(First drag down and bust up fight)
Early in their relationship Ashlee learned that when Ava said she needed space it was best to give it to her although every fiber in Ashlee's being screamed out to talk that they needed more communication rather than less.
The Whitman board presentation was tomorrow afternoon and Ava needed to make sure that everything was in order. Not only was this going to be her first major deal since the Beacon acquired the Wacker Drive property but more importantly it would be the first time her new employee's would see her in action. Olivia decided to keep most of the seven hundred room hotel's staff and that was beneficial for smooth transfer but it could make for a tense environment. The workers were too professional to be openly hostile but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they viewed the Beacon as an unjust dictator and Ava the resident overlord. While none of her managers were expecting Ava to fall flat on her face they had vaguely hinted that she might not be up to the task of running a high end hotel in a major metropolitan. The Spencers' might be good enough for Springfield but Chicago was in a completely different league.
Olivia had offered to loan her most trusted manager to whip the staff into Beacon shape but Ava had declined. She needed to prove herself on her own. Her name and relationship to Olivia was enough of a disadvantage. The only way that she was going to gain their respect was to put in the work to make the five story building the best hotel that the Windy City had. "Ms Spencer you have Ms Wolf on line one do you want me to take a message?" the secretary called over the intercom. Damn Ava thought as she looked at the clock hanging above her desk. She had promised to call her girlfriend with an update to their weekend plans. It had been almost two weeks since they'd had any real time together. Yeah they shared a meal twice a week when Ashlee had late classes and when Ava wasn't in meetings but it wasn't quality time. The last thing she wanted to do was tell the younger woman no again. She needed to be with Ashlee as much as Ashlee needed to be with her but right now the Beacon had to come first.
It was the first thing that her mother demanded if Ava took the general manager title. Regardless of her personal ties or obligations the Beacon had to be her main priority for the first few years at least. Olivia loved Ashlee and she loved her daughter more but this was a business deal and if Ava could not live up to her half of the bargain she would be replaced. "No I'll take the call thanks Stacy. Hey baby how are you?" Please be busy, please be busy. Ava chanted to herself hoping to avoid a confrontation.
"I am wonderful especially if get to see you tonight."
"Ash" Ava groaned. They'd discussed this at length yesterday and few days before that. For the next month Ava was in back to back meetings, inspections, and conferences to make all the years of planning and effort worth the huge investment. The Beacon had to succeed not only for her pride but for her family's future. Ashlee had promised she understood this. "I can't. You know I can't. If I could I would."
"Babe I know that you have your meetings but that doesn't have to stop you from having dinner with me."
"I'm going over the proposal with my department managers tonight."
"So I can learn a few things and see you in your powersuit. Sounds like a good time."
"It's going to be all night. I'm barely going to be able to keep myself from falling asleep."
"You know how much I love pulling all-nighters with you." Ashlee whispered in a seductive voice. "I can make it good for you I promise."
"Going all night with you is one of the things I miss most from spending time with you but I have to go over all these contracts and loan options."
"Sweetie I'm just teasing but I'm very serious about having dinner with you." When Ashlee heard the other woman's protests she plowed straight through ignoring the feeble attempts. "I don't care if I'm just sitting there quietly holding your hand as long as I get to see you. Please Ava. I won't get in your way I promise."
"What kind of night will that be for you? Listening to us talk about the fascinating world of compound interest and tax diversification."
"If it means that I get to spend two seconds more with you than I'm game." It was a stupid idea and down inside Ava knew that Olivia would have forbidden it out of hand before Ashlee took a second breath but Ava was missing her girlfriend. What was the worst that could happen Ava said to herself as she sat at the table and watched as Ashlee walked towards the table? As she made the introductions Ava couldn't even ignore the eye rolls and smug smirks from the five employees that were already seated. If she did not absolutely dominate this account all the respect that she'd fought so hard to earn would be gone. But more importantly Olivia would have her ass.
Amazingly the dinner was a success. Ashlee was not only charming but her bubbly personality was literally effervescent. All of the men at that table were smitten and a few of the ladies were open to being Sapphic converts as well. So it was a complete surprise that the usual ready kiss was lacking when Ava opened her penthouse suite. "Thank you. Everyone loved you." Ava gushed as she tried again for the kiss.
"I'm glad someone did."
"What?"
"How could you even tell because your head never left the folder." Ashlee accused as she stood near the closed door.
"I told you that it was a business dinner. What did you expect me to do?"
"I don't know maybe you could have taken a tiny break since everyone else was trying their best to lighten up the conversation."
"I didn't want the conversation light. Olivia is demanding that I land this client and she is expecting me to do it at an advantage. I don't have time to talk about everyone's weekend plans."
"What you mean is that you don't have time for me."
"I can't do this right now." Ava repeated several times to herself before rubbing her face wearily. "I'm tired and I'm going to get ready for bed."
Before Ava could make it to grab her robe Ashlee was pulling her away from the bathroom door. "This is not over. You do not get to just dismiss me."
"I'm not dismissing anything but my mom is expecting a call in an hour and I'd like to relax and collect my thoughts before that."
