Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Ash raised an eyebrow, leaning forward with a mischievous glint in her eye. “It’s nothing like what I’m imagining? What exactly am I thinking about? Care to elaborate? I have no idea.”
“Ms. Turner, this is a private matter. I have the right to remain silent. You have no authority to pry into my life, Vanessa responded, eager to end the conversation. “There are still many things I need to follow up on. I have to get back to work.”
Ash let out a muffled laugh and waved her hand dismissively. “Go on. Later, have Team Three come to my room. I need to coordinate some matters with them.”
By the time Ash finished work and returned home, it was already past eight in the evening. She had assumed her parents would have already eaten, but to her surprise, they had waited for her to have dinner together.
“Mom, Dad, why haven’t you eaten yet? Didn’t I say I’d be working late?” Ash asked as she pulled out a chair, noticing the dishes on the table were still steaming, likely reheated just moments ago. In fact, the food might have been reheated for the umpteenth time.
Brooke smiled gently. “You came back at just the right time. Your father and I don’t like eating too early. And we had your favorite dishes specially prepared tonight, so eat up. You’ve been working overtime so much lately. You’ve lost weight, and you look so tired.”
Ash touched her face. “I haven’t lost weight. Do I look like I’m getting thinner and more haggard to you?”
“You’ve been working too hard these days. I’ve been wondering if it was a mistake to put you in charge of the company. Lachlan should be helping you more.” Brooke couldn’t help but complain.
Josh, however, had a different opinion. Though his heart ached to see his daughter so weary, he believed that kids needed to be toughened up. “Lachlan is also busy with his own work. Besides, I trust that Ash can handle it,” he said firmly. “Let the children manage their own affairs, no need to worry too much. They know what they’re doing.” Josh gently squeezed his wife’s hand in a reassuring gesture.
“Yes, Lachlan has already helped me a lot. He even found me a capable assistant, which is a huge relief,” Ash said, chiming in with her father. “By the way, when is the family gathering you mentioned? Is it next week?”
Brooke replied, “Right, I almost forgot. Yes, it’s next weekend. Have you told Calvert about it? Is he willing to attend?”
“Of course, he’ll go. No question about it. If he can’t even go along with this, then he’s really pushing it.” At the thought of him, Ash felt a strange sense of discomfort she couldn’t quite explain.
Brooked smiled warmly. “That’s wonderful. Every year, I’d see my nieces and feel envious, wondering when my daughter – would return. Now that you’re finally home, our family is complete again,” she uttered. Being an emotional person, Brooke
was already tearing up after just a few words.
Josh and Ash looked at each other helplessly.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Brooke’s face radiated joy. “Sorry, I got a bit emotional. I’ll control myself; I promise I’ll change.” She then turned to Ash and said, “You must make time for me this week. This is your first family gathering since you’ve come back, and you need to look your best. We’ll have some outfits tailored for you.”
Brooke continued, “Since we’ll be hunting that day, you’ll need a set of sportswear, and a formal gown for the evening party. Oh, and isn’t there a makeup artist with exceptional skills in the company? Bring her along too. You’ll need a change of makeup when you switch outfits.”
Once Brooke started talking, there was no stopping her. Ash’rested her elbow on the table, propping her chin with her hand, nodding occasionally to show she was listening.
‘After a while, Brooke was finally done. “That’s roughly the plan.”
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Chapter 132
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“Alright, everything’s up to you.” Though Ash found the arrangements a bit tedious, she accepted it as her mother’s way of showing affection.
The next morning. Ash came downstairs and saw Jackson tinkering with a small robot. As she approached, the robot began to beep and announced repeatedly, “Ash is here.”
“Jackson, is this… your latest invention?” Ash asked with curious eyes.
Jackson pressed a button, then turned to his sister who had just woken up. He nodded and replied, “Yes, this is an improved version. I programmed your photo into it, so whenever you’re nearby, it calls out your name.
“That’s impressive! You’re really good at programming, aren’t you?” Ash suddenly realized what a valuable resource her brother could be. Out of the three Turner brothers, Jackson was the most academically inclined.
He gave a modest nod. “I suppose I’m good at it, but there are plenty of people out there better than me.”
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“You’re too humble. You’re talented, and you should own it. You could learn from Caspian–he brags about even the smallest accomplishment,” Ash quipped.
Jackson chuckled with a tender light in his eyes. “Ash, Caspian isn’t really like that. He just doesn’t know how to interact with you sometimes. When we were young, he doted on you the most, and he adored you. Is there something you want me to help you with? Designing a game system, perhaps?”
Ash’s eyes widened in surprise, her mouth slightly agape. “How did you know? Did Mom and Dad tell you to help me?”
With a bright smile, Jackson looked at her, his clear eyes gleaming. “It was Lachlan. He told me if you ever asked for help, I should make time for you.”
Ash felt a rush of warmth in her heart, and her gaze softened. “Lachlan thinks of everything. He must have known I’d come to you. But will this take up too much of your time? I’ve been working on improving the server’s stability. It keeps crashing during tests, and although I’ve fixed it multiple times, I wanted to see if you had any solutions.”
Ash was skilled with computers, but when it came to programming, she couldn’t compare with her brother’s years of expertise.
Jackson thought for a moment. “I could probably set aside two days this weekend. Just send me a summary of the issues you’ve fixed and what areas you want to improve, and I’ll take a look. I haven’t worked on this before, but I’ll try.”
“Thank you, Jackson,” Ash said cheerfully. As she grew closer to her family, her sweet and endearing nature began to shine through, revealing a side of herself she had never shown while living with the Moreno family.
Seeing how happy his sister was, Jackson scratched his neck and smiled even wider. “We’re family, Ash. I’m glad to help. I’ll give you this robot as a gift. It has a standby time of three months and also comes with recording and monitoring features.”
A grin spread across her face. “Then I’ll gladly accept it.”
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