Chapter 18

After Audrei left, Ashley continued with her work a couple hours more. Once she's sent the last email of the day, she leaned back on the chair and sighed exasperatedly.

"Ugh, I'm done! Thank fuck… What time is it?" She groaned. She closed her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked down at her watch with tired eyes. "Oh, I still have time…"

"Hello, is Ms. Reyes here?" At the sudden voice, Ashley jumps a bit but still replies, standing up.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Reyes isn't here… today." When Ashley looked up, she saw the face of the man who she thinks made Veronica cry. She pursed her lips as she stood straight, staring the man down.

"Oh, I see. I'll just come again next time." He almost walked away before stopping when he saw Ashley's face. With furrowed brows, he stops. "Oh, wait…"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you the one with Veronica-I mean, Ms. Reyes?" He corrected himself. Ashley narrowed her eyes. "You're her…"

Personal assistant, yes." She informed. There was a pause accompanied with tense silence before she continued. "And you are her ex-lover…"

"What?" He breathed out as he widened his eyes, frozen in place. "How do you know that?"

"Ms. Reyes told me."

"Oh, I see. I guess you two are close then?"

"I'm… not sure." Ashley mutters, looking to the side. "That's only one of the few things I know of her."

"Well, you seem pretty close. You know who I am after all… She seems to be moving on."

"Well, I'm not sure what happened but she is!" She claimed, stepping forward. She didn't even know what she was saying, but something in her made her not want to lose to the man. "She's doing better than ever and—"

"I'm glad." Louis interrupts her rambling, looking down with a soft grin. His tone was gentle and the pure contentedness made Ashley stop in her tracks as she looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"She's finally moving on, I'm glad. I want nothing holding her down. I've moved on, already. It's best for her to do that too. She feels guilty. It's nice to know that at least someone is supporting her." He finished with a serene smile, his eyes gentle. Ashley can't help but gawk at him, not knowing what to say. She stayed there, speechless before the silence felt suffocating.

"Right…" She trailed off, looking away once more. "Well, like I said, Ms. Reyes isn't here. I have to get going too. Goodbye."

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry for the hassle and thank you." Ashley nods with a smile before she walks away.

Once her back turned to face him, her smile immediately fell. She thought back to their conversation and bit her lip. Sometimes she felt like she knew Veronica until she reminds her that her life is none of her business, reminds her she knows nothing at all. The thought made her bite her lip harder, tears welling up in her eyes.

…

"Do you have any friends that would like to join us?" A guy said, leaning on the bar with his chin on his hand.

"Yeah, it's kinda boring if it's just all three of us." Another guy added, putting his arm around what seemed to be his friend.

"That's boring to you?" Lara scoffs as she cleans a glass. "I wonder what you usually do." The guys just smirk at her, leaning closer.

"Well, if you want to know, you can bring a friend over."

"Well, I have quite a few friends but there's this one and she'd love to join but she's occupied with someone else right now—"

"LARA!" Ashley yells out, stomping to the bar as she slammed the door open. Her loud voice made heads turn, eyes staying as they saw her beauty. Lara chuckles and puts the glass down. She shoos the guys away, the men leaving, but not before clicking their tongues in annoyance.

"Speak of the devil, and she shall appear."

"Gimme some beer." Ashley orders as she plops down on the seat.

"Whoah, what's up with you today? It's usually whiskey."

"Well, I'm feeling like shit today, so c'mon. Don't worry, I'll pay this time."

"Sure…" Lara trails off, concerned but preparing her drink, anyway.

"Hey, are you in love?" Ashley asks as she lays her head down on the bar, looking up at Lara. The latter squints her eyes as she furrows her brows, cringing at the mention of love.

"Um, no? Why would you ask that?"

"I dunno, you're just kinda… glowy, I guess." She says as she pokes Lara's arm. The bartender chuckles as she pours the alcohol in Ashley's glass.

"Well, I'm loving my life right now." She began, placing the glass in front of Ashley. "No nagging parents, no debt, no complicated love life, and I have my own apartment and a good-paying job with my own bar."

"Hmm… good for you." She says, chugging her drink down until the glass was empty. She slams the glass on the table, asking for more alcohol. "Have you ever been in love?"

"What's with all this love talk?" Lara asks, pouring more beer into the glass. "Also, slow down, damn."

"Shhhh, just answer mee." She says, voice lazily drawn out. She gets the glass from Lara, chugging the alcohol down again. The bartender gives her more.

"Right, well, hmm, I don't know. I guess so?"

"How did it feel?" Ashley asks with curious yet heavy-lidded eyes. She was getting tipsier.

"You're being weird." Lara said, eyes narrowing at Ashley. "You usually just drink and find for sex with no strings attached. Is this your boss?"

"C'mon Lara! I feel embarrassed asking you this, but I never really liked anyone in my life, much less love them, you know?" She said, pouting. "I just wanna know what it feels like to love and be loved. Is that so bad?"

Lara continues to stare at her with narrowed eyes before sighing. She puts another glass in front of Ashley; the woman taking a sip from it. She looked bored as she continued to drink, her cheeks starting to get redder.

Lara tries to remember what it was like to feel in love. She reminisces on the memories, thinking about how the time she was in love sent tingles through her body. It wasn't a massive contrast to her everyday life, but it made a difference. She vaguely remembered the face of the person who made her laugh daily, the same person she was head over heels in love with. The dull colors that surrounded her became more vibrant at the time, filling her with brightness. Without thinking, she blurted out.

"... Alive"

"Huh?" Ashley looked up at her. Lara didn't realize that she blurted out her thoughts, widening her eyes when her friend reacted. When said friend continued to stare at her, she continued.

"I felt alive when I loved a person." She began. "As I feel alive, you also just kind of get the will to live, I guess. It makes you feel present and you just focus on feeling happy at that moment. The insecurities and the problems just kind of don't exist when the person is there. They're the living proof that life can be alright, your wake-up call I guess—" Before Lara can continue with her speech, Ashley's phone rings, cutting her off. The latter jumps when she hears the phone ringing, her friend's talking making her doze off.

"Ah! I have a call!" Ashley cheers as she tries to press the accept button. Her hand keeps swaying, missing the button, making Lara sigh.

"Bitch, you drank so much you can't even accept a call. Hold on, I'll do it for you." Lara said, tapping the button. In a second, Veronica's voice comes through.

"Ashley-Ms. Johnson?" She corrects herself. "Are you alright? I told you I should have gone to work with you if you were going to be so tired."

"Oh? It's Ms. Reyes~ Ms. Reyes, do you know what love is?"

"What? Are you drunk right now? Where are you?"

"Lara said it's, it's like, uhm, what was that? Life? Wake-up call or something, I dunno..."

"She's here at X bar." Lara answered for Ashley, making Veronica cautious.

"Who are you?"

"Her friend," She answers, chuckling. "Now are you coming here, wake-up call or nah?"

"Wake-up call, what? Whatever, yes, I will be there. Please take care of Ms. Johnson until I get there."

"So, basically just do what I'm usually doing?"

"What?"

"Got it, see 'ya, Ashley's boss!" Lara says, before ending the call. She continues to watch Ashley chug her drinks down, waiting for the woman's boss.