Edit: Yes guys, I actually published the part twice because there were some technical difficulties I guess :/ Let me know if there's still a problem..

Enjoy (:

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Ash's POV

It was the second time I could absorb those features from up close. Like a deja vu, the night  at the club flashed before my eyes.. That same urging feeling inside me. The same way of closing the door, and muting the rest of the world. Now, the daylight made her seem clearer, purer.. Different. Her eyes seemed glassy from that light that illuminated itself in those jade-green eyes swirling with that ocean blue and making those emotions behind her eyes seem like an even bigger mystery. The curiosity in them seemed to pierce through me, making me want to answer all of her questions right there.

A few wavy stands of that black hair fell over her face just perfectly over her cheekbones, and I noticed how her lips parted in order to say something, but she seemed lost in her thought, and simply looked on the side. So fucking gorgeous. And it was such a short amount of time, yet so many things were being carved in my brain.. Every little inch of her features just immediately finding its was into my memory, and in those split seconds reminding me of last night.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.. She was the girl I met in the bar. The one in the skintight white dress and midnight black hair. The wild green in her eyes was what blurred my thoughts only days after I got back in Richwood. Devilish spark in those cat eyes and cherry lips that urged me to close that little space between the two of us.. First time after such a long time, that feeling was crawling back under my skin, and now stronger than ever.

This need for me to know what was it that this girl was going through.. What actually brought her back in this hell town.. What was hiding behind those pretty greens that had me so glued to my spot? So damn lost in my own thoughts.

I took a step back, watching how she nervously put a stand of her hair behind her ear, and looked back at me. A faint smile formed on her lips as she handed me the papers. I still had a hard time putting some kind of order in my thoughts, and it was the first time I saw that in her eyes too. "The contracts from Milan arrived this morning." She told me as I took the papers from her hand, and finally somewhat concentrate on something else.

My eyes scanned the first papers slightly, but there was something else on my mind when I turned around and walked over my desk. I was trying to figure out on how it was possible for her to capture me so unprepared. Just like this morning. Just as always. And I was giving in effortlessly.

I put down the contracts, turning back towards her. She stood a little deeper in my office now, slowly crossing her arms over her chest when she looked at me. "You can go on your lunch break till three. I won't be coming back after the meeting." I watched how she frowned at my words slightly. I knew exactly why that had her confused. It was adorable that she tried doing everything perfectly, and succeeded, but the thing was, she was still not used to this place.

"But your schedule is full for today." I never payed much attention to woman's voice, but Anya.. She had this soft accent, a quiet feminine voice when she wanted to.. But a sharp rasp when she got angry. Like last night.

I felt my lips stretch into a somewhat smile, but I refused to show her. "Reschedule everything for tomorrow." Her lips once again parted in order to say something, but her eyes just simply darkened a little, and a somewhat more serious expression took over her face.

She stared at me for good ten seconds before she gave me a cold look and spoke. "Yes, Sir." I could hear that irony in her voice.. She didn't take me seriously. She thought I was doing this just to make it harder for her. To give her more tasks. She didn't realize that she only had to reschedule only two meetings..

~

Anya's POV

Here's the thing about men.. About men like Bonner for example. If I learned something about him throughout the time I worked there was the fact that he just loved being right. He loved being the one in control. He was a strict workaholic that was addicted to training, and kept pushing himself till his last strengths. He liked having me in his hand whenever he pleased, just so he can distract me with that closeness, and then fit me up with all the things he decided to put on my work list today.

I could still see the smirk on his face when I left his office. He just loved ordering people around. And I was his assistant. I had the hardest job in the company. 'Cause Bonner knew how to be a dick. He knew how to piss me off within seconds, and that was such a satisfaction for him, wasn't it?

I put the three fries at the same time, before realizing someone's shadow over my table. Mr. Simons. A very refreshing change from Bonner. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he took a sit on the chair from my right. "Woah, someone's a bit moody today." He joked as he scanned my face for a few seconds. His jokes weren't always funny, but the fact that he acted them out, currently widening his eyes in a worried expression, lighted the mood a bit.

"Don't ask." I threw the try in my mouth before leaning on the chair.

"Ash again?" Yep, he knew exactly why I was grumped up. We spent the time having lunch usually talking, and I had the habit of telling him every little detail of my mental breakdowns from Bonner's requests throughout the day. Now, I just didn't feel like I had the strength.

He took an unwanted pickle I left on the side on my plate, being a fan of them, and I being the picky one, as always repeating that process. I sighed slightly. "Your friend's a dick, you know."

