Chapter 4

Ashley thought for a while. She hopes the plan works out. She remembered he gave her thirty minutes to get to Wayne's enterprise. She sighs. 

"I think I have to try this out, if it doesn't work then I will know what else to do" She arranged herself, grabbed her bag, and left the room. 

She moved towards the elevator, pressed the green button, and watched as it made way for her to enter. Ashley could remember passing through it last night, but the alcohol she took caused the havoc she is about to face. 

Finally, the elevator took her to the last floor. Ashley made her way out. She notices the environment and the way people stare at her. 

"Oh! I can see the news is all over the place. It was all my fault, but I will fix up the mess" 

Ashley quickly stopped a cab and gave him the direction she was going. Luckily for her, the little change in her bag could pay the bill. 

Ashley arrived at the venue. She saw Wayne's Enterprise boldly written on top of the building. She made her way into the building. Ashley met the receptionist and told her she had come to see the owner of the enterprise. 

The receptionist offered her a seat and made a call. The lady asked for her name. 

"I am Ashley Simpson" 

After the call, she was asked to hold on for some minutes while he was in the middle of a meeting with some board of trustees. 

Ashley wondered what her fate would be if Alex Wayne refuses to help her. 

"I won't conclude, even though he seems rude" 

She waited for twenty minutes before she was called upon to go in and see him. Ashley was ushered into the office by the secretary. She saw him sitting comfortably and staring at her. 

Alex looks so calm and gentle. He is a handsome tall guy, that was the main reason she said he looks like a Roman god. 

Alex Wayne took a good look at the young girl before him. She was the same girl he slept with. She looks so beautiful and innocent. He wondered what could make such a girl get drunk. 

Ashley and Alex were in deep thought about what happened last night and also admired each other's looks. One of them has to break the silence and talk things out before it becomes too late. 

"Good morning, Mr. Alex Wayne" She stretched forth her hand for a handshake. 

Alex recovered from his thoughts and accepted the handshake. 

"Good morning miss, sorry for keeping you waiting. I was in the middle of a meeting when your distress call came in" 

"Oh! Sorry about that. It was when I arrived here that the receptionist made me understand a meeting was going on. Pardon my manners"

Alex was impressed by how cultured she was. This is not his girlfriend who does not care about badging on him whenever he was in a meeting. Monalisa does not care if her actions hurt him, all she cares about is that he is a Billionaire. 

"It's fine, Ashley, let me offer you a drink" He stood up from his chair, but she stopped him. 

"Uhmm, Alex, I am sorry that I wouldn't be needing that. What I came here for is very important which if not taken care of will damage my family's reputation and business" 

Alex had to sit back and wondered what was wrong.

 "Ashley, you don't seem to be happy. Kindly share your problems with me" 

Ashley saw he was ready to listen to her and felt relaxed. She was about to start narrating her story when he picked up the office phone.

 "Just hold on please" 

He made a call to his secretary and told her not to accept any visitor, no matter who the person was, that he had an important meeting going on. With that statement, he ended the conversation. 

"Ashley, I am sorry but I had to make the call so nobody will distract the discussion. So, go ahead I am all ears" 

"I am Ashley Simpson. Today was supposed to be my wedding" 

Alex widened his eyes in surprise. 

"Wedding? So what happened? Why did you do what you did last night?" 

"My mother died while giving birth to me. So I have lived all my life with my father, but I never felt the excitement of having a parent for a day in my life" 

Alex's heart melted. This is a sad story, and she must have been through a lot. 

"I struggled hard to become who I am today but my father has never appreciated me. He told me some days ago that his business will be gone if I don't get married to George Chulley" 

Alex remembered that this was the name she kept calling him while in the hotel room. Who could be this George Chulley? 

"Sorry, please who is George Chulley?" Alex asked her. 

"George Chulley is the son of an oil magnate. They have a drug business. My father took a lot of loans from their company and since he couldn't pay it, he demanded I get married to him in exchange for the loan" 

"What? How can a young man say that? And your father accepted?" Alex felt bad. 

"I thought if that was the only way to make my dad appreciate me as his daughter, then I will do it. Yesterday was the engagement party with George, I couldn't imagine getting married to someone I have never met in my entire life" 

"You mean to tell me that you have never met George? What a life. Go ahead please" 

"I heard a lady say that on her day, she took alcohol to ease her worries. I felt that was the best thing to do because I can't be in my right senses and get married to someone I don't know" She paused 

"I drank lots of alcohol and got drunk. My dad called me and gave me George's room number" 

"Which was?" He asked

"Room 957 but I ended up in 857" 

"Hmm, that was a mix-up as a result of the alcohol" 

"Yes, I thought you were George Chulley. It was when my dad called me this morning and asked me why I had chosen to embarrass him, that was when I tried to find out something" 

"I searched online and found out that George Chulley had come to the public to disgrace my family, that the CCTV  captured me entering another room. That my dad lied to him about me being a Virgin which he confirmed last night that I was a cheat and a prostitute" 

"You mean he said that?" 

"Yes, and my dad said I should never come back to his house" 

"So what do you want to do about it now?" 

"I hope you can help me explain to them that it was a mistake. I was drunk and I never knew you were not George Chulley" 

She said almost in tears. 

Alex felt for her. How can this young girl be facing such in society now? 

"How old are you?" 

"I am nineteen years old" 

"Wow! You are very young to be going through this. I noticed you were still a Virgin as of yesterday. You mean you don't have a boyfriend?" 

"No, I don't"

"Very hard to believe that a girl of your age, who didn't grow up with motherly care, can be this disciplined. I salute your maturity" 

Ashley brightened up with that statement. 

"Thank you" 

Alex thought of what to do to help her out of this situation. Her father must have valued money more than his daughter. This girl has not been shown love before, she doesn't deserve this treatment. 

"Ashley, are you a graduate?" 

"Yes, I am a graduate. Why did you ask?" 

"Was pondering over something. You tried, I must commend you. Even though you had no one to encourage you, you took your studies seriously without using your father's behavior as an excuse to be wayward"

" Thank you for your compliment, I appreciate"

Alex thought of what to do, he got the idea of checking George Chulley on the net. 

"Permit me some time please"

Alex brought his computer closer to him and searched for George Chulley. He searched for the son of an oil magnate. He was surprised when he saw a fat chubby guy. 

"What the fuck! George looked so unkempt. Just look at his beard" 

He turned the system towards Ashley to confirm if he was the one.  

"Yes, this is George"

"How could your father think of giving such a beautiful girl to this ugly-looking man all because of money?" 

"I too was shocked when I saw him talking in public this morning. I've never seen him before and I don't know what he looks like"

"You know your father can be persecuted for this, right?"