Guzman Group, Mike Guzman. Mike also happened to be a powerful man in the business field. Thanks to his modest appearance and his decisiveness, the Guzman Group had seen a lot of development in recent years. At any rate, Zachary couldn’t deny the fact that Joseph’s eyes were as sharp as usual. ‘He finally has his eyes on a woman, who not only looks so beautiful, but has a strong background as well.’

“No need to thank us. We’ll gladly help a beautiful lady if she is in trouble,” Zachary replied with a smile.

Zachary saying this in a playful tone helped lighten up the mood around them. Since Mike also didn’t want to stay with the big crowd, after asking Ashley if it was okay, the four of them sat down on the sofa where Ashley was sitting before. Joseph might be one of the best in the business world, but he was a man of few words. Luckily for him, Zachary, who was usually the life of the party, was there to keep the conversation going. Sitting next to Mike, Ashley would also join in on the conversation from time to time.

After a while, the dance ball had finally gone under way. The loud voice of the host echoed throughout the venue, “Let’s keep this party going! It’s time for the ball!”

Ashley had no interest in dancing, and she didn’t want to go and have fun with everyone. Instead, she found herself feeling a little hungry. After telling Mike in a low voice that she was going to get something to eat, she walked towards the dance floor.

Moments after Ashley stood up and left, Joseph excused himself and followed her into the dance floor. With just one glance, he found Ashley’s unique figure in the crowd right away. She seemed to be talking with another woman. Joseph couldn’t see the expression on Ashley’s face, but the other woman seemed to be irritated for some reason.

Joseph quickly walked over towards them. When Ashley felt the presence of a tall figure standing behind to her, she and Lina turned to look at him at the same time. Seeing the blank expression on Joseph’s face, Ashley averted her gaze and went back to getting a slice of cake. When Lina saw the man standing in front of her, she was stuck in a daze for a moment. He was the most handsome man she had ever laid her eyes upon. When she first saw him earlier, she already felt like he was out of her league. But, now that he was standing in front of her, she realized that he looked even more perfect up close. However, it was said that Joseph was so intimidating that people didn’t dare to look at him directly. True enough, Lina felt so intimidated by him and soon looked away.

Joseph didn’t pay attention to Lina at all. All this time, his eyes had been glued to Ashley, who was busy deciding which food to take. Lina could feel the obvious difference between Joseph’s attitude toward her and Ashley. Honestly speaking, she didn’t think that she was inferior to Ashley in any way, but all the remarkable men only seemed to care about her, including the man who was rumored to have no interest in women. This only made her feel even more jealous.