A Love Trap

"It seems that after that event happened, nobody went to their bakery any more. Perhaps that's why they decided to close up
their shop and leave yesterday," Cheryl explained while looking at Ashley with great admiration.
In Cheryl's eyes, if she was faced with a problem like that, she wouldn't have known how to handle it properly and would
probably have ended up having to close the bakery as a result. However, she was awestruck by the way Ashley had managed to
efficiently sort it all out by clearing the bakery's name and proving that the other bakery's owners were the deceitful ones.
But in reality, even though the owners had done a terrible thing, they had been running their bakery business there for a very
long time and quite successfully. Surely, they would have lost some customers to Ashley's bakery, but they would still have their
own regular customers. It just didn't make sense to Ashley, that they would just close up and leave.
The more Ashley had thought about it, the less it made sense. Since the day she had left the hospital, all of her attention had
been on her marriage to Andrew.
So it was quite a shock and surprise to her to learn that the bakery had closed.
Even so, if anyone tried to deface her bakery and ruin her business Ashley wouldn't sit idly back and let it happen, nor would she
let them get away with it that easily.
Nina stood in the background with her own thoughts on what was really behind it all. Although Ashley did handle it well, Nina
knew that Ashley wasn't the only one involved.
Both Nina and Cheryl were chosen by Greyson to work in Ashley's cake shop. However, Nina had worked at Harkim for much
longer than Cheryl had and she had much more insight and could see things deeper than just the surface.
When Cheryl was told to work for Ashley, she was still fairly new at Harkim and didn't even have the chance to get to know about
Greyson.
Whereas, Nina, on the other hand, knew very well who Greyson was and what he was capable of doing. Nina had some sort of
idea as to why the other bakery would have closed. She was almost sure that Greyson would have had something to do with it.
Earlier she had heard through the grapevine that Greyson had invested in the cake shop yet that he didn't have much regard for
the shop.
Sometimes, to check that everything was in order, Greyson would occasionally pay a visit to the bakery. Nina didn't hide anything
from Greyson and filled him in with all of the details about what had happened that day. Shortly after that, the bakery closed

down and the owners moved out. So it would be fair to assume that Greyson was behind it all.
Ashley didn't give it much more thought. As far as she was concerned, those guys had got what they deserved. She was just
relieved and happy that her cake shop pulled through and now with the other one gone, she just had one less thing that she had
to worry about.
Ashley's hands were covered in flour in preparation for a cake, when her cellphone rang. She quickly wiped her hands onto her
apron and pulled her phone out from her pocket. At the sight of the name on the screen, she went into the break room for some
privacy to answer the call.
"Hello, Johnny," Ashley greeted on the phone.
"Hello, Miss Mu. Are you at your apartment now? I am waiting for you downstairs," Johnny replied, in a gentle voice.
Hearing this, Ashley silently face-palmed and was at a loss for what to say. 'Oh, shit! I have completely forgotten that I was
supposed to be picked up, ' she murmured to herself.
Then she had a flashback of Andrew's call that he would pick her up at her apartment today. She couldn't believe that she had
totally forgotten about this.
"Err...No. I'm not at my apartment. I'm out at the moment. Please wait there, I'll be there soon."
Ashley tried to calm herself down. She felt embarrassed that she had forgotten and now Johnny was waiting for her. Ashley was
a very courteous and polite woman. She didn't like to keep others waiting for her.
"That's fine, Miss Mu. You don't have to hurry. You can take as much time as you want. I will stay here and wait for you."
Ashley finished her conversation and hung up the phone, feeling awkward. Though Johnny's politeness sounded genuine, she
still didn't want to keep him waiting for too long. She rushed back into the shop to tell Nina that she had to leave and to finish for
her.
Nina's calm demeanor made her a very reliable employee. Ashley trusted Nina with the whole shop and would even share some
of her own personal items with her. So before she left, she felt obliged to let her know that she was going to go.
Ashley quickly pulled her apron off, grabbed her bag and stood in the street to hail a taxi. Once one pulled up, she got in and
drove straight to her apartment. After she arrived, she quickly paid the driver, ran to the building block and got into the elevator.
Ashley was so quick, that Johnny didn't even see her rush past his car that he was waiting in. Since she had already packed

