Hello Mr. Arrogant

Chapter 8

[Semi-edited]

Chapter 8: {Dinner In The Mansion}

Have you ever felt so embarrassed that you wanted to hide from the whole world? Especially when you were doing something you were supposedly really good at. That was me right now. Holding up a pillow to my face, I hung my head in shame as Ashton Hadley beats me for the tenth time in Call of Duty.

We were both sitting on the leather couch, me with my legs curled up and him sitting with his legs spread apart in a man spread, playing video games for the past two hours now. 

The reason my head was being pressed up against a pillow was that I lost our bet. The bet I was dreading to accept but did anyway. The bet where I had to make dinner for him and do extra paperwork if I lost, and I most certainly lost this bet about six rounds ago.

The first round was okay. I admit I was a bit rusty and that's why he got me. The second was because I was being a stupid i***t and ran straight into his character. I admit I kept looking on his side of the screen and it was absolutely my fault. The third was tragic. I couldn't explain it even if I wanted to relive its harsh memory. The fourth time I almost had him, until he got me first, and so on and so forth. I've just been telling myself excuses on why I suck so badly, but the reality was I just sucked.

"I am too good," Ashton said leaning back on the couch with a smug look on his face. I threw the pillow directly at him and laughed when it startled him. "Alright, don't make me hold you to our deal." I immediately shut my mouth and stared at him wide-eyed. 

"You weren't going to make me do all the paperwork or dinner? Why even make a bet with me if you weren't going to make me do any of it?" He looked directly at me. His eyes were the piercing blue color that had been capturing my attention ever since I met him.

"I already have a chef making food for us, and I would never actually make you do more than you're supposed to." The seriousness of his tone startled me. I should have known one of the richest guys ever would have a personal chef, but the work thing caught me off guard.

"Do you mean "you" as in just me, or "you" as in your employees?" I asked trying to clarify.

"I mean you," He said, his eyes growing darker and his voice deeper. That's when a small ringing sound came from downstairs. Ashton snapped out of whatever trance he was in and stood up to his feet.

"Are you hungry," He asked as I took his hand so he could help me up. I grabbed my heels that were laying on the floor and tried putting them back on. "You don't have to," He said taking the shoes from me and throwing them off to the side. My feet stepped off the rug and onto the wooden floor causing a shiver to run up my legs.

When we left the room and stepped into the hallway the smell of pasta and tomatoes filled my nose and blocked all other senses. I haven't had real food in so long. Most of the time it's toast in the mornings and Ramen for dinner. If I'm lucky I bring a dollar for the vending machine at work so I can have lunch, so smelling a full cooked meal was like being hypnotized.  

We got downstairs and I ran to the kitchen. There, taking the dish out of the oven, was a man with salt and pepper hair in a white chef's uniform, minus the hat, and a grey-haired woman making the side dishes.

"Hello," The women said to me. "Who might you be?" She stopped what she was doing and looked at me with almost a judging glare. That same glare that all those women at work gave me the first day I went in. That I'm-so-much-better-than-you glare. 

"Hi, I'm-" Ashton placed his hand on my shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"This is Lydia Bennet, my new P.A. Lucy, please don't give her any grief," he said with a coy smile before disappearing into the joining room that connected to the kitchen.

"Don't mind my wife, Lucy, she's always judging people." The man said laughing to himself. Lucy snickered but continued to cook. "My names Dan by the way. It's so nice to meet you," He stuck his hand out towards me and I gladly shook it.

"It's so nice to meet you, too." I looked down at the counter and there was the food. I could see the heat rising from it and the gooey cheese bubbling on the surface. "This smells delicious. What is it?" 

"Baked penne with roasted vegetables," he said washing his hands in the sink. "You should go sit down with Ashton. He's probably waiting for you," Dan said pushing me out to the dining room.

 A large chestnut wood table was placed in the center of the room. It could've easily seated twelve or more people, however, there were only two chairs. A crystal chandelier hung directly above it illuminating the entire room with a soft yellow glow. Ashton sat at the very end waiting patiently for me.

"Hello," I hummed as I skip over to a seat next to his. Right after I sat down the chefs bring out all the food and placed it in front of us. I thanked them after they poured my drink and then turned to Ashton.

"Jenn always thought this was my favorite," He said with a smile and a small shake of his head. "but really I'm a simple pizza and coke kind of guy." The way he said that made me feel special somehow. It felt like he was revealing himself to me, but I ignored it and finally stuffed my face full of pasta.

***  

"Thanks for dropping me off," I said getting out of his car. We ate and talked a lot about ourselves, work gossip, we even told stupid jokes and laughed about how cheesy they were. I even complained about the crappy break room that he needs to renovate. 

The way to my place was different. His whole demeanor changed when he dropped me off. A weird, uneasy tension grew from him like he wanted to get rid of me as fast as he could. I couldn't blame him, though. I am a handful when I'm having fun.

"Goodbye, Lydia," He said before driving off and leaving me cold on the street. I told him I lived in a better part of the neighborhood than I actually did, so now I had to walk a mile in a dress and heels. That's what I get for trying to lie about who I am and try to impress a guy. 

I'm a rich girl gone broke. Living in a mansion, smaller than Ashton's of course, and having everything I could have ever wanted, to living in a cheap apartment and eating roman for dinner.

Snap out of it,  Lydia! This is way better than living in that house and basically being unloved and unnoticed by your own family. At least people know you here. 

Tonight should not have happened. Tonight went horribly wrong and it was my fault. Ashton had realized it too when he was dropping me off. Tomorrow I'll act like nothing happened because that's what a professional does. She acts professionally.