Millionaire Girlfriend

Chapter 48: Chapter 48 - Meet the new CEO

Clara adjusted her earrings one last time before leaving her bedroom.

She was wearing an elegant black dress, simple enough for a professional event but still flattering on her.

Behind her, Ashley was finishing getting ready.

Clara turned around and looked at her.

Ashley was wearing a simple, elegant dress that fell just above her knees. Her long brunette hair rested naturally over her shoulders.

Clara walked over to her.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

Clara leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Let’s go."

Tonight was the night Clara would officially be introduced as the company’s interim CEO. And now that things between her and Ashley had finally settled down, Ashley had agreed to come with her.

Everyone at the company already knew Clara had gotten the position, but the board had still decided to hold a small reception at the company’s headquarters to formally introduce her.

Every employee had been invited.

It wasn’t anything particularly extravagant.

A few decorations had been put up in the main lobby, part of the space had been cleared for the employees, and several tables had been arranged around the sides. A catering service had also been hired for the evening.

Clara was used to this kind of event.

Ashley, not so much.

When they arrived at headquarters, several employees were already there.

Clara walked in with Ashley on her arm.

A few people immediately turned to look at them.

Neither of them paid much attention.

They simply smiled and nodded whenever someone greeted them.

Clara had no intention of leaving Ashley alone in the middle of all these people. She also wanted to make it very clear to Ashley that, as far as she was concerned, Ashley was the most important person in her life.

A few minutes later, after Clara had introduced Ashley to what felt like dozens of people, Ashley leaned slightly toward her.

"What the hell did I get myself into?" she whispered.

Clara barely managed to hide her smile.

A few minutes later, a man in his sixties approached them.

Clara recognized him immediately.

Clayton Turner, the chairman of the board.

"Clara. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

His gaze then shifted toward Ashley.

Clara immediately introduced them.

"Ashley, this is my grandfather’s brother, Clayton Turner. He’s also the chairman of the board. Grandpa Clayton, you already know Ashley, I assume."

Ashley shook his hand.

"It’s nice to meet you."

"Ashley, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You may not know this, but you’re pretty famous around here."

"Really?" Ashley asked, glancing at Clara, clearly wondering what exactly everyone had been saying about her.

"I wouldn’t say famous," Clara cut in. "Maybe a little famous."

Clayton chuckled.

"Anyway, I’m gonna steal Clara for a minute. Everyone here would like to hear a few words from their new CEO."

Clara glanced toward the small stage set up near the main entrance.

Her grandfather was standing behind the microphone.

"Everyone, could I have your attention, please?"

The conversations around the room gradually died down.

Clara took a breath before making her way toward the front.

She wasn’t particularly nervous.

"Thank you all for coming tonight and for staying late instead of going home and relaxing."

A few people chuckled.

"I’m not gonna drag this out with a bunch of formalities, so I’ll get straight to the point. Tonight, we’re officially welcoming our new interim CEO, who’ll be stepping in while our current CEO, Clovis Turner, recovers."

Clayton paused briefly.

"So, without further ado, please welcome our interim CEO, Clara Turner."

Clara stepped forward.

Applause filled the room.

She walked onto the small stage and took her place behind the microphone.

She looked out at the crowd.

Hundreds of employees were standing in front of her.

Several members of the board were seated in the front row, along with some of the company’s most important executives.

"Thank you all for being here."

The applause died down.

Clara continued.

"I know my appointment came as a surprise. What happened to my father was a shock to everyone, and I’m sure some of you are wondering what to expect from me."

She briefly glanced toward the board members.

"I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers already. But I know this company, and I know what we’re capable of."

She paused for a moment.

"I’ll do everything I can to live up to this responsibility. And I hope I can count on every one of you."

It wasn’t a long speech.

Clara knew better than to give people a twenty-minute lecture. Nobody wanted that.

"Thank you."

She stepped away from the microphone.

The room erupted into applause again.

Clara came down from the stage, where the board members and executives congratulated her and shook her hand one after another.

As soon as she was done, Clara immediately looked for Ashley.

She spotted her talking with Benjamin, Catherine, and Clara’s grandmother, Barbara.

Clara immediately grew worried about what her grandmother might be doing to Ashley.

’I’ve gotta go save my girl.’

She couldn’t hear them from where she was standing, but they all seemed to be laughing.

That somehow made it even more suspicious.

Clara hurried over.

Everyone turned to look at her when she arrived.

"So, what are you guys laughing about?" Clara asked suspiciously.

"We were just talking about how serious you looked during your speech," Barbara replied.

Clara hadn’t expected that answer.

But then again, no matter how important you became, your family was never going to take you completely seriously—especially when you were trying way too hard to look serious.

"Of course," Clara muttered. "I should’ve known."

"And Ashley was the first one to laugh," Catherine added.

Ashley immediately started laughing again.

"Sorry," she said between laughs. "You just looked so serious. I couldn’t help it."

"Am I a joke to you?" Clara asked.

She was actually relieved she hadn’t made eye contact with Ashley during her speech. If she’d seen Ashley laughing at her from the stage, she probably would’ve completely lost her train of thought.

At the same time, Clara couldn’t really be mad that Ashley was laughing at her.

Her grandmother probably would’ve done the exact same thing.

