~ Seattle, the FD Studio ~Sabrina returned from the Alpha group and went straight to her office. She slumped into the chair in her office while thinking about her talk with Max and Hunter.
After numerous warnings from her brothers, Sabrina left the Alpha group with two bodyguards who are currently in the main area of the FD Studio. On the way here, Sabrina showed them Jackson"s photo, so that they know why they are following her around.
Her mind was spinning. Will Jackson refuse to break up with her? He can"t do that. She does not want a relationship with him and he can"t force her. But he can cause problems. That is why Sabrina hoped that she can find something against Jackson to keep him at bay.
His numerous conquests on the side are one thing, and she already has photos of Jackson with various ladies. She plans to use those when her mother and father ask for an explanation, but Sabrina is aware that those photos will not be effective against Jackson himself.
However, if she gets the proof that Jackson is faking his sickness, then he will lose the option where he plays the victim. Unfortunately, after her talk with Elizabeth, Sabrina does not think that can happen easily. Liz told her that there is no foolproof way to trigger the attack, but the chances for an attack can happen with blinking lights, if Jackson gets upset, and smoking and drinking can help as well. But that is only in case if Jackson HAS epilepsy. Ah, this is causing her a headache.
Sabrina was unable to focus on work. Charlie took care of the clients while Sabrina stared blankly, unaware of the time which trickled away.
She thought that the talk with Max (and Hunter) will help her figure things out, but the more she thought about the breakup with Jackson and potential consequences, the more distressed she was. The possibility of Ashton being dragged in this mess made her angry and dispirited at the same time. Why did she allow this charade with Jackson to drag for so long?
"Hey...", a soothing deep voice got her attention.
Sabrina lifted her gaze and her sight fell on Ashton who is standing at the door of her office. She was so out of it, that she didn"t realize that he opened the door.
His brown hair is slightly messy, and his hazel eyes are locked on her blue ones. Ashton is looking at her with a small smile on his handsome face which is reaching his eyes, and he has a perfect red rose in his hand. The well-fitting light gray t-shirt and blue jeans suit his image of a romantic rebel perfectly, and those garments can"t hide his perfectly toned body, or maybe she sees it with her memory because she clings onto him for the last three nights. In any case, the image is absolutely breathtaking.
She could look at him the whole day and not get bored of it. And maybe even for the rest of her life.
"Hey…", she responded dreamily, unaware that her gloomy expression was replaced with a smile as soon as she saw him.
Ashton walked toward her and extended his arm.
"For the most beautiful woman I"ve ever laid my eyes on…", he said while offering her the rose.
Sabrina was sure that she will melt into an emotional puddle from inside out. Can he be any more perfect? Probably not.
She accepted the rose and held it close to her restless heart. "Thank you."
His smile widened. "I came to figure out the schedule for the next week, and if you are free… we can grab lunch."
"Isn"t it early for lunch?"
Ashton was amused by her question. "It"s past eleven-thirty."
"Oh…" Sabrina didn"t realize that she was lost in a daze for so long. Even when Jackson is not here, he managed to take her morning away. And her mood was off. She reminded herself that Jackson is NOT here, and she should focus on the delicious man in front of her.
"Lunch sounds great."
Ashton noticed that Sabrina looks distracted, and he a.s.sumed that she has a lot of work. "If you have something else…"
"No, no, no… I would love to have lunch with you.", she interrupted him. "I thought that it"s around ten, at most."
Ashton stifled a laugh. "It happens. Sometimes you get into work and forget about the time."
"Yeah.", Sabrina agreed while guilt was eating her up because she is lying. She needs to tell him… about everything. And she can"t delay it any further. Sabrina decided to tell him during this lunch. "How about you go and talk to Delphine about the schedule, and when you are done, we can head out."
"OK. I will be back when I finish with Delphine."
Sabrina smiled nervously and watched him walk to the office next to hers.