everything that she needed into the suitcase before, she only had to get it from her apartment. Once she got the suitcase, she
stepped back into the elevator. As she reached the bottom floor, she lugged the heavy suitcase outside and began to drag it to
the waiting car.
At that moment, Johnny spotted her through the car window. He immediately got out of the car and quickly approached her,
smiling, "Miss Mu, please, let me take that for you."
"No...no problem. I can do it myself," Ashley said almost out of breath, but she tried not to show it. She kept on trying to do it
herself.
"I have to follow what the boss has told me. He told me to take care of you in his place and give you as much help as you need.
Please, let me take your suitcase. It looks too heavy for you,"
Johnny insisted.
"Okay then." Johnny's sincerity made it hard for her to refuse. Besides, if she prevented him from doing his duty, Ashley thought
he might be judged by Andrew. At last, Ashley handed the suitcase over to Johnny.
He took it from her with care and put it in the boot of the car. He then turned to her and asked, "Miss Mu, is there anything else
that you might need from your apartment? If there is, I can wait. It's not a problem."
Ashley shook her head, still trying to catch her breath; she looked exhausted. "Nothing, thanks," she answered firmly.
Johnny nodded slightly and then stood still by the car looking at Ashley with a big smile on his face. Ashley smiled back at him
and they both stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. Johnny was waiting for Ashley to get into the car first before he sat
behind the wheel. Ashley then realized what he was waiting for. "Oh, right," she said as she quickly got into the car. She found
his pedantry comical but was too tired to react.
While Johnny was driving, he occasionally glanced at the rearview mirror to look at Ashley. The vague expression on her face
made him a little nervous. He guessed that she must be angry at Andrew for not picking her up personally.
So he offered her an explanation, "Miss Mu, the boss intended to pick you up in person, but something important in the company
suddenly came up and he couldn't make it. So he asked me to pick you up instead. He gave me specific instructions to make
sure that you feel comfortable and arrive safely."
From Johnny's perspective, he used to think Ashley must have been captivated by his boss's charisma, and that was why she
agreed to marry him. After all, how could his boss possibly fail to attract the woman that he desired?

However, at this moment, Johnny was wrong. Ashley was the exception who had not been captivated by his boss's charm and
the only woman who had been so unpredictable to his boss.
"What?" Ashley was a little confused as to why Johnny felt the need to explain that to her.
Ashley had a vague expression on her face because she had been living in that apartment with her best friend for so many
years. And now she was leaving and didn't even have the opportunity to tell her friend all about it. She felt heavy-hearted and
tired as she stared out of the car window.
However, Johnny had misread Ashley's expression as displeasure. She soon realized what he must have thought when he
glanced at her. She wanted to explain how she felt to him but decided against it.
In the end, it was really unnecessary to explain it to Johnny. And even if she was displeased with her husband, it should be
Andrew who she should speak with, not Johnny.
"Okay, I understand," replied Ashley.
She then thought of something and added, "Johnny, please just call me Ashley. Don't call me Miss Mu." She felt uncomfortable
to be addressed with that title.
When Johnny heard what she was requesting of him, he began to stammer, "Don't. Please, don't make me call you by your first
name. I can't do that."
Johnny had suddenly become very anxious. If Andrew had ever heard him address Ashley by just her first name, he would
become very angry. Andrew was a jealous man and who would know what sort of punishment he would give to Johnny for
offending him by doing that.
He wouldn't dare dream of doing that. Even picking Ashley up today, happened only by chance. Andrew had thought long and
hard before allowing Johnny to come and pick her up. If he wasn't called away for an urgent business matter at the company, he
wouldn't have let Johnny pick her up at all.
Johnny was a fastidious and smart secretary. Having been by Andrew's side for such a long time, he got to know his boss very
well.
Ashley was speechless by his dramatic reaction.

"Then you choose another way to call me. I feel really weird hearing you call me, Miss Mu," Ashley said, giving him another
option.
"How about...Mrs. CEO? Or Mrs. Lu?"
Ashley shook her head and buried her face in her hands. 'What is this guy thinking? Did he bump his head into a wall? Is
everyone that works for Andrew like this guy? I hope not.
How could he come up with a name like that? Mrs. CEO?! and Mrs. Lu?! ...'
She rubbed her temples with her hands and giggled at the ridiculous suggestion. Then she said, "Okay, just call me, Miss Mu.
That's okay."
However, she could see his eyes in the rearview mirror. He seemed to be frowning and disappointed. Ashley was at a loss to
why he would be like that.
'What's he upset for? Is it because I didn't agree with him to call me Mrs. CEO or Mrs. Lu? Surely that's not the reason why.
You've got to be kidding me!' she thought to herself.
Actually, Ashley had hit the nail right on the head with her assumption. Johnny really did want to call her, Mrs. CEO.
He thought it sounded awesome.
But, Johnny had to respect her wishes, and at last he just said, "As you wish, Miss Mu."
Once they had arrived at Andrew's mansion, he helped Ashley with her luggage, chatted only for a brief moment and then left.
If it weren't for Andrew's jealousy, Johnny would have probably chatted with Ashley for a little longer. However, he understood
the importance of not overstaying his welcome and making a good and lasting impression on his new superior. Besides, he also
had other work that he needed to tend to.
Once Johnny had left, Ashley began to study her new home.
Her attention was focused on the room that she was standing in. It struck her as being a little familiar, but she didn't know why
that was.
Suddenly, she remembered and tapped her forehead. 'This is the room that Andrew brought me to after I got drunk that
night.'