That was just Barbara.

’That may be why she and Ashley already found a way to get along.’

It was kind of weird to see Barbara at the event, considering she still hadn’t even visited her own son in the hospital.

Whenever her husband or grandchildren told her she should go see Clovis, her answer was always the same.

"He can come see me when he gets better."

"Anyway, Clara," Barbara suddenly said, changing the subject, "I heard from a few people that you came with your ’fiancée.’ Is the wedding coming soon?"

Ashley immediately shook her head.

"We’re not actually engaged yet."

"We decided to focus on our careers for now," Ashley added.

"That’s good," Barbara said approvingly. "Just don’t forget to enjoy being young, too. Try things. Have fun."

She paused thoughtfully.

"For example, when your grandfather and I were your age, he and six of his friends and I—"

"Grandma, no!" Clara, Catherine, and Benjamin shouted at the same time.

They all knew exactly where this was going.

Barbara had a habit of bringing up the more... adventurous parts of her youth whenever she thought her grandchildren weren’t enjoying life enough.

Barbara frowned.

"What? That’s not what you think. I was going to say that your grandfather, his friends, and I rented a big hotel back in the eighties and threw an orgy," she said.

Everyone went silent after the information Barbara had just casually dropped, sending their imaginations into some very unpleasant places.

"Okay, yeah," Benjamin finally said. "That’s somehow less horrifying than what I thought you were about to say, but it’s still disgusting."

"Don’t be such a prude," Barbara replied.

Barbara then turned her attention toward him.

"So, when are you finally going to introduce us to the person you’re dating?"

Benjamin immediately stiffened.

"I’m not dating anyone right now," he replied.

Barbara raised an eyebrow.

"If you’re worried about disappointing us, you should know we already figured out you’re gay."

Catherine, who had just taken a sip of champagne, immediately choked on it.

Clara stared at Benjamin.

"Ben, are you gay?"

"NO!" Benjamin protested.

"I’m not gay," he insisted.

To be fair, no one in the family had ever seen him seriously date a woman. But jumping straight to the conclusion that he was gay was a little ridiculous.

Sure, he’d once gotten a blowjob from a trans woman.

But in his defense, he’d been high at the time.

"Are you sure?" Barbara asked.

"Yes! I’m sure!"

"Well, that’s good," Barbara said. "But if you ever decide to come out, just remember that we don’t care if you’re a fag."

Benjamin stared at her in disbelief.

Barbara smiled innocently, as if she’d just given him the most reassuring speech in the world.

Benjamin immediately regretted that Carl wasn’t there.

Normally, Carl was the one who got targeted by their grandmother whenever Regina, Clara’s mother, wasn’t around.

But tonight, apparently, Benjamin had been chosen as the victim.

And if he didn’t find himself a girlfriend soon, there was a very real chance a rumor about him being gay would start circulating around the family.

He needed a girlfriend.

And fast.

His reputation was on the line.

Clara finally decided she’d had enough.

She reached for Ashley’s hand and gently pulled her away from the group.

Clara glanced back at her family before turning toward Ashley with a small, mischievous smile.

"Do you wanna come upstairs to my office?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah. Lead the way," Ashley replied.

They stepped into the elevator together, completely alone, their hands intertwined as they headed toward the top floor.

When they reached the top, the hallway was almost completely dark.

But the moment they stepped out of the elevator, the lights automatically flickered on, illuminating the entire hallway.

"This is actually my first time coming all the way up here," Ashley said.

"The last time I came here, your office was still a few floors down."

"Yeah. Those were the good old days," Clara said.

"No, no. It’s still the good old days—or maybe just the good days?" Clara corrected herself.

Ashley smiled.

"I didn’t realize there were this many offices on the top floor."

"There are dozens of them. And, for now, the nicest one belongs to me," Clara said proudly.

She pulled out her badge and held it against the reader beside the door.

The lock clicked.

They stepped into a waiting area with a small desk for an assistant.

Ashley looked around, impressed.

"Wow. I didn’t expect it to be this big."

"You haven’t seen anything yet."

Clara opened another door.

Ashley followed her into Clara’s actual office, where she worked, but before Ashley could fully take in the room, Clara opened another door.

Ashley looked inside.

Her eyes widened.

It was a large private bedroom with a comfortable bed, several wardrobes, and even a separate bathroom.

Some of the wardrobes were filled with clothes that clearly belonged to Clara.

Ashley slowly stepped inside.

"No way."

She immediately jumped onto the bed.

Clara laughed.

Ashley then wandered over to the bathroom.

She stared at it for a moment.

"This bathroom is way nicer than the one in my apartment," Ashley said.

"Can we move in here?" Ashley asked.

"Consider it our new home," Clara replied.

Ashley’s smile grew wider.

It was true that things between them weren’t always perfect.

But Clara had never been happier than when she was alone with Ashley, away from everyone else.

"I think if I were you, I’d sleep here all the time," Ashley said.

Before she could walk any farther, Clara reached for her hand and gently pulled her back.

"I don’t think I’d be able to sleep if you weren’t in the same place as me," Clara said.

She looked Ashley directly in the eyes as her arm slipped around her waist.

Ashley immediately wrapped her arms around Clara’s neck.

Then Ashley leaned in and kissed her deeply.

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