Millionaire Girlfriend

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 - One-night stand

Clara casually sipped her wine across from Elena.

In reality, this date was anything but accidental.

Ever since becoming CEO, Clara had had less time for Ashley. After Ashley returned, Clara had quietly assigned a few bodyguards to keep an eye on her from a distance. They were supposed to report any potential threats, as well as anyone who seemed particularly interested in Ashley.

A few days earlier, one of them had mentioned Elena, a young woman who worked at the bookstore Ashley frequented.

Apparently, Elena had been paying a little too much attention to Ashley.

The bodyguard hadn’t noticed any hostility. If anything, Elena seemed to have a crush on her.

Clara immediately became curious.

Then she learned that Elena went to the same gym as Ashley.

Clara didn’t believe in coincidences.

She’d left her office despite still having work to finish, just to see for herself who this bookstore clerk was. She’d even arranged for them to cross paths and deliberately bumped into Elena.

At first, Clara had planned to toy with her. But after realizing how inexperienced Elena was how she clearly had no idea how to talk to a girl, let alone flirt with one Clara found her surprisingly cute.

So she asked for Elena’s number.

Then she invited her to dinner.

It was all part of Clara’s plan to protect Ashley.

At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

’You want to fuck my woman? No. I’m gonna be the one who fucks you,’ she thought.

In Clara’s mind, she wasn’t really cheating. She just wanted to sleep with Elena so she’d get Ashley out of her head.

Besides, she was doing it for Ashley. She was making sure Ashley wouldn’t be tempted to cheat because of all the pretty girls who flirted with her.

At least, that was the story Clara kept telling herself.

Deep down, though, she knew she was playing with fire.

If Ashley found out, Clara was going to be in serious trouble.

That was why she’d been careful.

Or so she thought.

A waitress suddenly approached and whispered something in Clara’s ear.

"The chef wants to see you in the kitchen."

Clara frowned.

"What’s going on?" Elena asked.

"She says the chef wants to see me," Clara replied before following the waitress toward the kitchen.

The moment she stepped inside, she froze.

Ashley was standing there with her arms crossed.

Clara had told her she’d be home late because she still had work to finish.

’How the hell did Ashley find out about my secret date?’ Clara wondered.

Ashley turned toward her, her expression cold and furious.

Clara knew immediately.

She was screwed.

"You’re a fucking liar and a cheater. You told me you’d be home late because you had a ton of work to do," Ashley said.

"Ashley, it’s not what you think," Clara said quickly.

"The bodyguards I secretly assigned to protect you told me the girl I’m having dinner with had been keeping an eye on you," Clara explained. "She even followed you to the gym. I invited her out without telling her who I was, just to find out what she wanted and make sure she wasn’t a threat."

"Oh, really?" Ashley said, clearly unconvinced.

"That’s why you arranged a private dinner with her while telling me you had to work?"

Clara hesitated.

"And that’s why you’re dressed like that?" Ashley added.

"Yes. Exactly."

Clara tried to keep a straight face.

Ashley stared at her.

"Stop lying, Clara. I know you just want to fuck her."

The disappointment in Ashley’s eyes made Clara’s stomach drop.

"I don’t want to let you do that," Ashley continued. "Tell her you have somewhere urgent to be. Go make her leave nicely."

Clara did exactly that, even though she caught the disappointment in Elena’s eyes as she left.

"There. It’s done," Clara said when she returned.

"For the record, I haven’t actually done anything yet."

Ashley shot her another cold look.

They left the restaurant together in Clara’s car.

Ashley remained silent for several minutes.

"How did you know?" Clara finally asked.

"When I called your office, your assistant told me you’d already left. So, as usual, I checked the tracker I secretly installed on your phone," Ashley explained.

Clara went silent.

"I’m sorry."

"Don’t be," Ashley replied, resting her head against the window. "It’s not your fault that I’m not enough for you."

The hurt in Ashley’s voice hit Clara hard.

"Stop saying that. You know you’re the most important person in my life."

Ashley didn’t look convinced.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" Clara asked.

"Nothing. Let’s just forget about it," Ashley replied.

"No. Ask me for anything, and I’ll do it," Clara insisted.

"Anything?" Ashley asked.

Clara almost changed her answer, but she wanted Ashley to forgive her.

"Yeah. Anything," Clara confirmed.

Ashley hummed thoughtfully.

"I want you to know what it feels like every time you pull something like this on me. So I’m going to sleep with Elena."

"WHAT?!"

Clara hadn’t expected that. Not even remotely.

"Keep your eyes on the road. You’re driving," Ashley said. "You said you’d agree to anything. Well, that’s what I want. I’m going to sleep with Elena."

Clara took a deep breath.

She knew there was no way she was going to change Ashley’s mind. And yet, she couldn’t accept Ashley actually doing it when she had planned to do the exact same thing behind Ashley’s back.

