Chapter 39

Ashley.

I walked into the office, and headed to my desk, ready to dive into the day's tasks when I heard Mr Thompson calling my name.

"Ashley, could you come into my office for a moment?" he asked, standing at the door with a welcoming smile.

That was a first, usually he was always frowning whenever he saw me.

"Of course, Sir," I replied, curious about what he wanted to discuss. I followed him into the office, my mind racing with different scenarios.

"Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair across from his desk. I sat down, trying to read his expression, but he remained pleasantly enigmatic.

"I wanted to congratulate you on the outstanding work you've done on the recent project," he began. "Your dedication, attention to detail, and ability to work under pressure have not gone unnoticed. The client was more than happy with the results and couldn't stop singing praises about you,"

"Thank you, Sir," I said, feeling a wave of pride wash over me. I was elated that all that distraction didn't stop me from doing my work and I was fucking proud of that.

"In fact," he continued, "if you keep up this level of performance, I can see a promotion in your future, possibly by the end of the year."

A promotion? The words echoed in my mind, and I struggled to contain my excitement. "Wow, that means a lot to me. Thank you so much for the opportunity."

"You've earned it, Ashley. Keep up the good work," He said with a nod.

"I will. Thank you again," I replied, standing up and heading back to my desk, my heart racing with joy. The first person I wanted to share the news with was Aiden, but a pang of guilt hit me. I knew I shouldn’t be thinking about him, especially not now.

But I desperately wanted to share the news with him, I had no idea why I felt like that in the first place.

Instead, I walked over to June's desk. She looked up and smiled when she saw me approaching. "Hey, Ash! What's up? You look like you just won the lottery."

"Close enough!" I laughed. "Mr Thompson just told me that if I keep up the good work, I could be looking at a promotion by the end of the year."

"Oh my God, that's amazing!" she exclaimed, jumping up to hug me. "You totally deserve it!"

"Thanks, June. I had to tell someone before I burst," I said, grinning from ear to ear.

"You should call Logan and tell him," she suggested. "He’ll be so happy for you."

"You're right," I said, pulling out my phone. As I dialed Logan's number, a fleeting thought of Aiden crossed my mind again. I shook it off, focusing on the call.

"Hey, babe," Logan answered after a few rings. "What's up?"

"Hey! I have some great news," I said, trying to keep my excitement in check.

"Tell me!" Logan urged, sounding eager.

"So I could be getting a promotion by the end of the year!" I shared, my voice brimming with happiness.

"That's incredible, baby!" Logan exclaimed. "I knew you could do it. I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Logan. It means a lot to hear that," I said, feeling warmth spread through me.

"We have to celebrate tonight," he continued. "Dinner, your choice. How about that?"

"Sounds perfect," I agreed, already looking forward to the evening.

"I’ll make a reservation somewhere special. Just wait and see," Logan said, his enthusiasm infectious.

I heard noise from his background and frowned, "Are you outside?"

The sound became muffled, "Oh, yeah. But I will call you right back, you caught me at a bad time but I couldn't ignore your call."

"You are so sweet to me," I gushed.

"You deserve it, don't forget dinner,"

"I can't wait. Thanks for always being so supportive," I said, feeling a surge of gratitude.

"Always. I love you," he replied.

"Love you too," I said before hanging up. As I put my phone away, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Sharing the news with Logan felt right, and it pushed any lingering thoughts of Aiden out of my mind, at least for now.

I was yet to get into my task for today but it wasn't much, I hoped.

"Ashley," I looked up just as June called my name,

she approached my desk with a clipboard in hand and a look of mild frustration on her face.

I knew whatever she was about to say, I wouldn't like it.

"What is it?" I groaned.

"Ashley, we've got another shoot scheduled for today. The client said it was impromptu and pleaded, but we still haven’t fixed the location," she said, tapping her pen against the clipboard.

"Another shoot?" I repeated, momentarily distracted by my thoughts. Aiden's face flashed in my mind, and I quickly pushed the image away. "What are the options so far? Does she have a particular concept in mind?"

"That's the problem," June sighed. "We don’t have any good options. We need somewhere great, but not too crowded."

An idea sparked in my mind, one that made my heart race. "What about the area we shot yesterday?" I suggested, trying to sound casual.

She looked at me, puzzled. "Oh? Why there?"

"The lighting is perfect," I lied smoothly. "There are those big windows and that open space. It’s ideal for what we need."

June considered it for a moment, then shrugged. "If you think it’ll work, let's do it. We need to finalize something soon."

I nodded, glad that she agreed cause I needed to see him. June gathered the team and I called the client to tell her where to meet us.

I felt kind of excited as we drove to the shoot location, I think June shot me a questioning glance once when I was bouncing my knees in the car but I smiled and said it was because of the shoot.

My mind was constantly drawn to Aiden's office building, hoping I might catch a glimpse of him. Once we arrived, we started setting up our equipment. I couldn't help but feel a knot of anticipation in my stomach.

I kept glancing at Aiden’s window, praying he'd come out and talk to me. Finally, I saw him standing there, looking out. My heart leapt, but it sank just as quickly when he merely stared at me for a moment before looking away.

I tried to focus on my work, but my thoughts kept drifting to Aiden. Why wouldn't he come out? Did he see me? Did he care at all?

"I'm going to the café to buy coffee," I told June,

"Okay, grab me a latte, will you?" she said, not looking up from her clipboard.

I walked to the same café, my mind racing. I ordered my coffee and some donuts, hoping against hope that Aiden might walk in.

But he didn’t. I sat there, feeling the sting of disappointment that he didn't want to see me.

Finally, I picked up my order and headed back to the shoot, trying to hide my hurt.

When I returned, I saw Aiden still standing by his window. He was looking right at me, and for a second, I thought he might come down. But he turned away again, and I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

"Here’s your coffee and donuts," I said, handing June her cup.

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip. "This is good, I can see why you suggested we use here again,"

I chuckled nervously, "Yeah, it's definitely because of the coffee,"

My plan to laugh it off didn't go as planned because she frowned at me, "Ashley, why have you been acting so weird today?"

"I’m just tired," I lied again, forcing a smile.

She looked at me skeptically. "You sure that’s all?"

"Yeah, just tired," I repeated.

"Okay," she said, though I could tell she didn’t believe me. She turned away, and I caught a glimpse of her typing something on her phone. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but later, I'd learn she was texting Logan.

We returned to shooting and my mind kept drifting back to Aiden. Why was he avoiding me? Did he know I was here because of him? The questions gnawed at me, but I pushed them aside, trying to focus on the task at hand.

"Ashley, can you adjust that light?" June called, snapping me back to reality.

I looked at her as she pointed at a light, I looked down at my camera and my eyes widened when I saw I had been taking mediocre pictures.

"Sure," I said, moving to make the adjustments. I threw one last glance at Aiden’s window, but he was gone. I felt a pang of sadness, but I swallowed it, determined not to let it show.

We wrapped up the shoot, and I felt a mix of relief and disappointment. I wanted to see Aiden, to talk to him, but it seemed that wasn’t going to happen.