A/N: Hey everyone sorry it took so long to update. I've been busy lately. Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Feedback is always welcomed.
Nothing is Final
Chapter 2: Who is Ashley Davies?
"Who the hell is Ashley Davies?!" I yelled.
"Spencer, what are you talking about?" my mother asked clearly confused.
"Read this," I said pointing to the paragraph which proclaimed this so called 'Ashley Davies' the new owner of the Carlin Inc.
She read it quickly having the same reaction as I did and stared at our lawyer expecting answers. "What is the meaning of this?" my mother demanded and gave our lawyer the death stare. "Who is this Ashley Davies? I demand to know at once."
"Mrs. Carlin, I do not know the reasons as to why Mr. Carlin appointed Miss. Davies as his successor. I'm only here to deliver the papers," he said and took a pen from his front pocket as he slid the original copy of the will and the pen across the table. "Now, if you two will, please sign your names and signature on the dotted line."
"I'm not signing anything to until I know what's going on," my mother said, standing her ground.
"Mrs. Carlin, there's nothing I can do about the terms of the will," our lawyer said as he stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll give you a few minutes to read things over. Please sign it. I'll step out so you two can discuss things."
"Spencer wait here, I'm going to have a word with our lawyer to see if I can find out why things are like this," my mom said as she followed our lawyer out the door. I nodded in understanding and watched as she exited the room and shut the door behind her.
I glanced at the will once more and quickly grabbed it. I stared intently at the the forsaken paragraph that had brought so much confusion to me. "Dad, why did you do this?" I whispered sadly. "And I still don't know who the hell Ashley Davies is!" I proclaimed and gave a small sigh of frustration as I heard the door open and close.
"I think that would be me," a sultry voice responded as I snapped my head in the direction of the sudden intrusion. But, I quickly found myself staring at a woman, who stood at about 5'4, had long auburn curls that stopped just below her shoulders, had deep chocolate brown eyes, long lashes, a perfectly straight nose and the most kissable lips I've ever seen, standing in the doorway.
"I'm Ashley Davies," she said and approached me, her hand extended. I glanced at her extended hand then to her eyes not sure whether to shake it or not, but did other wise.
"I'm Spencer Carlin," I replied, taking her hand into my grasp and giving it a firm shake.
"I know you of course, how can I not," Ashley said and winked as she took a seat across from mine. "But, I bet you're wondering who I am," she said as a knowing smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.
"Read my mind," I said feeling slightly uncomfortable under her intense stare. 'Is she staring at my breasts?' I thought as I followed her gaze to my chest and quickly crossed my arms over it, blocking her view. Ashley smirked at my actions and glanced up to look at my eyes. "As I said before, I'm Ashley Davies. The new owner of the Carlin Inc. and your new boss," she said and stared at me waiting for my reaction.
"So I've heard," I replied trying to be nonchalant.
"Yes, and trust me you're not mistaken," she said and chuckled.
'Gosh she's so arrogant,' I thought and rolled my eyes as a knock sounded upon the door.
"Come in," Ashley said as the door opened and both my mother and our lawyer re-entered the room.
"Ah, Miss. Davies you have arrived. This is great. Now we can finalize the papers," our lawyer said and sat down, as did my mom.
"Wait, we're not signing anything until we know why she has the company under her name," my mother stated and glared at Ashley.
Ashley gave a sweet and innocent smile to my mother and shook her head. "Mrs. Carlin, I assure you this company is now in the best of hands. There's no need to go into the details for that reason."
"I believe that we have the right to know those reasons. I've never even heard of you. Arthur had never mentioned you before," my mother stated coldly as Ashley raised an eyebrow at my mother's attitude.
"Well, if you really want to know. I met Mr. Carlin a few months ago. He had been collaborating with the company that I was working for at the time, which was R.M.D Inc. I met him during the pitch for the collaboration of the two companies. I was the one that closed the deal and he was highly impressed with my pitch for the collaboration," Ashley said smugly and glanced at me as I rolled my eyes again.
"Okay, so how does all of this end up with you having our company under your name?" I said, returning her stare.
"Well, after the collaboration he offered me a higher paying job, with the Carlin Inc. but I refused because my loyalty with R.M.D was very strong. That was because my grandfather was one of the three co-founders of the company. Actually, the D, in R.M.D, stands for Davies but we lost our share of stock hold for the company. But, after Mr. Carlin found out about what happened he offered me the job again because surprisingly he knew my father when he was still alive," Ashley said and glanced at my mother.
"Who's your father?" my mother asked.
"Raife Davies. Mr. Carlin said they went to college together, room mates actually," Ashley said and grinned.
'She has a nice smile,' I thought but immediately scolded myself for the thought. 'What am I thinking about?! Why am I focusing on her smile?' I thought to myself once more and shook my head as I tried to clear my head.
"Are you OK?" Ashley asked, noticing my actions.
"Yes, I'm fine," I replied and picked up my glass, taking a sip of water. "Please continue with your explanation."
"So yeah, as I was saying he gave me the job and the rest is history," Ashley said and shrugged her shoulders.
"If you've been working at the company for months now, why haven't I seen you around the office?" I questioned suspiciously.
"I do the work at home, 'cause I'm currently finishing up a master degree. So grad school takes up most of my time. But I usually sent the business proposals to Mr. Carlin through email, or pitched it to him over the phone." Ashley said and gave a half smile.
"Okay, but you still haven't answered why you're the new owner and not me," I said and crossed my arms.
"I think this will explain everything better," Ashley said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. She handed me the envelope and spoke; "This is a letter from Mr. Carlin, he wanted me to give it you in case anything like this happened."
I immediately opened the envelope and found a hand written letter. 'It's his hand writing,' I thought to myself as I began to read the letter.
Dear Spencer,
You're probably wondering why the company's not under your name and is instead under Ashley's. I debated for a long time on whether or not I should give you ownership. Believe me when I say, it was a very hard decision for me to make. But, I decided to give the reigns to Ashley. I can't exactly explain why it's like this, but I have my reasons for doing so. Someday you'll understand and I hope that you'll forgive me for doing this. She'll start working right away in my position. Cooperate with Ashley OK? You can learn a lot from her. Don't worry you're in good hands.
I love you, baby girl.
Love,
Dad
"So, Spencer," Ashley said as I finished reading the letter, a look of disbelief evident on my face. "Are you ready to trust me?"
A/N: That's all for now. Please be a responsible reader and review. -Ayaka620