She took a few deep breaths while encouraging herself to explain her relationship with Jackson, how it started, and the current situation because no matter what, she does not want Ashton to be in danger.
Sabrina fears that Ashton will hate her for being weak and for allowing it to drag so much and reach to this point. But that is better than allowing his ignorance to put him in harm"s way. No more secrets.
"Sabrina?", Nicole called from the door after a quick knock. "There is a man looking for you."
Sabrina eyed Nicole who is visibly uncomfortable.
"Why don"t you bring him to my office?" Sabrina a.s.sumed that it"s a customer and that Charlie is busy.
Nicole leaned closer and said in half-whisper: "Your two muscle-men are not letting him come in."
Sabrina inhaled more than necessary. If the two bodyguards (aka muscle-men), which Max a.s.signed to her, don"t allow a man to come to her office, it can be only one person. Why is he here?
She kept the rose Ashton gave her on the desk and walked out.
Sabrina stopped in front of the closed door of Delphine"s office and exhaled anxiously.
What if Jackson sees Ashton here? That is not a problem. As long as Jackson does not connect Ashton as her love interest, Ashton will be safe.
What if Ashton sees Jackson? How is she going to explain this? She told Ashton that she is barely seeing Jackson and that he does not come to her work or her apartment, and here he is. Ah, what a mess. She regretted for not coming clean earlier, but now it"s too late for regrets. The only thing she can do is take care of Jackson quickly so that he leaves before Ashton finishes his schedule-talk with Delphine.
Sabrina walked into the main area of her studio and saw Jackson in a well-fitting dark brown business suit with a large bouquet of red roses in his hand.
Her two bodyguards are standing by his side.
"Jackson? What brings you here?", Sabrina asked while gesturing to the bodyguards that they can step to the side. She does not believe that Jackson will try anything funny with everyone watching.
Jackson glanced at the two bodyguards with disapproval obvious on his face before stretching his lips into a smile and looking at Sabrina. "It"s almost lunchtime, I have free time in my schedule, and I came to pick you up for lunch."
Sabrina tilted her head and folded her arms over her chest. She was irritated, how can he just come to pick her up before calling in advance? And what"s up with this timing? No matter how she thought about this, it doesn"t sound right. "Really? We never have lunch together."
Jackson shrugged. "There is a first time for everything. These are for you.", he extended his arm, offering her flowers.
Sabrina looked at the flowers and contemplated if she should take them or not. If she doesn"t, she will need to explain to Jackson, and this is not the time or the place to have lengthy discussions. The last thing she wants is to have a public argument, and possibly a breakup. She is not ready for that.
"Thanks.", she said stiffly and accepted the flowers. "I can"t go to lunch with you. I have previous arrangements."
Jackson was not happy with her rejection, but she accepted the flowers, so that is one out of two. However, he will not give up easily. "I moved my meetings and drove more than half an hour to come here. Can"t you postpone whatever you have going on?"
Sabrina frowned. Why is Jackson a.s.suming that lunch with him is more important than what she has going on? What if it"s an important client? Should she cancel on short notice because of him? And who asked him to move his meetings and drive for half an hour?
"No, I am sorry. This is important. If you want more than a few minutes of my time during work hours, you need to announce yourself in advance so that I can accommodate you in my schedule."
"I see…", Jackson mumbled. In the next moment, his sight darted toward Ashton who is standing behind Sabrina and watching them.
The fact that Ashton is frozen, and his hands are balled into fists, is telling Jackson that he didn"t imagine things during the Fourth of July party.
Jackson smiled smugly and made two steps toward Sabrina. He pinched her chin and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I will see you soon."
Sabrina didn"t like Jackson being so close to her, but she didn"t want to step back because Jackson might suspect something. And her plan is to tell Ashton first. Anyway, Jackson did his cheek-kiss, and said that he will see her soon, and that means that he is leaving, right? Why is he not leaving?
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