"I don't remember the last time we spent more than an hour together and the first chance we get you can't even spend five minutes talking to me? I wasn't asking for you to forget about your proposal. I wasn't asking to be your focus but I don't think being ignored for almost two and a half hours was fair either."
"I'm sorry if you felt ignored but I warned you what type of evening it was."
"I didn't feel ignored. I was ignored. You looked at me once when I walked up to the table and not again until you paid for the check."
"You said that you didn't care as long as you got to hold my hand."
"I Didn't Even Get That! You insisted on emphasizing your stupid little points with dramatic flair." Ashlee growled. At that Ava pulled her arm away and moved again to the bathroom but was quickly followed by her lover. "This is not over."
"I'm finished. I don't want to talk about it. I'm going to take my shower, talk to my mother, and then go to sleep. If you want to spend the night then I would love to have you but if not I'll have Michael drive you home." As far as Ava was concerned the topic was closed but for Ashlee nothing could be further from the truth.
"So you just say you're finished and that's supposed to be the end of it?" Ashley asked getting angrier by the second.
"No but when I say that I can't talk about it anymore and need some space then I think you should back off." With her towel in hand Ava turned away to try and close the door. In her head Ashlee could tell that she was backing Ava into a corner but at the moment she could care less. It didn't feel like Ava was tired of arguing it felt as if she was tired of their relationship. She would not let that happen. "This is the last thing I need to stress about right now."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I have a lot invested in this meeting and can't risk anything taking my concentration away from it."
"Is that what I am to you an unnecessary distraction?"
"That's not what I meant at all. You're twisting everything I say so I'm not going to say anything else until we've both had a chance to calm down." This was spiraling into a familiar scene that she never wanted to experience again especially with Ashlee. She'd never had a problem expressing her anger or frustration and generally Ava was confident when she did let those emotions loose. Hell having Olivia Spencer as a mother made her genetically engineered for rage but the constant energy required for seething and railing at every slight was tiring. It wasn't who she wanted to be for Ashlee or for herself. With more patience than she gave herself credit for Ava took a deep breath and looked Ashlee in the eye before begging "We can talk about it another time but right now I really need to relax."
"No. How do you expect to fix a problem if all you want to do is avoid it?" Ashlee reasoned before slamming the bathroom door behind her as she followed Ava. "If something is wrong then we have to talk about it. This relationship needs open communication not you going…"
"Don't talk down to me. Don't patronize me. I don't need you to tell me what a relationship needs. I told you that I didn't want to talk about it now. I don't need you using that to make assumptions on my feelings about our relationship." Ava said feeling her control slipping.
"If you want this to work then you have to…"
"What do what you say, when you say it, and how you say it regardless of what I need?" Ava asked as she realized that her quiet evening was not going to happen. She tossed the towel towards the sink and walked back into her bedroom. "I asked for a little space and some time but you don't care about that do you? You don't care about what I want at all."
"Ava" Ashlee said softly as her face began to soften.
"It's always what you want and what you need but what about me? What about what I need."
"That's not true I do care about what you need." Moving further into Ava's personal space Ashlee promised "I would do anything for you. You have to know that. I love you and I would do anything to make you happy." As she reached to hold Ava's hand before Ava batted it away.
"You'll do anything except what I asked for. You know I'm not used to talking and reasoning out my feelings but I do it for you. The one time I ask you to do something for me it's too hard."
"I know you do and I appreciate that but"
"I needed space to concentrate on my project and to figure out how to balance your needs with the Beacon's but it doesn't matter because it's not how you wanted the conversation to go. This isn't just your relationship Ashlee its mine as well. You don't get to make all the damn rules. You don't get to use my love for you against me." Ava said shaking her head. "You can stay here if you like but I'm leaving."
"No you're not." Ashlee said with eyes wide from shock Ashlee as she attempted to grab Ava's jacket. She refused to accept defeat and continued to follow Ava as she stood by the elevator. "You're not leaving to go God knows where in the middle of the night. No."
"I'm going to my office but if you keep pushing me I'll go even further than that. Don't call, don't text, and don't you dare come down there unless you don't want to see me before the end of the month." Ava promised as the elevator doors slid closed. She used the nervous energy from her fight to pore over her powerpoint slides and in the morning Ashlee Wolf was the furthest thing from her mind. It was only as Ava stood outside her suite door hours later that weight of losing the best relationship she'd ever had fell on her. "Ash?"
"I'm sorry"
Of all the things that Ava thought Ashlee might say this was nowhere near the list. Ava had expected to be the one saying sorry. Ava had expected not to have a girlfriend or even a date for the next couple of months. So the sight of Ashlee sitting on her bed with her eyes red from crying and her face wet from tears broke her heart more than she'd even thought possible. "Ash" Ava repeated as she stroked the younger woman's face. "Have you been here since last night?"
"I know how hard it's been for you to open up to me and let me behind your walls. I don't want this to be my relationship. I don't want you to feel like you always have to give in to me and my demands." Ashlee mumbled into Ava's chest as she cried. "I don't want you to resent me Ava." Ashlee gasped looking into Ava's eyes. "I was so scared that I'd pushed you away."
"You will never push me away Ash but sometimes when I get too overwhelmed I need to just get away." Ava warned and immediately felt the tension in Ashlee's body. "I need to figure things out on my own and at my own time."