Chapter 336: Chapter 336: Not Jealous at All
Just as Ashley Shaw walked in, she ran into Claudia Jennings coming out from a side room, accompanied by a flamboyantly dressed lady.
Faintly, Ashley Shaw could hear the sound of mahjong tiles from that little room.
It seemed Claudia Jennings had invited her close friends over to her house.
Ashley Shaw stopped in her tracks and said to Claudia Jennings, "Aunt Jennings, happy birthday. This is the birthday gift I bought for you."
Claudia Jennings glanced at the perfume gift bag that Ashley Shaw handed over, a flash of joy crossing her eyes momentarily.
But she quickly suppressed that joy, took the gift bag, and in a detached tone said, "No need to bring gifts next time, just take a seat, dinner will be ready in half an hour."
"Okay." Ashley Shaw nodded gently and walked towards Livia Sutton.
Sitting at Livia Sutton’s feet was a golden retriever, which looked somewhat aged, with graying fur on its face, lying there quietly.
Ashley Shaw went to the sofa, while Warren Prescott happened to receive a call from Mark and stepped out with his phone.
The woman behind Claudia Jennings spoke softly at this moment, "Is this the cheap daughter you mentioned before?"
Upon hearing the words "cheap daughter," Claudia Jennings felt a faint discomfort in her heart but still nodded lightly, "Yes."
The woman tutted, "She looks quite pretty, but just a bit too petty. On such an important day as your birthday, she actually gave you a perfume worth a few hundred dollars. But it’s understandable, without parents, she probably doesn’t have much money; a few hundred bucks for a perfume is not easy for her to manage."
Claudia Jennings’s face suddenly turned dark.
"What’s the importance of how expensive a gift is? What matters is the thought. I’ve been collecting perfumes of various brands and scents recently, she’s catering to my interest. Who’s petty, I think you’re the one who’s being petty."
The woman was taken aback, her eyes in shock.
"Kimberly?"
Claudia Jennings said emotionlessly, "I almost forgot, I didn’t reserve a meal for you today, you should head back early."
After she finished speaking, she cast a glance at the butler.
The butler instantly understood, and with a smile, approached, "Mrs. Alden, this way please, I’ll see you out."
While it was said as "see her out", it was clearly ushering someone out.
Mrs. Alden’s face changed dramatically, but she dared not say anything, and walked out biting her lip.
How could she have known that Claudia Jennings, like Warren Prescott, was extremely protective?
She herself could speak ill of Ashley Shaw, but others could not.
Moreover, not long ago, Warren Prescott and Elder Prescott had carefully explained to her that Mrs. Shaw’s donation back then was not for Ashley Shaw’s wealth and glory.
But rather, it was a twist of fate that Elder Prescott ended up with Mrs. Shaw’s heart.
With that, she already felt guilty towards Ashley Shaw, so how could she bear letting others speak ill of her "guests" in front of her?
These people, though said to be Claudia Jennings’s close friends, actually all needed to flatter her.
She need not spare any face for those who made her uncomfortable.
...
On the sofa side.
Ashley Shaw wasn’t aware of what happened with Claudia Jennings. She only glanced sideways seeing the butler making a "please" gesture, and the woman who was talking with Claudia Jennings earlier left without a word.
Ashley Shaw didn’t pay much attention there, instead, she started chatting with Livia Sutton.
"Hello, Miss Sutton."
When Livia Sutton saw Ashley Shaw, she inexplicably felt nervous and guilty, always feeling like she was the third party between Ashley Shaw and Warren Prescott.
Even though she didn’t want to come either, it was because Claudia Jennings had called home, and her dad forced her to come.
She quickly stood up from the sofa and reached out her hand to Ashley Shaw.
"Hello, Miss Shaw."
"You can just call me Ashley." Ashley Shaw’s smile deepened, pointing to the golden retriever on the ground, she asked, "Is this your dog?"
Livia Sutton immediately shook her head, "No, it was already here when I came."
"Oh?"
Ashley Shaw was taken aback for a moment, then heard Warren Prescott’s voice coming from the doorway.
"It’s Maeve’s dog."
Ashley Shaw was a beat slow in realizing who Maeve was.
At the time when Maeve was suspected of conspiring with Damon Crawford to kidnap her, she cried saying her family had a dog, that if she was taken away, the dog would starve to death.
So, she asked Warren Prescott to check if there really was a dog.
She remembered Warren Prescott saying that it was just an excuse for Maeve not to be taken away, but she never expected Maeve indeed had a dog.
Even more unexpectedly, Warren Prescott actually went to verify it.
Most unexpectedly, he even brought the dog back.
Ashley Shaw couldn’t help but recall, in her past life, when she brought a stray dog home once, Warren Prescott had said that dogs carried viruses, and told her not to bring the virus back home.
But now... what was going on?
Does he no longer mind the dog carrying viruses?
Warren Prescott took a step forward, and the dog that was dozing on the floor instantly opened its eyes, happily running towards him.
It seemed it had already been kept for a few days.
Warren Prescott reached out to rub the dog’s head and said, "Maeve hadn’t taken good care of this dog before. After I brought it out, I sent it to a pet school. It’s just come back the past couple of days, much more obedient now."
Ashley Shaw’s mind was still blank. Then, Livia Sutton smiled and said, "No wonder it seems so well-behaved, it’s a dog that’s gone to school. By the way, how old is it?"
Warren Prescott glanced sideways at Ashley Shaw, who hadn’t spoken, and replied, "Nine years old."
"Oh? Then it’s quite old, might be a bit troublesome to care for."
"There are golden retrievers that live to twenty years. However, keeping a dog is indeed troublesome, if it weren’t for someone insisting I check, I wouldn’t have gotten such a hassle."
Someone...
Ashley Shaw suddenly realized he was talking about herself, and felt a bit complicated.
She even felt like she had become one of those bad leaders who just order around, causing the subordinates below to run tirelessly.
And Warren Prescott, was that poor employee running tirelessly.
"Ahem..." Ashley Shaw coughed lightly and said, "I remember our part-time convenience store boss mentioning he wanted to have a golden retriever. Why don’t I ask him if he’s willing..."
Before she finished her sentence, Warren Prescott interrupted her directly.
"Willing what? I spent tens of thousands getting a professional to train the dog, and you’re saying just to give it away?"
Ashley Shaw choked, hurriedly waving her hand to explain.
"I didn’t mean that, I was worried about causing you trouble, so I said I’d ask..."
"Trouble?"
Warren Prescott snorted with an unclear meaning.
Could a dog be more trouble than a person?
Was he annoyed by the dog? He was actually upset that some people didn’t even give him a look of gratitude.
Besides, the Sutton Family’s Miss coming over this time was clearly his mom wanting to set them up.
Ashley Shaw, however, was chatting happily with her.
Clearly, he didn’t matter to her at all, which was why she wasn’t jealous in the slightest.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got; he bluntly threw out, "If I really found it troublesome, I wouldn’t have brought it back in the first place."
After saying that, he went upstairs, leaving Ashley Shaw with a cold back.