He said he was working overtime half an hour ago, and then I couldn’t reach him no matter what I did. That was impossible. I stood before the door and went through my call record to call back.
The phone kept beeping, but nobody picked it up until the end. Ashton had always been a light sleeper, nor would he leave a personal call hanging for no reason. I knew it. He’s in trouble.
I pondered on the matter for a short while before video calling Joseph. He took it a while later, his background a great scenery. “Do you need anything, Mrs. Fuller?” His face was deadpan as ever.
“Where’s Ashton?”
“He didn’t tell me where he’s going,” he blurted without thinking.
“Is that so?” Nope, that was obviously a lie. Ashton wouldn’t keep him around as his assistant if he didn’t even know where his boss went. “Fine. I won’t look for him then, but I’ll have to see you. Where are you right now?”
Joseph thought about it for a moment before answering, “I’ll go over to you, alright?”
“Good. We’ll meet up at Fuller Corporation. I’ll be waiting in Ashton’s office. You have twenty minutes.” I hung up before he could say anything.
I leaned back against the chair, looking up, and thought about Ashton’s reaction earlier. He had great control over his emotions, so he wouldn’t show any signs of pain unless it was unbearable for him.
I knew how powerless a patient was against their illness since I had experience with it. The pain was more than enough to strip anyone of the façade they were wearing, revealing their true self.
Well, that was the worst-case scenario. Maybe Ashton was just handling a tough issue. For our sake, I hope it was the latter since his life was more important than any estate after all.
Even though I gave him twenty minutes, Joseph only came after nearly half an hour. “I’m sorry for being late, Mrs. Fuller. I had some matters to settle.” He bowed.
Instead of greeting him back, I stared at him coolly. A long while later, I said, “You were with Ashton.”
“No.” Joseph didn’t meet my eyes. “You’re reading too much into it, Mrs. Fuller. I was held up by work.”
I pursed my lips and held my silence. Ashton had told him many times that Joseph should drop everything if he or I needed him. Joseph had never gone against that command, so I thought he might not be lying. However, that was also proof that the matter he had to settle must be huge, or he wouldn’t have let me wait.
The tension in the air rose for a long while, then I broke the silence. “Fine. Tell me what you were doing then. You have no reason to hide that from me, do you, Mr. Campbell?”
“Of course.” Joseph was surprisingly cooperative and looked up at me, his gaze calm. “Mr. Fuller said he’d be a guarantor during the interview so Thora can take over the Pitcoin business. Securities and Exchange Commission officers are supervising the company right now, and they’ll be auditing us tomorrow. I have to get everything ready by tonight.”
Well, that sounded reasonable. Since Joseph answered that calmly, I thought I might have been a bit too paranoid. I decided to come to the company on a whim, so it was unlikely that Joseph could come up with a lie when he was already so busy. Besides, getting audited by the SEC was a big issue. The media would set its eyes on the matter, so his lie would be exposed easily.
Silence descended on the office, and the air turned awkward. I thought something was off, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. Then someone opened the door, and in came Ashton.
He was standing at the doorstep, looking inscrutable and handsome as usual. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was in his twenties.
