Perfect Match: Irresistible Desire For You
Chapter 64

At the sound of the pitter-patter of footsteps behind him, Joseph turned around and saw Ashley hurrying toward him and then stopping about 10 meters away. He leaned against his luxury car, his deep-set eyes expectant, waiting for her to state her purpose.

Taking a deep breath, Ashley slowly walked closer to him. In a clear, mellow voice, she stated, “Mr. Marshall, thank you for publicly speaking up for me yesterday.” She punctuated her words with a slight bow.

The sincerity in her beautiful dark eyes unnerved Joseph that, without meaning to, he unconsciously reverted to his businessman persona, offering a condition, “You’re welcome. If you really want to thank me, then you owe me a favor. What do you think?”

A spoken word of thanks was not nearly enough to express her gratitude, and there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Ashley nodded and replied, “As long as it is not too excessive and it is within my abilities, I agree with this payment.”

Joseph liked Ashley’s forthright manner. Unlike other women, she didn’t talk trivialities and was always straight to the point. However, much as he would like to be as straightforward at that point, his offer was made on the spur of the moment. He hadn’t even thought about the specifics yet.

Ashley warned him that the favor shouldn’t be too extravagant, so asking her to be his woman or her hand in marriage again was out of the question. He was sure that those were considered overkill. A similar request in the past revealed Ashley’s fierce side to him. The memory of nearly acquiring bodily harm during a close encounter with Ashley’s foot remained vivid in his mind.

The more time he spent with her, the more he realized that Ashley was unlike other women who chased after him. By now, Joseph had already abandoned his misconception that Ashley’s purity and nobleness was just a ruse. Ashley was a genuine person who held her own unique moral standards and was disdainful of his wealth and appearance.

No doubt, Joseph admired Ashley. In the last two decades, she was the only woman whom he had never been repelled by—thus, she was special to him. In the beginning, he spoke for Ashley because he couldn’t bear to see the woman he wanted being wronged by other people, and he did not have to think twice about helping her. He never expected anything in return.

Now, as Ashley insisted on paying him back, Joseph was a little annoyed by the polite distance between them. ‘I should do something to make this relationship a little less formal.’

“I haven’t quite decided on the terms yet. I’ll let you know once I have thought of something,” Joseph blurted out honestly.

Ashley hesitated for a moment and replied, “Okay. Thank you again for your help! I’m sorry for taking up your time, and I wish you all the best.”

After once again expressing her thanks, Ashley stepped aside to let Joseph go first.

After a casual “See you later”, Joseph turned around, got into the car, and finally drove away.

Leonard had mixed feelings about the scene that had just happened. At first, he was so excited to see Ashley chasing after Joseph. He secretly hid in a corner and watched the two of them whispering in the parking lot. Such a beautiful scene of the two young people standing close together filled his heart with gratitude—it definitely seemed like they had feelings for each other. However, his hiding place was too far for him to overhear their conversation. He watched them chat for a short while; then, Ashley moved aside, and Joseph drove away without saying another word. Somehow, their parting made Leonard feel sad.

Watching Ashley drive away, he heaved a heavy sigh. ‘I thought that there would be some progress between the two of them, but they were just being polite. They didn’t even have any eye contact! What should I do?’ At that moment, Leonard was starting to doubt whether the object of Joseph’s affections was indeed Ashley. ‘Maybe it’s just as Zachary had once said—Joseph is a man with high IQ and low EQ? If he acts in such a low-key manner in front of the woman he likes, then maybe he does have an extremely low EQ,’ Leonard thought sadly as he paced back to the house.

The truth was, Joseph had no clue how to please Ashley, nor had he thought much about it. Even so, he believed that he didn’t have to actively try to please her and that the best way to go forward was to treat her just as he always had. In his mind, he was doing just fine.

During his lunch break, Joseph received a call from Mike, who told him that he was willing to help the Empire Group acquire the Synder Group to thank Joseph for helping out his sister. After some thought, Joseph readily accepted the offer. In addition, Mike specially invited Joseph to have dinner that night to discuss their strategy.

Therefore, the meeting this afternoon was particularly important. The public was aware that he was used to making snap decisions. With the temporary cooperation with the Guzman Group, the Empire Group was as strong as a tiger with wings. However, each of his decisions now affected two companies instead of just one. He had to be more careful in making them.

After returning to her apartment from her visit to the Marshall family residence, Ashley took a nap and continued to finalize the details of her travel plan. The rest of the day quietly and comfortably passed by.

However, the night was not as idyllic.

As soon as Yasmin returned to her apartment, she called Zara to report her current situation, including her relationship with Zachary. As usual, her answer was, “Not bad.” After chatting for about half an hour about various family matters, Yasmin ended the call.

After taking a shower, she then called up Ashley’s number. Yasmin gleefully talked about Lina’s suspension. “I swear, with Lina not breathing down my neck anymore, I feel a lot more comfortable at work—and a bit bored, to tell you the truth.” On the other end, Ashley scolded Yasmin about her masochistic tendencies. Finally, she told her friend that she would be flying to Mexico in two days.

“That’s not fair! I want to go to Mexico, too, but I don’t have time!” Yasmin wailed as they wrapped up their call.

To pass time, Yasmin turned on her TV and started to watch a soap opera when her doorbell suddenly rang. On the other side of the door, a seductive young woman stood smiling at her. However, the woman’s glance sweeping her from head to toe was frankly appraising.

Yasmin wasn’t in the mood to be polite, so she boldly met the woman’s stare. A few seconds ticked by without either woman moving.

Finally, Yasmin sighed, ‘This is getting odd. A staring match with a stranger isn’t as interesting as I thought it would be.’ Deciding to close the door, she thought to herself, ‘What an odd woman. Did she come here just to stare at me?’

However, the woman reacted quickly. Before Yasmin could close the door, she suddenly threw her weight against the door and then sneaked into the house through the gap.

Sensing Yasmin’s angry glare, she flashed her a disarming smile and introduced herself, “Hello! I’m Patricia Myers, your neighbor. Someone’s taking a shower at my place, so can I borrow your bathroom?”