A Love Trap

Chapter 33 Call Him By His First Name

Andrew blinked, and turned his attention back to the seat belt, helping Ashley buckle up nonetheless. After that, he slumped back into his seat.

Ashley heaved a breath of relief.

Andrew fastened his own seat belt. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked intently at Ashley. "Are you okay?" he asked deliberately, noticing that her cheeks were completely flushed pink.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied faintly, her voice slightly quivering.

"But why are you blushing so much?" Andrew pressed.

Ashley was speechless. 'What's going on? I thought he was an aloof, bossy, difficult man of a few words, ' she thought, baffled.

"It's not a big deal," Ashley said with a nervous laugh. "Perhaps it's just the heat. I think it's better to let some air in," she added as she rolled down the window.

Andrew started the car and drove away. With a pensive look, Ashley stared out the car window, allowing the cool breeze to gently caress her rosy cheeks. Soon enough, the blush on her face faded slowly.

She could imagine how worried Ellie was right now since she didn't go home last night.

Besides, she didn't know how to explain to Ellie for her sleeping over without telling her.

She didn't think it was a good idea to tell the truth to her best friend. If she told her that she had been set up by Lena, got tipsy and slept over at a man's house, her bestie might never let her leave the house alone.

But she felt lucky that she had met a gentleman like Andrew. She couldn't imagine the consequences if she had met someone with bad intentions the previous night.

Ashley didn't remember what had happened to her after she ran into Andrew last night. She had no idea that he had seen her naked since he had helped her change her clothes.

Perhaps Ashley wouldn't think so highly of Andrew if she found out what he had done to her.

Although Andrew was driving, he stole Ashley glances every now and then.

Noticing that Ashley was looking a bit troubled, he assumed that it was because of his sister's rude behavior towards her earlier that day.

He pressed his lips and looked at her at the corner of his eyes. "Are... Are you still angry?" Andrew asked hesitantly.

"Pardon me? What did you say?" Ashley asked, turning to look at Andrew.

She was so focused on how she would explain to Ellie that she wasn't able to hear Andrew's question.

"Are you still mad about what Susie said to you? How about I ask her to make an apology to you in person?" Andrew offered as he held tightly onto the steering wheel.

"What? You'll ask her to apologize to me? Fine! I'd like to hear her apology," Ashley replied with a subtle smile.

She was joking. After all, Susie was his sister. Although Susie had pissed her off, she was over it.

The false accusations of being a bitch had upset Ashley a lot. But later she mulled it over, and thought that she should forgive Andrew's sister. It was easy to jump to assumptions, especially with the scene

earlier that morning. Anyone who had seen her in Andrew's house would misunderstand her relationship with him.

And she assumed that Susie had made disrespectful remark to her because she felt sorry for the girl named Lesley.

The moment Andrew heard her reply, he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Seeing that he was about to make a call, Ashley immediately snatched his phone from him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I was about to call Susie and ask her to say sorry to you face-to-face," Andrew replied frankly. He wasn't annoyed by Ashley's sudden action; instead, his mood lit up.

Ashley was at a loss for words. 'It was just a joke. Why would he take it seriously?' she wondered.

Out of the blue, an affection had started to swell inside her.

It did take her by great surprise that Andrew would take her joke seriously.

What she didn't know was that Andrew would do anything to please her even if he had to risk his relationship with his sister.

Andrew had no idea what was wrong with him. When he met Ashley for the first time, he was convinced that she was the right person for him. It only took this woman to make him feel complete. He couldn't bear to see her cry, hurt or live a hard life.

"There is no need. I am not angry. I was just joking around," Ashley said shaking her hands defensively. She was a little embarrassed at Andrew's actions.

Andrew said nothing more and turned his attention back on the road.

As the silence drew on, Ashley turned to Andrew. With a sullen face, he kept his eyes on the road and concentrated on driving.

Ashley bit her lower lip, lost in thought. 'Did he get angry?

I shouldn't have joked about it. But I didn't mean to upset him.'

"Mr. Lu?

Mr. Lu, are you mad at me? I was just joking. I'm not angry. After all, she is your sister. Besides, she said those harsh words because she misunderstood our relationship. I'm over it," Ashley explained nervously.

She didn't know what was on his mind. 'Did he really get upset because of my joke?' she wondered.

"Andrew," he said in an emotionless voice.

"Huh?" Ashley responded, with a bewildered look at him.

"My name is Andrew," Andrew said without sparing her a glance.

Ashley was rendered speechless. 'Did he want me to call him by his first name?' she wondered.

"Andrew... Lu?" Ashley called out his name hesitantly.

"Yup," Andrew responded flatly.

"Well, um, are you upset with me?" Ashley asked gingerly as she watched him intently.

"No, I'm not.

Susie is my half sister. We're not close," Andrew expounded.

"I see," Ashley nodded.

An awkward silence followed. Andrew was not a talker. Besides, he seldom spent time with girls. As a result, he didn't know what to say to her in the first place.

As for Ashley, she also didn't know what to say. After all, Andrew was just a stranger to her.

All of a sudden, Andrew's phone rang, breaking the silence.

Ashley gave Andrew's cell phone back to him.

He caught a glimpse of the screen and saw that it was Johnny calling.

Ashley blinked her long eyelashes, assuming that Johnny was Andrew's assistant.

Without saying a word, he took the phone and ended the call.

However, Johnny didn't give up. He made several calls.

He called up several times, but Andrew refused to take his calls.

In the company, Johnny paced back and forth in Andrew's office. He was so anxious that he wanted to cry. 'Why won't Mr. Lu answer the phone?'

It was the first time Andrew hadn't shown up in the company. What was worse, he needed to attend an important meeting in a few minutes.

Since the meeting was quite important, Johnny called again.

Inside the Rolls-Royce, Ashley stared at Andrew's buzzing cell phone. After hesitating for a while, she suggested, "Please take it. What if he has something important to say?"

With a frown and a sigh, Andrew took her advice and picked up the phone.

"What's up?" he asked nonchalantly.

Back in Andrew's company, Johnny was so delighted when he heard Andrew's voice through the receiver.