The Veiled Heiress

06-GoodAdvice

Over the course of the next few weeks, the relationship between Tyler and Ashton grew. Tyler found that he could open up to Ash and tell her anything. She was easy to speak with and non-judgmental, giving great advice when he needed both relationshipwise and with the company. This was really important to him, since he was having issues at work, within the company as well as his father. Most of the issues, though, were with his father and the lack of power his father was giving him. They often fought at work over how the company should expand and grow. Tyler felt that he was never heard because his father did not want to listen to his ideas.

For Ashton’s part, Tyler made her feel comfortable and safe. She felt that she could be herself even if she could not tell him everything. These were feelings she had not had in six months. It was nice for herself to smile and laugh more. She often found herself wanting to spend time with friends and go out.

Suddenly, Ashton heard a door slam, making her jump. It took her a few seconds to calm her racing heart and take herself out of a certain memory. She had to remind herself that she was not back in that room, he was nowhere near her. When Ashton recognized the frustrated scream, she quickly climbed off her bed and hurriedly rushed downstairs, witnessing Tyler pacing around the living room pulling at his hair.

“What’s the matter?” Ashton asked.

Tyler looked up at the sound of Ash’s voice. Lately, every time she walked into a room, it took his breath away and lit up his whole world. His racing emotions seemed to calm as she approached him.

“My father,” Tyler complained. “He is just so frustrating. He continually wants to build the same design with the workers. He has no wish to alter or vary anything or even expand the business. It is not keeping up with the times, and we are losing business to people who want to modernize everything. I showed him last quarter’s decline, but he blamed it on the market and on the rest of us, stating that we are not bringing anything to aid, but it has nothing to do with the market. The market is there if he was just willing to listen to the rest of us. Some of the other board members have had great ideas that he just vetoes right away. Ugh! I am not sure if he is being old-fashioned or just afraid that we are going to take the company away from him.”

Tyler began to pace again, riling himself up. His hair was starting to stand on end. If he wasn’t careful, he might just end up with no hair. Ashton could hear him mutter curses under his breath.

“We actually fought about it in front of the board members,” Tyler continued with his rant, “I’m afraid that when it’s time for me to take over, there won’t actually be a company for me to run.”

Aston took a few seconds before replying, thinking of the best way to help him. She knew she needed to calm down his racing heart first or the rest of him would not calm down. She began with some of the mediating exercises that she learned in therapy.

“Okay. Let’s start by taking a deep breath. I know that everything is frustrating right now with no outcome in sight, but I am sure if we take a step back, we can find a solution. We just need to calm our minds and our hearts, and it begins with a deep breath,” Ashton exhaled slowly to demonstrate what she wanted Tyler wanted to do.

Ashton took a few deep breaths having Tyler mimic her breathing pattern and found that it was calming him down. After a few breaths with her, Tyler picked it up and practiced on his own. Once Ashton found him calmer, she started throwing rapid fire questions at him so he did not have time to overthink his answers, another activity she learned during therapy.

“If you were to take over tomorrow, what would you do?”

“I would upgrade the tech that goes into our structures.”

“How would you upgrade your tech; you are a real estate company?”

“I have always had this dream of working with this big tech conglomerate. I know the CEO and I think that it would be profitable for both companies. It would also give us more opportunities for expansion.”

“What would you need to woo this CEO?”

“I would need to crunch the numbers to explain what type of tech we would want for each structure and how we could be flexible. Then I would need to crunch the numbers to show how much each company would need to spend and then the length of time it would take for a profit to be seen,” Tyler justified, getting more excited as he laid out his plan.

Ashton watched as his face lit up. She could tell how much this would mean for him and how much thought he had already put into this idea. His illuminated face was softening her feelings for him more than they already were becoming. She wanted this for him.

“That sounds like a great plan. Maybe, for the next board meeting, have a proposal already written. This way you can kill two birds with one stone. You can pitch your idea, get the board members on your side, and force your father to agree. Then take your finished proposal right to that other CEO.”

Tyler’s face lit up. “You are so right! That is a great idea.”

Without thinking of his actions, Tyler leaned down and pecked Ashton right on the lips. It was a quick kiss but enough to send electric tingles through both their bodies. When he realized what he had done, Tyler’s back stiffened, and he flushed, understanding that though they were getting closer, Ashton still tended to shy away from people in her space. He did not want to push her too quickly.

“Umm… umm… I should go prepare that proposal. Thanks for the advice and helping me think this through.” Tyler stuttered as he quickly walked out of the room. As he climbed the stairs to his room, he relived that kiss over and over again. God, it was amazing. As he drifted off to sleep, he imagined what the kiss would have felt if it was longer. It was the best dream that he had in a long time.

Meanwhile, Ashton stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes trying to process what had just happened. She could not tell her own feelings about it. She didn’t see the kiss coming but also did not hate it. She did not want to back away from his touch, essentially wanting to lean into him and have him hold her some more, but he just ran away as if she had some sort of disease. Now afraid that he regretted what he had done. Ashton was not sure where this would leave them in the morning.

Making up her mind, Ashton pulled out her phone, searched her contact list to find the right number, and pressed send.

“Hey, can you please meet me for lunch tomorrow?”