"Gustav."

Gustav paused as he placed a folder on top of the stack Ashley still had to finish. He glanced at her, expecting a glare.

Instead, Ashley remained focused on the document she was reading.

"Take a day off today," she ordered as she flipped to the next page and scribbled a note in the margin.

"A day off?" Gustav repeated. "I don’t need a day off."

Ashley didn’t answer immediately. She finished writing, drew a large X across the page, and only then lifted her gaze to him.

"Take a day off," she repeated, firmer this time. "If you insist on working, then do something else. It’s Lukas’s shift today, isn’t it?"

Gustav opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Send him here with the next document," she continued. "And make sure he knows my schedule. He’s accompanying me to all my meetings today."

"I..." Gustav lowered his head slightly. "I don’t think that’s a good idea. If anyone needs a day off, it’s him. I’m worried he’ll work himself to death."

"Then let him die if that’s how he wants to die," Ashley replied coldly. "Send him."

She waved him away dismissively before setting aside the finished document and reaching for the next one. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Gustav stared at her for a moment before sighing softly. Then he nodded and left.

Before completely closing the door, however, he glanced back.

Ashley was still quietly working behind her desk. Then, the door clicked shut.

"Just yesterday she was complaining about work," Gustav muttered. "Now I can’t even interrupt her."

But more importantly...

He headed straight for Lukas’s office.

After a brief knock, he pushed the door open and peeked inside.

Immediately, his eyes narrowed. Lukas was working like a madman. The sight felt strangely familiar. Almost like déjà vu. Because just yesterday, Gustav had seen Ashley looking exactly the same.

He knocked again before walking in.

"I’m taking a day off," he announced. "You’ll be with her today."

Lukas stopped typing and slowly looked up. "Have you lost your mind?"

Gustav was rendered speechless.

The bags under Lukas’s eyes were even darker than they had been yesterday. At this point, they weren’t merely alarming. They were concerning.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Gustav walked closer to the desk. "Lukas, go home."

Ashley had ordered him otherwise. But Gustav was willing to deal with the consequences.

"You look like you’re about to die," he said. "Get up. I’ll take you home."

Lukas didn’t react. He simply stared at him.

"Have you lost your mind, Gustav?" he repeated dryly. "Can’t you see how I look? And you’re still asking me to follow her around?"

Gustav let out a long sigh. "It’s her order."

"What?"

"But in your condition, I’ll talk to her." Gustav waved dismissively. "I’ll explain the situation."

Lukas snorted. Before he could respond, a knock came from the door.

Both men instinctively turned toward it.

The door opened, and Ashley poked her head inside.

"I’m heading out," she said without preamble. "Lukas, let’s go."

Then she closed the door again.

The two men stared at it. Lukas turned to Gustav.

"Did you hear that?" he asked in disbelief. "Gustav, I can’t—"

"Sorry." Gustav sighed. "You have to go."

"Damn it!" Lukas ruffled his hair irritably. "What does she want now?"

*****

Ashley sipped her iced black coffee through a straw as she looked around the café near the company building.

Lukas sat across from her with a deadpan expression.

"Seriously?" he snorted. "You dragged me here for what? To watch people come and go?"

Ashley ignored him. She simply sat there, quietly enjoying the music playing through the café speakers.

Occasionally, she watched employees from the company stop by for coffee during their breaks.

"Tsk." Lukas clicked his tongue and looked away. "What a waste of time. Instead of working..."

A second later, Ashley slid a folder across the table.

His brow rose. "What is this?"

Opening it, he immediately frowned. A giant X had been written across the first page.

He recognized the document.

As he continued reading, he found notes in the margins and several sections circled in red.

The deeper he went, the tighter his brows became.

"This is just one of the documents you sent to my office this morning," Ashley said calmly.

She met his eyes. "See how little sense it makes now?"

Her expression sharpened.

"Maybe it’s the lack of sleep. Maybe it’s poor nutrition. Maybe it’s your current commitment to self-destruction." She leaned back. "Either way, you showed up today."

Her gaze hardened.

"So I’ll judge your work based on your output." She tapped the folder. "And what I read today is enough to earn you a warning."

Lukas stared at her.

"Go home," she said as she stood and picked up her coffee. "Take a few days off."

She shrugged. "You’re not helping anymore. I don’t need extra garbage piling up in my office."

Ashley turned and walked away.

"Your office?" Lukas scoffed.

She stopped. Turning slightly, she looked over her shoulder.

"That isn’t your office," he said mockingly. "It’s my master’s. You’re only there until he comes back."

Ashley simply looked at him. The moment their eyes met, Lukas smirked.

"What?" he mocked. "You going to fire me?"

"No." Ashley’s answer was immediate. "I’d keep you around."

Lukas frowned. "Why?"

A faint smile appeared. "So I can watch a recap of myself."

"Huh?" His smirk faltered.

"It’s eerily similar," she added quietly.

The way he was handling things.

The way he drowned himself in work instead of dealing with what he felt.

The way he chose exhaustion over grief.

"What I’m saying is this," Ashley continued quietly. "Firing you is not my job; it’s Lucian’s. But, if you believe your position is important."

She held his gaze. "Then act like it’s important."

"Because if you keep running yourself into the ground, you might become the problem for the very person you’re trying to protect."

Slowly, she turned away again.

"Someone once told me this."

Her voice softened.

"Don’t cry. Get angry instead. Laugh too much. Feel anything and everything whenever you feel like crying, breaking down, or drowning in your own thoughts." She exhaled. "The worse they are, the louder you should be."

For years, Ashley had lived exactly that way.

So instead of getting angry at Lukas, she understood him.

Pain was pain.

The shape didn’t matter.

"But I recently realized something." She glanced over her shoulder. "That kind of life only takes you so far."

Her eyes sharpened.

"This self-destructive way of coping might not kill you first. But it might hurt the people around you because you chose to run on fumes instead of admitting you needed time to recover."

She pointed at him.

"And if you end up causing trouble for me or my people because you can’t decide whether you want to live or die..." Her expression darkened. "I’ll come after you myself."

Then she walked away.

Lukas stared after her before scoffing and leaning back in his chair.

"What kind of lame excuse was that?" He shook his head. "She really is nonsense through and through."

As Lukas remained in the café and Ashley headed back toward the company building, neither of them noticed the black van parked a few establishments away.

Inside, several people watched Ashley closely.