Chapter 1 First Sight

Ashton's eyes opened slowly as he made a light stretch on his bed. He could vaguely remember what had happened last night. He blinked twice and felt a figure on his bed with him. This startled him. He jerked slightly and spun his head to the right. Beside him was a naked blonde woman lying beside him comfortably. Ashton turned to his left and saw another blonde woman sleeping beside him with her hand on his chest. It was then he recalled everything. Last night was extreme. He had partied hard with Lilith until she had left him alone. Completely forgetting the reason for partying so hard, he rubbed his eyes slowly.

The woman on his left recoiled into the sheets while the one on the right moved closer to him. Ashton smiled and drew her closer to him. He laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. This was how he had pictured life. He was already in heaven. Memories of last night slowly crept back into his mind. He could remember vividly the loud music blasting as a woman with a serpent tattoo on her neck danced with him. He could remember holding a glass of liquor in his hand. He could also remember spilling it. He could remember everything. The only thing he couldn't quite recall was the reason for the party. It had been hosted by Lilith on his behalf.

Ashton sighed and he closed his eyes to sleep, then it hit him. The reason for the party last night was his pending coronation as the new CEO of Mavericks Industries, the coronation which was to take place this morning. Ashton smiled as he remembered this. Then, it hit him again.

TODAY?!

THE CORONATION WAS TODAY!

He was supposed to report to work in his new office at 9 am. Ashton's eyes shut and he jerked from the bed, startling the two naked women beside him awake. They looked at him in surprise as he looked at the digital clock beside the bed, butt naked. It was 8:45 am. He had only fifteen minutes to nine. Ashton scratched his head in anxiety and confusion. How was he going to get to the office before 9 am? He couldn't believe that he was going to be super late for his first day as the new CEO. His father was going to kill him.

Ashton often wondered why his father had chosen to hand over the control of the company to him when he still didn't trust him that much. His father, Mikael was aware of his irresponsible lifestyle and often doubted him as his successor. But that seemed to have changed drastically over the last few months. After being distant for so long, Ashton had been summoned back to California to work in the company, before being told that he would be the next CEO a couple of months ago. It had been so fast and unpredictable that Ashton still felt unconvinced that his father would trust him so quickly. Was there something his father was hiding from him? There had to be.

For half of his life, Ashton had been far away from his parents. Either schooling or work. And his parents had always been too busy for him anytime he was home, not that he cared anymore. He had a duty to fulfill now, but he was already going to disappoint his father by arriving late. Well, it was what they would expect of him.

The ladies looked up at Ashton in confusion as Ashton rushed into his suit pants. The girl on the right tucked her hair behind her ear and bit her lip as she stared at Ashton lustfully. A wild thought entered her head and she rose from the bed and held Ashton from behind as he tried to put on his shirt. Ashton quickly spun and faced her with a perplexing look.

"I'm sorry ladies, but I have to go," he said as he buttoned his shirt hurriedly.

"Let me help you with that," the girl said.

Ashton gave her a snug smile and she helped him button up his shirt. Ashton slid his legs into his shoes and picked up his suit jacket from the bed. He looked at his ruffled black hair in the mirror and used his fingers to arrange it. As he headed towards the door, he paused and turned back to the ladies. The girl was back on the bed kissing the other blonde girl. Ashton could feel his phallus grow as temptations clouded his mind. But he had to leave, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Ermm. Ladies," he called.

They both turned to him slowly.

"Keep the key under the carpet on your way out," he ordered.

They nodded and he eluded the room. Ashton jumped down the stairs heading towards the door in a hurry. He looked at the Cartier on his wrist and he realized that he had five minutes to reach the office. There was no way he could make it. He grabbed his car key from the kitchen counter and was surprised at the mess he saw. There were bottles of liquor on the counter with one of them having been spilled. Ashton couldn't remember any of these happening. It was weird that he had some potholes in his memories from last night.

Outside the house, his black Corvette lay in wait for him. He lifted the door and got into the vehicle. The engine made a smooth roar as he revved it. Ashton stepped on the gas and sped to work.

***

Ashton looked at his reflection in the elevator as he arrived at work. He tried to dress properly and was lucky that he was alone there. He was already late. A glance at his Cartier made him aware of this. He was fifteen minutes. The traffic was terrible for all the days it had to be. The elevator binged and opened. Ashton stepped into the hallway of his office and headed towards the familiar polished wooden door. He could see his name boldly written on the door now. He could only sigh in response.

