Chapter 95
Ever since Bentley told them of Jojo’s resignation, Ashley’s mind had not been settled. She knew for a fact that Jojo had not resigned. The alpha had bitten off more than he could chew and decided to send Jojo away for it. If Jojo ever had thoughts about leaving, she would have known. But instead, Jojo was not even allowed to pack her belongings from the room, they were currently being packed into a Hilux truck which would deliver them to whatever address she provided.
Ashley and Zita stood in the corridor and watched in silence, while Jojo’s belongings were packed out of her room. She could tell from the dust n the air, that they were sweeping out everything she ever touched. Their training session today had been very stressful. Zelda and the rest of the girls had decided to get ice cream, but all Ashley and Zita wanted to do was rest.
But Ashley was not sure if she wanted to rest anymore. Anger blossomed in the pit of her stomach as she stood in the corridor, Zita chewed away on her gum, muttering words Ashley could not hear. Her anger had made her deaf to everything else, apart from the voices screaming in her head, yelling at her, ordering her to match to Jojo’s room and give everyone in there a speech of their lives. However, Ashley was fighting to ignore the voice. Whatever had happened, Ashley hoped that Jojo would be strong enough to get through it.
That was, of course, before she saw Kenji step out of the room, his phone pressed on his right ear as he spoke, staring down at the wristwatch strapped on his left wrist. Ashley’s jaw hardened, and her eyes darkened on him. From beside her, she could see Zita stare down at her fists which had now rolled into tight balls.
“Ashley, whatever it is you are planning on doing, I strongly suggest that you do not do it,” Zita whispered, but Ashley ignored her. She could not help it. It was so annoying to think that Kenji had supported the alpha’s decision to kick Jojo out, for reasons best known to them, even after they knew everything the girl had passed through and was still struggling with. Livid with anger, and smoldered with annoyance, her nose twitched as she stomped over to where Kenji stood. When she planted herself in front of his tall frame, his eyes landed on her, and a smirk formed on his lips.
“Hold on, man. I’ll call you back.” He said before he ended the call. Ashley watched him slip the phone into his back pocket. He leaned against the door frame with both hands in his side pockets, still smiling at Ashley.
“It seems like somebody missed me. It’s a good thing because I missed you too.” He was still speaking in hushed tones, as though he was scared someone behind the door was going to hear him.This content is © NôvelDrama.Org.
He still wanted their relationship to remain a secret, he was still ashamed of her. The realization cut across Ashley’s chest like a sharp dagger. She could not tell what held her anger now; Jojo’s case or his selfishness.
Whichever one it is, that did not matter.
“Get over yourself, beta Kenji. I am not here for you.” Ashley did not keep her voice as low as he had kept his. Kenji’s eyes widened. He tilted his neck to peep into the room before he looked back at her.
He reached out to touch her shoulder, but Ashley brushed his hand off her body, her face was laden with disgust.
“Ashley, we can go outside and talk. We do not have to…”
“We do not have to go anywhere, beta Kenji! Now, I’m going to ask you questions and you are going to answer me because I do not even know what to think of you anymore! You are all the same, the lot of you. You think that just because you have the money to pay us and influence to make us to do what you want, you can manipulate our lives as you please, do you not?” Again, as she screamed at the top of her voice, Ashley did not know if she was referring to Jojo’s case, or hers.
Kenji arched a confused brow. She was screaming at the top of her voice, calling out the alpha and himself. Kenji did not mind, but Lake was behind that door, supervising the items that were taken away and the ones that stayed. For some reason, the alpha had been very particular about the assignment.
“Ashley, what are you talking about? Look, let’s just go outside, step away from the dust, and…”
“What happened to Jojo? How could she be fired like that? How could you even let this happen to her? Do you know how much of her life depended on this job? All of it! All of it, beta Kenji!” Her shoulders rose and fell heavily, along with her chest.
“Do you think she ever wanted to be a stripper? She never wanted it! But life just had to bring her here! It just had to. Her family depended on it, and they still do! Her sick mother, her sister, you two knew all of this, and yet you… yet you did this to her.”
Kenji watched her scream on, he stayed quiet until he was sure she had said all she wanted to say. When he saw that she had stopped speaking and her breathing pattern was slowly returning to normal, he finally thought it wise to speak.
“Firing Jojo was a unanimous decision by the board. It was not by one person, it’s not what you’re thinking.” Kenji knew he was lying. He still did not know why Lake had asked her to leave, but Ashley did not need to know that.
It was obvious she did not believe him.
She scoffed, and a bitter chuckle escaped her throat as she did so.
She placed her right index finger on his chest and poked it.
“Screw you, and screw your entire board.” She spat out.
Ashley hissed and turned away from him, heading to her room door. Zita was there, right in front of her door, with a deep scowl on her face.
Ashley threw her a dead stare, but Zita did not move.
“Listen, Ash, you should chill about this Jojo girl. I mean, who cares that she is gone? We should be happy! That’s one less person for the crowd to watch, less competition, and more eyes on us.”
Ashley felt her skin crawl and burn. Her stomach revolted against her and she wanted nothing more than to vomit on Zita’s face. Did jealousy make people lack human empathy? Or was Zita just a terrible person?
Ashley shook her head, and a disappointed frown formed on her face.
“No one was ever in competition with you, Zita. You were always your enemy. Jojo was never in competition with you, the alpha only saw the better woman, and chose her.”
The words resounded in Zita’s ears. In a flash of anger, she raised her left hand to strike Ashley’s face, but something – or someone – quickly pushed Ashley away and seized Zita’s wrist.
Ashley stared at the man in front of her, and the woman who had just nearly slapped her. Both Kenji and Zita frowned at each other.
Ashley’s eyes danced between the both of them. The sight only irritated her. She pushed her door open and flung herself into her room.