Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Stop Right There!
As a lawyer, Shane Coleman still has a bit of sharpness about him.
Owen Sinclair never used to ask him who he was on the phone with.
And when Owen called "Ashley," Shane always sensed an inexplicable intimacy in his tone.
He couldn’t help but glance at Owen and then said jokingly, "Is the great actor eavesdropping? You can hear Ashley’s voice even standing at the door."
Owen gave a dry cough, a trace of guilt flashing across his face.
"No... I just happened to hear you call Ashley’s name as I came over."
Shane caught the fleeting guilt on Owen’s face.
"Oh..."
He prolonged the sound and after hesitating for a moment, his expression turned serious.
"Owen, I’m telling you, you can be interested in anyone. But Ashley is still young, she’s a future university student, isn’t this a bit..."
"What are you thinking!" Owen furrowed his handsome brows and said, "That’s not what I meant at all! Stop right there!"
Shane observed Owen’s expression and realized he was genuinely annoyed, confirming it was indeed a misunderstanding on his part.
Otherwise, with Owen’s personality, he would have admitted it if he was interested.
Shane was even more puzzled.
"Then if that’s not what you meant, why did you start asking about her? I thought you were going wild after your divorce."
Owen said with a darkened face, "Even if I were going wild, I wouldn’t go after a kid, let alone Ashley!"
Shane picked up on a key phrase.
"What do you mean ’let alone Ashley’? Why do I always feel like you’re hiding something from me?"
The two had built a strong friendship during the divorce case, and both knew each other was reliable.
So after a moment’s hesitation, Owen laid everything out on the table.
Shane’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"You, you, you just said what? You said Ashley might be your biological daughter?"
Owen glanced at him.
"Keep your voice down, aren’t there enough headlines about me recently?"
Shane immediately covered his mouth.
But seeing the office door was closed, he quickly removed his hand and asked about some details.
"To see if she’s your daughter, can’t you just ask what her mother’s name is?"
"I asked."
"And?"
"It wasn’t."
Shane let out a "hey," and said, "...then she’s not your daughter."
Owen adjusted to a more comfortable position and said, "Do you know why I suddenly went to such a remote place yesterday?"
"Didn’t you say you were helping a friend as a guest host?"
"That was just incidental. I mainly went to Ashley’s hometown."
Shane remained silent, waiting for Owen to continue.
Owen said, "I found out her mother never married and changed her name."
Shane’s eyelid twitched intensely.
"And the name before?"
"Couldn’t find out. Their family doesn’t have a good relationship with the village, and even though I paid, they only told me this much. It seems they really don’t know what Ashley’s mother’s previous name was, maybe she changed it a long time ago."
Shane looked steadily at Owen, finally saying, "It seems you came here today with ulterior motives."
Otherwise, the studio matters could entirely be handled over the phone; there was no need for a personal visit.
After all, Owen is a famous actor right in the middle of a divorce scandal.
Going out once, too many eyes are watching.
Getting away from so many eyes to come here to him isn’t an easy feat.
Owen pulled a gentlemanly yet sincere smile.
"Attorney Coleman, I entrust this to you."
"..."
Although nothing was said, Shane roughly understood what Owen wanted him to help with.
"Sigh!" He sighed and said, "Handling your divorce case, my only regret was that you didn’t have a child after so many years of marriage... Don’t worry, if Ashley really is your daughter, I will help you."
"Thanks. And Ashley’s legal case, please pay extra attention; I’ll cover her legal fees."
"Hmm! Even without you saying it, I would do a good job. Ashley and her friend’s case is my last case in Westcroft, and I am a person who sees things through to completion."
"Your last case?"
"Indeed, I’m a busy man! I told you just two days ago that I’m moving to Aethelgard as an attorney."
Owen recalled that, gently nodding his head.
"Then I guess I’ll move to Aethelgard too."
"Pfft—" Shane spit out the water he just drank.
Thankfully he didn’t spit it on Owen’s expensive suit.
Owen disdainfully shifted to the side.
"Why?"
Wiping his mouth, Shane said, "Why would you follow me over there? Weren’t you saying you liked the southern climate?"
Owen’s expression showed even more disdain.
"Who’s following you? Ashley is going to university in Aethelgard."
"Ahem!" Shane awkwardly cleared his throat, pretending nothing happened, "Ashley will come to see me in a couple of days, I’ll message you then, make sure to come over."
"Thanks."
With that, Owen got up without hesitation and said, "I’m leaving now."
"Hey! Don’t rush off! Give me some spoilers, did your dating show have any results?"
Owen’s steps didn’t stop as he put on a mask and left the office.
"Tsk! Stingy!"
...
Spectator Tower.
After the call, Ashley Shaw glanced at the meeting room.
Hesitating for a while, she chose not to go back in, planning to wait for Warren Prescott in his office.
If she stayed longer, who knows if they’d throw more odd jobs at her.
It was almost lunchtime, so she planned to order some takeout and eat before Warren finished his meeting.
However, as Ashley Shaw reached the corner, she saw the person who claimed to be Team Leader Coleman exit the elevator.
Ashley pretended not to see him, keeping her gaze straight ahead as she continued walking.
Yet, Shawn Coleman spotted her instantly.
"Hey, Ashley Shaw!"
Ashley frowned slightly but continued to pretend as if she hadn’t heard anything and quickened her pace.
"I’m calling you, stop right there!"
Shawn quickly caught up and blocked Ashley’s path.
Reluctantly, Ashley stopped, her eyes showing a hint of impatience.
"Team Leader Coleman, I’m very busy. Please find someone else if you have something to discuss."
"Hey! You, I haven’t even found fault with you, and you’re already blaming me."
Ashley’s frown deepened.
What did she say that blamed him?
Besides, she had already helped move the water for free, what right did he have to fault her?
"What do you mean by that?" she asked.
Shawn crossed his arms.
"I’m asking what you mean. I only asked you to help deliver some water, and you couldn’t even do such a simple task right? It got me a reprimand from the higher-ups."
"When did I get you reprimanded by the higher-ups?"
"See for yourself!"
Shawn pulled up the chat records on his phone and showed them to Ashley.
She quickly skimmed them.
The crux was that he had failed to properly arrange for water delivery, and even the three men in charge got reprimanded, being forced to deliver the water for her.
Ashley roughly guessed who sent that message.
It was likely the junior executive who had initially asked her to deliver the water.