Lobby.
Ashley Shaw had just finished wiping a table when a new customer sat down, staring intently at her.
"Miss, may I ask if you have a boyfrien—"
"Shaw!" The deputy manager stepped in front of the customer with a cheerful smile, saying, "Let’s go, we have a delivery!"
Ashley Shaw was taken aback and replied, "Now? But this table hasn’t ordered yet..."
"No worries, leave it to someone else. The delivery order is urgent. Let’s go!" The deputy manager waved her over and went to the back kitchen first.
Ashley Shaw quickly followed, not paying attention to the disappointed sighs of the customer.
Compared to helping in the lobby, delivery was her top priority.
The back kitchen of the dessert shop was connected to the rear door, where a van was parked.
The two of them worked together to load two hundred freshly packaged cupcakes onto the van, both out of breath from exertion.
"Alright, hop in!"
The deputy manager gallantly held the passenger door open for her.
Ashley Shaw shook her head gently, declining.
"Thank you, I’ll sit in the back. I need to keep an eye on the cupcakes so they don’t get damaged by the bumpy ride."
The deputy manager looked at Ashley Shaw with even more appreciation.
What a meticulous girl.
Why didn’t they like her at first?
Oh, he remembered, Ms. Grant had mentioned that this girl was quite scheming and told them to keep an eye on her.
But now, it seemed Ms. Grant was starting to like her too?
Perhaps you only see the true nature of a person over time.
"Alright, you can sit in the back."
Ashley Shaw nodded, opened the door herself, and got in.
The back of the van was filled with cupcakes, and Ashley Shaw nestled in a corner, carefully guarding them.
The deputy manager glanced at the rear-view mirror inside the car, noticing Ashley Shaw protectively watching over the cupcakes like a mother hen, and a gentle smile unknowingly appeared on his lips.
Thirty minutes later, the van drove into the Lynch Group’s underground garage.
Ashley Shaw had been focused on the cupcakes the whole time, not even noticing they had arrived at a Lynch building.
The deputy manager parked the car and turned to her, "Ashley, wait in the car for a moment while I go to their company and ask if they have a cart."
"Alright."
Ashley Shaw nodded, opened the door, and waited by the car.
Just as the deputy manager entered the elevator, two meticulously dressed men approached her from behind.
"Are you from Pastoral Charm?"
Ashley Shaw responded, "Yes, we’re here to deliver the cakes. My colleague went to find a cart."
"The company doesn’t have any carts."
"Then I’ll have my colleague come back."
Ashley Shaw took out her phone to call the deputy manager, but one of the men stopped her.
"Our leader is in a hurry, so let’s not waste time. Let’s carry some up now, and we’ll help you with some as well. Your colleague should be able to figure it out when they come down."
Seeing the urgent looks on their faces, Ashley Shaw didn’t think much of it. After agreeing, she started stacking the cupcakes from the car.
Her strength had been built up from this kind of work, and she carried more than the other two men.
Following their lead, Ashley Shaw entered another elevator.
The elevator stopped on the 13th floor.
With the "ding" of the elevator door opening, one of the men reminded her, "The cocktail party is in the meeting hall at the far end, let’s go."
He nodded towards the front, indicating for her to walk ahead.
At the entrance of the meeting hall, two security personnel stood watch, and as Ashley Shaw and the two men approached, they opened the doors from both sides.
The meeting hall was arranged like a banquet hall, with a champagne tower spiraling upwards in the center, a bright crystal chandelier sparkling above.
Splendid and luxurious, a modern-day bacchanal.
As classical music gently floated into her ears, Ashley Shaw suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
Warren Prescott.
What was he doing here?
Could this be... the Prescott Group?
At the entrance, Ashley Shaw shook her head internally, telling herself not to think too much about it.
Whether it was the Prescott Group or the Orne Group, she was simply here to make a delivery.
"Excuse me, where should I place these cakes?"
...
Meanwhile, Warren Prescott was chatting with Cillian Xavier and hadn’t noticed Ashley Shaw at the entrance.
Warren Prescott had just arrived two minutes ago, and Cillian Xavier’s eyes were filled with surprise.
"Didn’t you ask me to come on your behalf?"
Warren Prescott smiled faintly.
"You took the invitation yourself; I didn’t say a word."
There was only one invitation. As for Warren, his face was enough of a pass.
Cillian Xavier shrugged, "What a rarity. Don’t you usually find these parties dull and avoid them?"
Warren Prescott gazed at Cillian Xavier with meaningful eyes.
"I don’t enjoy these parties, but I remember you dislike them even more. Your eagerness to attend makes me curious about what you’re up to. Come on, what’s your reason for attending? Are you hiding something from me?"
Cillian Xavier’s smile turned a bit stiff.
He indeed was hiding something from Warren Prescott.
However, it wasn’t a big matter.
His sister had told him that Ashley Shaw would be delivering cakes to Lynch Group.
But he had no intention of disrupting Ashley Shaw’s work. He had just seen a photo of her in a bright red dress and simply wanted to see her in person from afar.
If he could say a word to her, that would be even better.
Cillian Xavier looked away from Warren Prescott’s intense gaze, just about to speak when a surprised exclamation burst out—
"Ashley Shaw? Oh my god, what happened to you?"
At the entrance, Ashley Shaw had just asked where to place the cupcakes when she heard the exclamation.
She recognized the voice as that of a former classmate from before she transferred out of humanities.
His voice was loud, drawing everyone’s attention her way.
There she stood, holding dozens of boxes of cupcakes labeled "Pastoral Charm."
The attendees were all of affluence, and no one would carry so many cupcakes unless they were serving.
Yet, despite this, the girl wore a red high-fashion knee-length fitted dress that seemed out of place with her role.
A server? In high fashion?
The juxtaposition of her identity and attire was striking.
However, her beauty, captivating enough to stun the crowd, made them overlook this contradiction.
Warren Prescott and Cillian Xavier simultaneously heard "Ashley Shaw" and turned towards the entrance.
The moment they saw her, varying degrees of shock showed on their faces.
Cillian Xavier, having seen her photo before, expected to be amazed, but seeing her in person, his eyes involuntarily lit up even more.
Warren Prescott, on the other hand, was completely taken aback.
He barely recognized her.
The Ashley Shaw he remembered always had a bare face, hidden behind thick, outdated black-rimmed glasses. But the Ashley Shaw now seemed like a completely different person.
She was bold, radiant, like a noble swan princess or a blooming red rose.
Her beauty was subtly aggressive and mesmerizing.
For a moment, Warren Prescott was stunned, feeling an urge rising within him to hide her away.