"Fine. Do whatever you want," Clara said.

"Yeah. I’m going to do it," Ashley shot back, clearly determined to teach Clara a lesson.

-------

"What’s with that look on your face?" Angela asked, noticing Elena had been lost in thought since she arrived.

When Elena got home after her date with Clara, she’d been disappointed. She hadn’t expected much, but she’d at least hoped they’d have a good evening.

And they had.

At first.

Then Clara started acting strangely after returning from the kitchen.

Later that night, Clara texted Elena to say she was going away for a while.

Elena knew what that meant.

There was a good chance Clara would never contact her again.

What a disappointment.

She’d already started imagining where things might go.

Still, Elena wasn’t the type to get attached easily. If Clara never contacted her again, she’d simply forget about her.

"Nothing. I was just thinking," Elena said before returning to work.

She straightened the books, put the chairs back, and wiped dust from the shelves.

Basically, all the boring stuff that came with working at a bookstore.

It wasn’t exactly a great day.

Honestly, Elena just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep until her problems disappeared.

Then someone walked through the front door.

Ashley.

And this time, she was alone.

Elena immediately hurried behind the counter.

"Hi, Ashley. Welcome."

"Hey. Thanks."

Ashley approached the counter, then suddenly became serious.

"Can I talk to you in private?"

Elena tensed.

’Could she somehow know that I’d gone to the gym yesterday to spy on her?’ she wondered.

"Uh... yeah, sure. Follow me."

Elena led Ashley into the storage room.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Elena asked, already preparing excuses in case Ashley accused her of something.

"I want to ask you a favor," Ashley said.

Elena relaxed slightly.

"Sure. What is it?" Elena asked.

"I want us to sleep together," Ashley said very directly.

"WHAT?!"

Elena couldn’t believe her ears.

Elena stared at her.

"I want us to sleep together," Ashley repeated.

"You have feelings for me, don’t you?" Ashley asked.

Elena could have lied.

But why?

"Why do you want us to sleep together?" she asked instead.

"It’s to teach my girlfriend a lesson. Kind of a revenge thing."

That was when Elena realized Ashley liked women.

And she actually had a girlfriend.

"Why would sleeping with me teach your girlfriend a lesson?" Elena asked.

"She’s cheated on me several times. When I agreed to forgive her, I told her I’d cheat on her too. I chose you because you seemed nice and you’re pretty," Ashley explained, even though that wasn’t entirely true.

"So, are you in or not?" she asked.

Elena hesitated.

"Okay. I’m in."

"Great. I’ll give you my number. Text me when you finish work, and we’ll go to your place," Ashley said.

After Ashley left, Elena’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

The rest of her shift dragged by painfully slowly.

She kept checking the clock, unable to concentrate.

Every time the bookstore door opened, she instinctively looked up, half-expecting Ashley to walk back in.

She never did.

By the time her shift ended, Elena had replayed their conversation in her head at least a dozen times.

Just thinking about it made her heart race.

She said goodbye to Angela and grabbed her bag.

"See you tomorrow," Angela called.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Outside, Elena pulled out her phone and stared at Ashley’s number.

She’d only had it for less than an hour, yet she’d already looked at it more times than she wanted to admit.

’What am I even supposed to say?’

Finally, she typed:

’I’m done with work.’

The reply came almost immediately.

’Send me your address.’

Elena’s heart skipped.

She quickly sent it and started walking home.

The whole way, she couldn’t stop thinking about what was about to happen.

She’d imagined being with Ashley before.

But imagining it was one thing.

Actually having Ashley come to her apartment was something else.

By the time Elena reached her building, she was nervous enough to wonder if agreeing had been a terrible idea.

She unlocked her apartment and stepped inside.

Then she looked around.

Her apartment was a mess. Books and clothes were scattered everywhere.

Elena immediately rushed around, straightening everything she could find.

Ashley wasn’t coming over to inspect her apartment, but Elena couldn’t help herself.

A few minutes later, she finally stopped.

She went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Her hair was a mess.

She fixed it.

Then she stared at herself again.

She wasn’t usually this nervous around people.

But Ashley wasn’t just anyone.

Ashley was the woman she’d been secretly thinking about for weeks.

And now she was coming to Elena’s apartment because she wanted to sleep with her.

Elena’s stomach twisted.

When her phone buzzed, she nearly dropped it.

’I’m outside.’

The text was from Ashley.

Elena froze.

Ashley was here.

Already.

Her heart started pounding.

She took a deep breath and walked toward the door.

Her hand settled on the doorknob.

Three soft knocks followed.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Elena swallowed and opened the door.

Ashley stood on the other side.

For a second, Elena forgot how to breathe.

"Hi," Ashley said.

"Hi."

They stared at each other awkwardly.

Elena stepped aside.

"Come in."

Ashley gave her a small smile and walked inside.

Elena closed the door behind her.

And suddenly, they were alone.

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