A dry laugh escaped his throat as he leaned on the table. "What did he do now?"

I took my time calming myself down, because I knew as soon as I start talking, I would get all stressed out again. "He's making me move his whole schedule for tomorrow."

I watched how he frowned and leaned back on his chair, as if he was creating more space between the two of us, performing a small 'Ooo'. "Is it a lot?" I smiled at him. Like he could help. He was a nice guy, which was actually the opposite of Bonner. They were such close friends, and I couldn't understand how.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No. It's just that I'm rescheduling for the third time. He has a lot of things to do." It was in that moment when I realized that unlike other times, Bonner was keeping the work on the low today. "The people from 'Chérie' are busy all day long. So," I exhaled, taking the glass of water in my hand. "I'm stuck here late till I get them on the phone."

His expression turned more serious as he nodded his head, and still tried figuring out perhaps a solution. He wasn't really like Bonner. Those top Greek God cheekbones and full lips, nor he had sparkly silver eyes that charmed every women that stepped into that fancy hell hole he called office.. Josh was your classy handsome guy with a slightly unshaved beard that he kept always the same way. His dark brown eyes went perfectly with his nice tan, and his dark brown hair always shone under the sunlight.

From what I heard, he was quite the womanizer, but he was catching everyone on his charm, and the spirit he always seemed to lift. The goofy kind of way. What can I say.. It really worked. He always cheered me up. "Tell you what," He leaned closer on the table. He took the glass of water slowly from me, 'cause I was actually taking a bit too long sipping tiny drops while trying to figure out my thoughts. Putting it down on the table, he looked back at me. "I'm letting you go home after lunch."

I bit my lip, trying to see if he was serious. A slight chuckle escaped me as I leaned back on my chair. "You almost got me there."

However, he didn't give any sign that he was joking. "I'm not kidding, Anya. Go home. Rest." I frowned at his words, watching him call the waiter for check.

"Wait, can you do that?" I found myself asking, but he just flashed me a grin.

"Yes, I can do that. You are Ash's assistant, but I'm your boss too." Right. True. Very true. Josh's father was a co-founder of the company alongside Bonner's dad. They just let their son's inherit everything, and the partnership seemed to be going all too well till now. So, I always forgot because Simons was always so chilled and cool with me.. I forgot he was my boss too.

"What if he gets angry?" Was the only thing that came to my mind. However, Josh was quick.

He offered a smile, and took a sip from the water that used to be mine actually. "I'll handle Ash. He won't." As the waiter arrived, I payed my bill, watching how the guy walked away and Josh turned back at me. The little restaurant/coffee place was right across the way from the company, and everyone usually spent their lunch there. So, the waiter would know who we were talking about, and Josh made it clear that he was going to do a well job with what he said. "Now, go get your stuff and go rest. I can see all the sleepless nights underneath your eyes."

  I took my bag, glancing at him. "Gee, thanks." He had that goofy expression on his face as always, and just shrug his shoulders, leaning back on his chair. Perhaps he was there to stay. But his words were a proof that he was the complete opposite from Bonner. He had a casual relationship no matter the fact that he was the boss, or that he had one of the highest places in the company.

  And now that Ash was gone, and I was leaving too, I had a little less pressure down my chest. I was going to call and reschedule from home, or tomorrow morning. Really not as big of a deal as Ash made it seem.

~

  The image outside the window, the gray road mixed with the little green on the sides seemed to blur as the car drove, and my thoughts only mixed a little more with each second that passed. I kept thinking about what happened in Bonner's office. It didn't seem like a big of deal, but there was a second where I swear the whole thing just seemed to repeat in my head. Thinking about it, I felt as if it was the night at the club. The whole night was still a barely a little more than a blur, and I was still trying to think of what exactly happened. What could've happened..

  I remember dancing. A lot. Exhaustion, stress.. I just wanted to get it out of my system. There was so much on my mind. How I was going to get to Richwood.. How I was planning on giving Jenny the best there possible could be for us.. Where I was gong to stay, and how I was going to figure out a town that was only a childhood nightmare. But, after a little more over a week, it all seemed to be working out.. Nothing was ruined. Yet.

  Just the thought about that night simply let a few pictures to flash in my head, a noise of that loud music that I could still hear, and heat throughout my body that still washed over me. In a place like that, near a small town like Richwood, you could find all the good and all the bad in one place.

