Chapter - 10

LOVE IS... BULLSHIT

'I love you is eight letters... and so is bullshit.'

"I really can't understand your love towards your beard. You could have shaved, but no, you've to spoil this meeting. You look like an ape, Ashton, an ape," I told him, glaring at him while he drove towards the restaurant where we were supposed to meet the second girl of this assignment - Audrey Hocking.

"I look like a sexy beast, Liana, sexy beast. Not an ape," he corrected me, shooting a smug look in my direction.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips and I asked him, "You don't understand my point, do you?"

"Honestly, I don't want to." He shrugged his shoulders, moving the steering wheel as he took a left turn.

Throwing my head back in frustration, I closed my eyes and waited for our destination. There was just no use of talking to Ashton. After enjoying my misery by locking me outside his apartment for about ten minutes, he had finally decided to open the door and welcome me inside. I had thanked him with a hateful glare that had resulted in tremendous increase in his smirk.

But I was no less. I had to wipe that smirk off his face. So, I had announced about our next meeting with the next prospect for Ashton. And yes, I was successful.

One moment he was so rude and mean, the next moment he was a huge pervert and passing ridiculous comments at me, then he was funny and the next moment, again rude. He was probably much more moody than a hundred girls on their menstrual cycles put together in a room.

Imagine that!

Suddenly, the car jerked forward as he applied sudden breaks. Thankfully, I was wearing seatbelt and abiding by the traffic rules. I opened my tightly shut eyes only to glare at him and found him looking at me with a huge smirk on his face; his irritating smirk. "Rise and shine, sunshine," he said, dead panned and moved out of the car. That's when I noticed that we had reached the restaurant.

Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself and tried to ignore Ashton's irritating behavior for some time. I had to do this for the scheduled meeting. My phone rang and I picked it up after looking at the name of the person calling me.

"Hi, Liana, where are you both? I've already reached. Just tell the Manager your name and he'll make sure to escort you both in my booth," Audrey babbled from the other side, even before I could respond to the first part of her conversation.

"Hi and sure," I answered all her answers in three words and with that she cancelled the phone.

I threw my phone back in my bag and got out of the car, much to Ashton's relief as could be seen from his expressions. "And you call me lazy?" He raised his eyebrows at me and I decided not to answer him.

We started moving towards the restaurant and I wondered if Audrey was the 'one' for Ashton. Unlike the last meeting with Brittany, I had planned this meeting beforehand. Even though I couldn't deny that that surprise meeting was fruitful and eventful. In case of Audrey, I had made it a point to do a little research on social networking sites about her. And one thing I had concluded at the end of my research was that she was a 'selfie freak'. Her Instagram and Facebook accounts were flooded with her selfie pictures and honestly, they were very tiring to look at after a certain point. She was, undoubtedly, very pretty as I could see in the pictures. But I wasn't sure if she was stupid enough to fall in love with a devil like Ashton Parker. It's a different matter that she had shown deep interest in meeting Ashton. She was, what I believed, a sucker for his Bad-boy image or probably it was the name and fame that he carried along with him. Whatever it was, I had to see that no girl gets taken advantage of by Ashton. He was a huge pervert and I had to make sure that no girl feels uncomfortable around him. It was a completely different matter if the girl herself wants to feel uncomfortable; completely different matter.

"What are you thinking?" My head snapped towards Ashton as he stared down at me once we had stopped in front of the entrance of the restaurant.

Shaking my head, I replied, "Nothing."

"See you're lying again." He smirked and entered the restaurant before me.

Chivalry was a foreign word for Ashton Parker.

"I don't lie," I lied through my teeth and followed him inside.

He didn't pay heed to my words and told the attendant his name. "Ashton Parker and Liana Moore," the Manager smiled and we nodded in reply. "Ms. Hocking is waiting for you. I'll show you the way." With that he made way towards Audrey and we followed him. The place was huge and well furnished. It had that classy look to it and honestly, I was already looking forward to having a nice and grand lunch here.

"Who are we meeting again?" Ashton asked in a whisper, making me widen my eyes dramatically.

"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked. "I showed you her entire profile and her pictures."

He rolled his eyes at me and answered, "Seriously, what makes you think that I hear everything you say? That too about something about this pain in the a*s assignment? Isn't it enough that I'm bearing you since last two days and letting you spend your time in my apartment? Why should I pay attention to the profiles of all the girls you want me to see? Do you really think that I even paid attention to any of the pictures that you showed me?"

