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Ryan walked into the reception hall, looking for Rachel. He spotted her across the room, laughing with her new husband. As he approached her, Rachel's eyes widened in surprise. "Ryan! What are you doing here?" she asked. Ryan smiled. "I came to congratulate you, of course," he said, holding out a elegantly wrapped gift. Rachel looked stunned. "I didn't invite you," she said, taking the gift. Ryan chuckled. "I know. But I wanted to come and celebrate with you." Rachel smiled, looking touched. "Thank you, Ryan. That's so sweet of you." Ryan nodded and turned to leave.
His PA and bodyguard stepped forward, flanking him as he walked out of the reception hall. As they reached the parking lot, Ryan's PA opened the door to a sleek, black sports car. Ryan slid into the driver's seat, and the PA closed the door behind him. The bodyguard nodded to Rachel, who was watching from the doorway. "Mr. Thompson's congratulations, ma'am." Rachel nodded, still looking surprised. As the sports car drove away, she turned to her husband. "Wow, did you see that car?" Her husband nodded. "Yeah, it's a limited edition Ferrari. Only a handful of people in the country own one." Rachel's eyes widened. "Who is Ryan, really?" ******NIGHT****** Rachel called Ashley later that night. "Hey, girl! I have to tell you something." Ashley laughed. "What's up, Rach?" Rachel's voice was conspiratorial. "I just wanted to tell you more about Ryan's surprise visit to my wedding." Ashley's tone was nonchalant. "Oh, yeah? What about it?" Rachel's voice was serious. "He came up to me and congratulated me on the wedding. And then he left in this insane sports car." Ashley shrugged, even though Rachel couldn't see her. "That's nice, I guess." Rachel's voice was thoughtful. "Ash, I think there's more to Ryan than we thought." Ashley's tone was dismissive. "I don't care, Rach. Honestly, I'm not even thinking about him." Rachel laughed. "Okay, okay. But I just thought it was weird." Ashley teased, "Weird? You're the one who's weird for gossiping on your wedding night! Shouldn't you be, I don't know, having fun with your husband?" Rachel giggled. "Shut up, Ash! I'm just taking a break." Ashley laughed. "A break from your honeymoon? You're crazy, Rach!" Rachel playfully defended herself. "Hey, I'm just making sure my friends are informed about the important things in life." Ashley chuckled. "Important things? Like Ryan's sports car?" Rachel laughed. "Well, yeah! That's some juicy gossip." Ashley teased, "You're such a gossip queen, Rach. I'm surprised you didn't grill me more about my encounter with Ryan." Rachel's voice was mischievous. "Oh, don't worry, I'll get all the details out of you soon enough." Ashley laughed. "I'm shaking in my boots." As they chatted, Ashley couldn't help but feel a little relieved that the conversation had shifted away from Ryan. She wasn't ready to think about him too much just yet. But as she hung up the phone with Rachel, Ashley couldn't shake the feeling that her encounter with Ryan was only the beginning of something more. ******NEXT MORNING****** Ryan walked into his office building. He was the boss of a multinational conglomerate. His assistant, Mark, greeted him. "Good morning, sir. You have a meeting at 10 am." Ryan nodded and looked at his phone. The elevator doors opened, and Ryan walked out into the busy office. His workers said hello as he passed by. Ryan went into the meeting room, where his team was waiting. "Let's start," he said. As they talked, Ryan was very focused. He asked tough questions and made his team think hard. But then Ryan's mind started to wander. He thought about Ashley, the way she smiled, and the way her eyes sparkled... He remembered when they were in high school together. They would laugh and explore the town... Ryan's eyes snapped back to the present. His team was staring at him. "Sorry, what were we talking about?" he asked. Mark spoke up, "We were talking about the new product launch, sir." Ryan nodded and focused again. But he couldn't stop thinking about Ashley... Ryan tried to push Ashley out of his mind and focus on the meeting. He listened to his team's ideas and made decisions about the new product launch. As the meeting ended, Ryan felt a sense of accomplishment. He had made some tough decisions, but he knew they were right for the company. Mark approached him with a stack of papers. "Sir, here are the reports you requested." Ryan took the papers and scanned them quickly. He made a few notes and handed them back to Mark. "Good work, Mark," he said. "I'll review these further and get back to you." Mark nodded and left. Ryan watched him go, feeling a sense of satisfaction. He was a good boss, and he knew how to get things done. But as he turned back to his desk, Ryan's eyes fell on a photo of him and Ashley from high school. It was an old picture, but it brought back a flood of memories... Ryan's eyes widened in anger as he stared at the photo of him and Ashley on his desk. He quickly picked it up and shoved it back into his drawer. Just then, his secretary, Emily, walked in with a stack of files. "Sir, I brought the Johnson reports you requested." Ryan's anger boiled over. "What is this?" he shouted, pointing to the drawer. Emily looked confused. "I thought the photo would look nice on your desk, sir." Ryan was very angry. "You went through my things?" he shouted. Emily trembled. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to." Ryan's voice was cold. "You're lucky I don't fire you. Don't touch my things again. Do you understand?" Emily nodded, tears in her eyes. "Yes, sir." Ryan glared at her. "Get out." Emily quickly left the office. Ryan's anger didn't fade. He picked up the phone and dialed HR. "I want to fire Emily, my secretary," he said. The HR person asked, "Is there a reason for termination, sir?" Ryan's voice was firm. "She went through my personal things. I don't want her working here anymore." The HR person said, "Okay, sir. I'll take care of it." Ryan hung up the phone and felt a sense of satisfaction. He was done with Emily. But as he looked around his office, he saw Emily's things still on her desk. He realized he would have to find a new secretary.