  The scary thing was, the town was too small to have a dark side like the large cities. To have all the drugs, and murderers, and men that always only had eyes for tight jeans, shorts, and don't even get me started on skirts. Having these attributes of Manhattan, and then Brooklyn in one damn town with a population less than 8000 wasn't exactly screaming 'safe'. I took a risk that night, and God knew how I could've ended up.

  Little did I know, I met a pair of grey eyes that left me untouched, and heard words that I could barely remember. "What's your name?" His voice echoed in my head slightly causing me to close my eyes for a second. What was it? What was it about him that made me so curious for more? This morning, then in his office.. I felt tension, and  hated it. I hated that I was going through this when I knew that I couldn't possibly have something with Ashton Bonner. He was my boss.

  As we passed the many trees near the road, on a little clearing near the road, I saw a car that was way to familiar for me not to notice. A black windowed jeep that could only belong to one person. Ash. Besides, I knew the numbers. Frowning, I instantly straightened up as we got closer.

  "Uh, you can drop me off here." I heard myself say as I received a quick, kind of odd expression from the taxi driver, but he just nodded his head and stopped. I payed the guy and left the car, almost a whole mile away from the town. I could walk till there, but now.. I was in the middle of the road. Literally. There were only trees, many trees representing the beginning of a somewhat forest.

  The funny thing was, I didn't feel hesitation or weird in any kind of way. I just wondered why he wasn't nowhere near the car. It was left nearly in the middle of the road, and I just felt the curiosity to know why. Where the hell was he?

  Taking a few steps towards the woods, I tried glancing deeper between the trees and I could see that there was a clearing somewhere close, but I couldn't see him. I walked towards it. The hard asphalt underneath my feet was replaced with the soft ground and leaves as I took a few steps in the woods. The sunlight was giving making the place pretty at this time of the day, laying its rays through the leaves, but I would not want to know how this looked at night.

  I could see an object near, and it only took me a minute till I got to the clearing. It was a house actually. A wooden house, surrounded by the rest of the woods, but perfectly placed in the middle of all the trees. There was no grass to make it seem dreamy, or a perfect facade.. Just dry ground around it, some plants here and there.. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either.

  What caught my attention was the fact that the door was wide open, but there was no one even near the porch. I could hear muted knocking from inside, and I knew there was someone in there.. My 'half-conscious' self told me it was Bonner, and I don't really know what exactly was going through my head at that point, I just knew I was walking in.

  The first thing I came across, oddly, was a wooden counter, somewhat like a bar. On the wall right behind it, there were a bunch of papers, posters that seemed a decade old. Mirrory sunglasses were placed on the surprisingly new counter, right next to a half bitten apple and a sandwich wrapped in a see through foil. I glanced at the old radio that seemed to be roaring a random 90's music like a deadly gas being pumped in the air.

  There a little across from the counter, the one and only Ash Bonner was standing on a chair and attaching a light bulb in one of the lanterns or whatever, that were pinned on the wall. His back was turned on me, and I had a moment or two to study this situation that seem so little familiar to me. I didn't know what to think exactly, I just absorbed the picture.

  A pair of brownish worker boots, sprayed with white paint, and a pair of old jeans that revealed long muscly legs. The muscles on his his back were flexing underneath the tight gray shirt he was wearing as he continued holding the light bulb in one hand, and attaching it in the lantern with a spanner wrench. The short sleeves of his shirt revealed a large, and actually nicely tanned arms. His dark hair seemed softly messy, unkempt, and somewhat brownish in the sunlight. He seemed so different than his usually perfectly dressed self, and I almost didn't recognize him.

  The first thing that came to my mind was, how? And the second one was actually a conclusion. Perhaps we all had little secrets that we only kept to ourselves. Walking towards the radio, I turned down the volume, and if it was someone else, they would've been startled. Drop the spanner, or jump up. But Ash, being his cold senseless self didn't do anything close to that. He just casually looked in my direction.

  The familiar silver eyes met mine, and even though there was slight surprise in them, it was nothing compared to how I would reacted if someone sneaked up on me like that. But hey, I guess everyone had hobbies, and maybe this was one of his trainings? A distraction? A different side?

***

  Winky winky, the hot Mr. Bonner is back ;) It was so much fun writing this chapter! I'm happy I got to introduce you guys to a new character, Joshy, and of course this new side of Ash. Let's see how this situation will turn out..

  Please comment & vote if you enjoyed! Share your thoughts and let me know what you think ;)

  Kisses, :*