Free Anchor of Hope by Kiah Stephens Page B

never even got the email from you! So now Dianne thinks you took off without finishing your job.”
    Ashley’s heart began to race—she’d sent the email. She knew she had, because she worked extra hard to get it finished in time. She knew Stephanie envied her position at the office, but she didn't think she would actually stoop this low. “I can't even access my files from here. They're all stored on my laptop, which I left at home—I knew I should have brought it with me!” Ashley let out a frustrated sigh “I'll give Steph a call and see if we can figure out what is going on.”
    “Cool. But don't tell her I told you—I don't want her to know it was me, OK?”
    “I won't say anything, promise.”
    “So, anyway, how's the country? Are you missing the Big Apple yet?”
    Ashley laughed, “Well yes, and no. I miss Steven-”
    “And me!” Tania interrupted.
    “And you, of course, but it's nice to have some peace and quiet.”
    “Peace and quiet? What do you do out there?”
    “Not much. Just sit in the garden or on the jetty, and relax.”
    Tania laughed, “I think I would die of boredom. Ash, I better go, I’m meeting this guy I met at the bar on Friday night—Harry. He’s a web designer and he’s totally loaded!” Tania laughed. “He’s cute too—so it’s a win-win for me! Yay!”
    Ashley couldn't help but laugh. “Sounds great—have fun, and thanks for letting me know about work.”
    “No prob. Bye.”
    Ashley said goodbye and hung up. She immediately dialled Stephanie's number, which went straight to her voice mail. “Hey Steph, it's Ashley. Can you please give me a call as soon as you get a free chance? Thanks.”
    She hung up and took a deep breath.
    She stared at her phone, willing it to ring, but it didn't. All that could be heard was the steady chirping of the cicadas. She could hear her mother and Martin laughing in the kitchen.
    There wasn't a lot she could do from this end. She had no choice but to wait for Stephanie to call her, then she might be able to get to the bottom of it all.
    She sighed, trying to suppress her anxiety, and went back inside to help with the dinner. 
     
    The phone rang after dinner, as Ashley was getting ready for bed. Steven, not Stephanie.
    “Hey stranger,” Ashley answered the phone. “How’s everything going?”
    “Great, actually. We managed to acquire another high profile client today—and I looked at an apartment in Upper Manhattan that would blow your mind. Views straight over the city, two bedrooms, massive office, and close to everything.”
    “Sounds beautiful,” Ashley said.
    “Good, because I put a deposit on it,” Steven stated.
    “What?”
    “I bought it. For us.”
    Ashley was speechless. On one hand she felt excited that he had thought of her in his decision making, but she hadn’t even decided if she was ready to live with him yet, let alone told him.
    “It’s empty at the moment, and I pulled a few strings so we can start moving in as early as next week. I’ll arrange a removalist to do all the work so you don't have to lift a finger. I’ll take care of it all—don’t worry about a thing.”
    “Steven, I thought you said you were going to wait? I haven't even said I was ready to move in yet. I haven’t had a chance to speak with Hallie and I’m sure she’d be interested in knowing I was moving out in less than a week!”
    “I’ve already called Hallie and offered to cover the rent payments for you until she finds someone new.”
    “What?” She could hardly believe what she was hearing, and was more than a little angry that he had gone ahead and done all of this behind her back.
    “Hallie was totally fine about it,” Steven said. “So now you don't have anything holding you back, right?”
    Wrong.
    She didn't know what was holding her back, but her gut was telling her it was a bad idea.
    “I just . . . I can't believe you did that Steven.”
    “Are you serious?” Ashley detected a hint of anger in his voice.