Ashton swung the door open and stepped into the cold office. Behind the desk, a figure occupied the chair which was facing the glass wall. Ashton already knew who that was. The figure had an apple in their hand and seemed to be tossing it impatiently. Finally, the chair swung to face him, and his father, Mikael came into view. Mikael Maverick, who was dressed in a dazzling purple suit had a grim look on his face as his black and white hair shone. His blue eyes had glaring hints of disappointment which seemed to plague his attitude.

"You're late," Mikael said.

Ashton could feel his heart thumping. He flashed a smile and walked towards his desk. On the desk now was his name boldly written on a black name tag which was on the left side of the desk. In the dust bin just a few feet away from the desk was his father's name tag which now sat vertically in there. The first two letters of his name were concealed by a bunch of papers which were situated there too.

"I was caught in traffic," Ashton lied.

"Traffic, huh?" Mikael questioned after scanning Ashton's outfit.

"You look like shit," he added. "Is this how you're going to run my company?"

Ashton smirked at his words. Mikael shook his head and dropped the apple on the desk. He had expected nothing less from his son. His son's attitude right now was the consequence of his absence as a father for him. His mother was too soft on him, and that was why he had become a spoiled brat. Something he would forever regret. But he had no choice. It was an emergency, so he had to take the risk and make his unworthy son the heir of the company. If he had more time, maybe things could have been different.

Ashton took a seat at the chair before the desk. He laid back on it and stared at the office. He used to come here as a kid on rare occasions, and it was surprising that it still gave him that chill feeling. It was that air condition and that was the first thing he was going to change.

"Where's mom?" He asked.

"She couldn't make it," Mikael replied.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he said. "I'm surprised you made it."

Mikael raised an eyebrow at him. His son had just taken a dig at him. He sighed and gazed at the apple. Mikael reached into the drawers and brought out some papers from it. He kept it at the desk, and Ashton reached for it. There were signed documents indicating Mikael's agreement to hand over total control to him as the new CEO. Ashton felt a strange feeling in his stomach as he read through it. His father trusted him this much and he couldn't understand why. Things are getting more confusing now. Ashton closed the files and handed it back to him.

"Is that it?" He asked.

Mikael rose from the desk with a sigh.

"One more thing," he replied.

"And what's that?"

"You'll be getting a new secretary," Mikael responded.

Ashton seemed irked by this.

"A new secretary?" He asked. "What happened to Irene?"

Mikael smirked at his question.

"She left California as soon as she heard I was stepping down," he replied.

"Seems like some people don't want me as the new CEO," Ashton said.

Mikael stole a glance at his watch.

"Your new secretary should be arriving just about now," he said.

A few seconds later, a knock came at the door.

"Come in," Mikael ordered.

The door opened gently and a figure stepped in. Ashton, who was staring at the apple on his desk, brought his eyes to the newcomer. His eyes grew wider as he stared at the beauty before him. She had glowing chocolate skin with the best hazel eyes he had ever seen. Her braids were packed up into a bun, and her suit brought out all her curves. She was gorgeous.

"Good morning, and welcome," Mikael said.

"Good morning, sir," she said politely.

"You'll be working with my son, Ashton, the new CEO," he said.

Her eyes turned to Ashton and Ashton could feel his heart skip a beat. He smirked as he scanned her lustfully. He was already having dirty thoughts about her. Maybe being the new CEO wasn't bad at all. Ashton rose to meet her with a devilish smile on his face.

"Good morning sir, nice to meet you," she said, shaking his hand.

"What is your name?" Ashton asked.

"Annika. Annika Pleton, sir," she replied.

"What a lovely name," Ashton said as he shook her hand.

She smiled politely at him. Mikael cleared his throat to revert their attention to him.

"I'll be leaving now, and Ashton, this company is in your hands," he said.

Ashton smiled at him. Mikael walked up to him and shook his hand firmly while looking him in the eyes. Then, he brought his lips to his ear.

"Take a shower, you smell like shit," Mikael said before walking out of the room.

Ashton chuckled at that as he watched his father leave. Annika soon left after him and he could only stare at her. When the door closed behind him, he quickly sniffed himself and realized he smelled of alcohol and sex. Ashton chuckled at himself and went to his desk.

He took a seat on his chair and picked up the apple before placing his legs on the desk. He bit the apple and munched it as he thought of his new secretary. She was gorgeous, and it had taken him by surprise. All of a sudden, he was glad that Irene had left. Now his father was gone, he was in charge which meant that he could do and have whatever he wanted.

The first on that list was his secretary, Annika. She looked polite and strict, but that didn't matter to him. She was hard to ignore, and he was going to do whatever it took to get her. With that, he smiled to himself and took another bite from the apple.