Save Myself from Desperation by Cara Agnes

Chapter 278

Ashley was somewhat surprised upon hearing Jaden. She hadn’t expected Jessica to take the bait so

quickly.

Previously, when Ashley had heard that Jessica was planning to sell the Ramos Group’s shares

secretly, Ashley arranged for Jaden to have someone from the Zenith Group approach Jessica for a

deal. Ashley had thought the negotiation would take some time, but she hadn’t expected

progress so soon.

Ashley pondered, ‘It seems Jessica is very eager to sell the Ramos Group’s shares secretly. I bet she

wants to cash in the Ramos family’s funds for herself and then run off with the money. Evan and Bertha

definitely don’t know about this. If they find out that Jessica intends to embezzle the Ramos family’s

assets, that would indeed be quite a spectacle.’

After a moment of thought, Ashley asked Jaden on the phone, “When will she sign the share transfer

agreement?

Jaden replied, “It’s the end of the month now, right? We’ve scheduled the formal signing on the 10th of

next month. I had the general manager of the Zenith Group approach Jessica, and right now, she

doesn’t even suspect a thing. She has no idea that I’m the boss behind the Zenith Group and even less

that you’re the major shareholder. Just wait until the day of the contract signing on the 10th. She will

get what’s coming to her!

“By the way, should we bring Evan and Bertha along on the day of the contract signing? Let these two

old fools see what their darling da has done. Just thinking about them getting furious makes me feel

satisfied! Wait, you won’t go soft on them, would you?”

Ashley felt as if she was being insulted and retorted in a “Are you questioning me?” tone, saying, “Do

you think I would?”

Jaden quickly responded, “Of course not! I’d like to think I know you w enough! Let’s plan more over

these next few days!”

“Alright, sounds good,” she agreed.

After ending the call, Ashley was about to put her phone back in her pocket when she received

messages from Laura and Miranda.

Laura sent: [Ashley, I just saw the news and was shocked. Did you restore the ancient painting? And

you’re Rita?!]

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Ashley replied sweetly: [I was asked to keep it a secret when the painting was just restored, so I

couldn’t tell you right away.]

Laura was ecstatic as if she had just won a huge lottery jackpot. However, she was also somewhat

baffled.

She was thrilled because Ashley was now incredibly popular, even attracting attention from foreign

president, which was an unprecedented

feat.

And Laura was baffled because she felt like her role as Ashley’s agent was. becoming redundant since

Ashley seemed to handle everything herself.

Laura thought, ‘Compared to Bryce, Ashley is just so easy to manage, and I don’t even need to worry

about anything for her. Well, I guess getting paid for doing nothing is something others can only dream

of. I might as well consider this an early retirement!

After responding to Laura, Ashley clicked open Miranda’s message: [Ashley, Ryan just came to me

saying he wants me to pass something on to you. I didn’t agree. I think I should ask your opinion first.]

Ashley frowned, thinking irritably, ‘What the hell is wrong with Ryan?”

Since she was currently having dinner with Henry and Paul in a private dining room at the hotel, she

felt that it wasn’t appropriate to be glued to her phone. Therefore, Ashley didn’t dwell on it much and

briefly replied. to Miranda: [You don’t need to bother with Ryan. Are you free tonight? I’d like to come

see you.]

Miranda immediately responded: [Yes, I’m free. Come over, Ashle haven’t seen each other for a while.

I’ll be waiting.]

Ashley put down her phone and chatted briefly with Henry and Pa

Paul, eager to recruit talent, persistently asked, “Ms. Ramos, are you s you won’t consider working at

the National Museum? We can offer the best salary and benefits!”

In short, he was willing to spend big to recruit her.

After all, who would want to miss out on such a top-notch artifact restoration master?

yo

Ashley apologetically responded, “I’m sorry, Mr. Walker, I really don’t have such plans right now.”

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She had a lot on her plate at the moment, like the matter of Jessica secretly selling the Ramos Group’s

shares. Jessica had already taken the bait, and it wouldn’t be long before the Ramos family would fall

apart.

Paul sighed repeatedly with regret, looking as if he had aged several years in an instant.

Ashley thought for a moment and then suggested. “How about this, Mr. Walker? If you ever have

artifacts that are particularly challenging to restore, I’m always willing to help.”

“Really, Ms. Ramos?” Paul’s eyes lit up with excitement. “We would be more than grateful for your help!

Let’s agree on that, then!”

Henry chuckled and pointed at Paul. “Look at how happy you are!”

Then, Henry cleared his throat and asked, “Ashley, are you dating anyone right now?”

Ashley was puzzled and left speechless.

‘Why is he suddenly asking this?’ she wondered.

Henry smiled warmly, “Ashley, if you’re not seeing anyone, my friend’s grandson is around your age.

You guys could meet up and see if you both can hit it off. He’s a very fine young man, tall and

handsome!”

Ashley was left speechless again, thinking, ‘Ah, so that’s what this is about…”

Ashley calmly stated with clear eyes, “Mr. Anderson, I’m actually married already. I just haven’t made

my marital status public due to personal

reasons.”

Henry and Paul were both stunned and wondered, ‘What? She’s married already? How sudden is this?’

Just then, as if luck would have it, Ashley’s phone rang, and it was Valentin calling.

“Excuse me, I need to go take this call, Ashley said as she stood up.

Once outside the private room, Ashley answered the phone and asked with a playful tone, “Hey darling,

were you just watching me on TV?”

Valentin’s light, seductive chuckle came through the phone, and then he replied with his deep,

magnetic voice, “Of course, I was watching my darling the whole time. I didn’t even blink once.”

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Ashley rolled her eyes playfully, thinking, ‘As if. You and your bluffing.”

Valentin’s voice was relaxed as he asked, “When will you be done? I’ll come pick you up.”

Ashley checked the time, noting it was nearly eight in the evening, and said, “I’m going to see Miranda

first, then I’ll head home. I’ll call you when I’m done there, and you can come pick me up then.”

“By the way.” Ashley tapped her fingers against the corridor wall, teasing, “I was having dinner with Mr.

Anderson and Mr. Walker today, and Mr. Anderson asked if I was dating anyone. He wanted to set me

up with

someone.”

Valentin frowned and wondered irritably, ‘Why are there always people eyeing my wife?’

“I just told him that I’m already married!” Ashley replied and pondered whether to make her marriage

with Valentin public to avoid such situations in the future, as she found it rather troublesome.

After a brief chat, Ashley hung up and returned to the private dining

room.

Henry hadn’t recovered from his shock yet and looked at Ashley in disbelief. “Ashley, are you really

married?”

Ashley nodded firmly. “Yes, it’s true.”

Henry’s eyebrows knitted together, his protective instincts surfacing. “Who is the guy? Is he good

enough for you? What does he do for a living? He isn’t depending on you for support, is he?”

Ashley blinked and couldn’t help but amusedly imagine, ‘Supporting Valentin, huh? Actually, that is

possible and wouldn’t be too bad. He’s quite a looker. I wouldn’t mind at all, honestly.

Just as Henry was about to ask more, as he was concerned that Ashley might be in a relationship that

wasn’t genuine, his phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Henry’s grim expression softened, and he got up to answer the call with a kind

demeanor.

Paul couldn’t help but find it strange. Henry was usually a very stern person, and it was rare to see him

so gentle with anyone, Paul then wondered who was on the other end of the call.

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Henry walked to the entrance of the private dining room and answered the call with a friendly tone,

“Hey, Valentin…”