The phrase "What do you think?" even carried a hint of deference that Warren Prescott himself didn’t notice.
Ashley Shaw, however, didn’t notice it.
She just felt the situation was a bit peculiar.
A few days ago, she almost ran her legs off trying to get just a part-time job.
Yet now, two people were offering her two different jobs to choose from.
But the one introduced by Warren, she didn’t want to take.
Whether for personal reasons or not, she wouldn’t go.
Just as Ashley Shaw was about to decline, a customer came in to buy something.
The customer had a clear purpose, grabbing a bottle of ice-cold Coke and heading straight to checkout.
As his eyes fell on Warren blocking the counter, his movements paused slightly.
The young man before him was tall and well-dressed, exuding an air that was not to be challenged.
He realized that he might have interrupted something.
He hesitated a little and asked Warren, "Do you...you first?"
He thought Warren hadn’t paid yet.
Warren looked at the man with displeasure and then stepped aside.
"You go ahead."
The other person almost desperately paid and left.
This little interruption unexpectedly relaxed Ashley Shaw.
Since Warren now seemed guilty towards her, she didn’t need to worry about angering him by refusing.
"Thank you, Warren. But no need."
"Do you like this job?"
Ashley Shaw shook her head, "I plan to work at another place, the salary and benefits are good too, so thank you..."
Warren swallowed and couldn’t help but ask, "Did Archie introduce it to you?"
Ashley Shaw asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
Warren took a deep breath, revealing a stiff smile.
"The job that Archie introduced should be pretty good as well, so do as you wish."
"Mm."
"Can you tell me where you will be working?"
"...Sorry, it’s not convenient to say."
Warren pursed his thin lips lightly.
"Alright. If you ever need my help with anything, just let me know."
"Okay, thank you." Ashley Shaw did not refuse, but she was very certain that she would never ask him for help.
At this point, Warren couldn’t think of any excuse to stay longer.
Uncle Rhodes’ call came in just then.
The default ringtone buzzed in his head.
Ashley Shaw glanced at his constantly ringing phone and said, "You should go ahead and take care of your things. Please explain to Grandpa Prescott for me and thank him for his good intentions."
"Alright, I’ll go handle it then."
Warren immediately hung up the call and turned to leave.
He turned back once more at the automatic door.
"When are you leaving this job?"
"I’ll go once the owner finds a new employee."
"Got it."
Warren finally turned to leave, moving so slowly that the automatic door almost pinched him.
Once in the car, Mr. Coleman turned his head to ask, "Master, back to the office or home?"
Warren glanced at the missed call from Uncle Rhodes on his phone and let out a barely audible sigh.
"Back to the office."
"Yes, sir."
Mr. Coleman stepped on the gas, and the car smoothly merged into traffic.
Watching Mr. Coleman focus on driving, Warren suddenly asked, "Mr. Coleman, what do you think of Ashley?"
"Huh?"
Caught off guard, Mr. Coleman’s driving veered slightly off course, but he quickly corrected it.
"You don’t need to overthink, just say what you know."
"Oh, well..."
Mr. Coleman agreed, instinctively glancing at the rearview mirror.
Seeing no negative expression on Warren’s face, he knew Warren was asking sincerely and not looking to hear complaints about Ashley Shaw. He gathered the courage to start speaking.
"Miss Ashley came over with her mom five years ago. She originally lived with her grandmother in Aeridor. They came over suddenly because her grandmother passed away and like family with only her mother left, her mom couldn’t rest easy, so she reached out to let Miss Ashley stay over."
"When she first came over, she was a bit reserved, but soon she loosened up."
"She was quite a sensible girl, often helping her mom with chores when she wasn’t in class."
"Not just her mom, but Mrs. Chase and others, if anyone was busy, she’d lend a hand."
"We all said if our kids were half as sensible as her, we’d be thankful already."
Warren’s gaze dropped slightly.
So, everyone knew she was a kind and sensible girl, but only he decided that Ashley Shaw was a schemer.
In these five years, he never really tried to understand her.
In the front, Mr. Coleman started to smile as he spoke but it soon faded to something more pained.
"It’s a pity her mom fell ill later. She’s just a young girl, with little savings between the two of them, and her mom wanted to give up on treatment, but she refused."
"When this all just came up, her grades dropped significantly because she was busy outside all the time looking for doctors."
"She was still a child herself, yet she dared to run through all the major hospitals in Westcroft."
"Also, because of her mom, she didn’t want to leave here for college and chose to repeat a year instead..."
Warren’s half-closed eyes snapped open.
"Mr. Coleman, you just said she repeated a year because of her mom?"
"Yeah." Mr. Coleman asked back in confusion, "What else would it be?"
There was a slight bitterness in Warren’s throat.
He thought Ashley Shaw repeated a year because of him, and followed suit.
When he found out she was also staying to repeat, he mocked her.
What did he say back then?
Oh, he said she was like a clingy piece of gum.
Afterward, the whole school knew it, ridiculing Ashley Shaw for repeating out of love.
It was indeed out of love, but not for him.
A month before the college entrance exam, she suddenly changed classes; she must have been thoroughly disappointed with him, right?
But that love letter, didn’t it prove that she indeed liked him at some point?
The bitter feeling in his throat intensified.
Warren opened the drink he bought earlier and took a gulp.
"Does she...have any other family?"
"No, if she had, the lady wouldn’t have been able to adopt her successfully."
Warren gave a soft acknowledgment.
But then Mr. Coleman suddenly said, "However, it’s possible her biological father is still alive, but her mom never let her ask about him."
Warren raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"She has a dad?"
"Yes, but only in the biological sense. Her mom got pregnant unexpectedly; they never married. We don’t know who her dad is."
Warren had a vague impression of this matter.
He heard it from Rosalind Lynch.
Rosalind said that Ashley Shaw’s mom was a shameless mistress.
He never questioned it.
Because Aunt Shaw never mentioned Ashley Shaw’s biological father.
But now, he doubted everything Rosalind Lynch had ever said.
The car drove into the headquarters’ garage.
As he was about to get off, Warren suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Coleman, can you help me investigate her father?"
"Huh? This..."
"Please do."
Mr. Coleman became uneasy, "Master, there’s no need for such formalities... I’ll do my best to investigate, but I don’t know if any leads will emerge."
"Alright, I appreciate it. Also, please don’t tell anyone about this."
"Understood."