I stared at him in disbelief and my mouth fell open in shock. I knew that he was rude and mean, but he didn't have to disrespect me straight at my face. All that I was doing at his apartment since last two days was killing my time, I concluded.

He ignored my speechless mode and continued, "What is the chick's name anyway?" He had an annoyed expression on his face as if he just realized that he was about to meet one of the girls who was contending to make him fall in love with her. For a split second, I actually sympathized with him. This process was tiring for me and I wasn't even the one who had to fall in love by the end of this. So, it must be really annoying for him to bear all this crap. But that sympathy was gone even before I could look at him with soft eyes. He was the rudest and the meanest guy I had ever had the misfortune of meeting. He didn't deserve my sympathy.

'But he is nice sometimes,' a little voice inside my head told me and I immediately shut it.

He waved his hand in front of me, bringing me out of my reverie and I blinked, coming back to reality. I glared at him with all my might and just as I opened my mouth to tell him the name of the girl we were supposed to meet, a voice reached our ears.

"Ashton Parker."

Our heads snapped towards the owner of the voice and my eyes landed on a very beautiful blonde with gorgeous blue eyes raking Ashton from head to toe. She was dressed in a very prim and proper way. One could tell that she was all about class and no nuisance. Her light blue knee length dress was so perfect and it complimented her eyes a lot.

Instinctively, I looked down at my own clothing and frowned a bit. My clothes shouted office going, professional, boring, and as Ashton always pointed out - uptight.

With a little frown on my face, I looked up towards Ashton as he started saying a string of curse words under his breath while looking towards Audrey with slightly wide eyes.

"F*ck this shit," he cursed, so only I could hear him. But to make sure that this meeting shouldn't end the way our last meeting had ended, I looked towards Audrey. Much to my relief, she was still eyeing Ashton as if he was a piece of meat that she had been dying to have all for herself.

A little taken aback at his comment, I asked him in a whisper, "What's wrong?"

"What was her name again? Ariel? No. Audacity?" he asked back in a whisper, furrowing his eyebrows as if trying to remember something.

"Audrey, idiot, she's Audrey," I hissed. "Audacity? Is that even a name?" Quickly, I shot a smile in Audrey's direction but she was still busy looking at Ashton while waiting for any kind of reaction from him.

A sudden realization dawned upon his face and he nodded his head. He tilted his head towards me and whispered, "I tend to forget their names as soon as I f*ck them."

With that he went towards Audrey, while all I could do was stare at his moving back in complete shock. Did he really imply what I thought he implied by that sentence?

Oh... shoot!

*********

Audrey was more than happy when Ashton went towards her and greeted her like a civilized human being. I, on the other hand, was shocked. But, I contained it within myself and joined them inside the booth. The table given to us was a table for four as I was aware that Audrey's mother had to join us soon.

"It's so good to see you after such a long time." She smiled, looking at him with so much admiration in her eyes that I almost puked. But then I focused on the words used by her. 'Good to see you after such a long time.' They did know each other from before and going by Ashton's statement, they knew each other's genitals equally well.

It seemed that it was not just me who couldn't digest this piece of information as Ashton too raised his eyebrows and his lips curled up slightly in disgust. "Yeah, sure!"

I looked at Ashton in shock. There was no need to be rude to her as well. She was being way too sweet with him. "Ashton," I hissed, making him look at me. I narrowed my eyes at him once I had his attention, but he just rolled his eyes and drank the scotch placed in front of him. "So, Audrey, how do you know Ashton? I mean, I wasn't aware of that piece of information." I chuckled slightly as I brought the glass of coffee to my lips.

The biggest smile, I had seen on her face in the last ten minutes, graved her lips and she answered me, "We met in France. I was there on a family trip and met him in a night club. Well, what can I say; we hit it off immediately and spent the most amazing night together." Slight blush crept up her cheeks as she remembered that night. "Unfortunately, we, somehow, forgot to exchange numbers and never met after that."

"Okay." I nodded my head.

She looked back at Ashton, who had a bored look on his face as he stared at his glass of scotch which was now empty. Not paying any attention towards the story of his rendezvous with Audrey, he motioned for the waiter to fill up his glass again.

Audrey seemed completely oblivious to Ashton's mood as she continued with a little giggle, "But parting with him was the most painful thing I had ever experienced. I knew that it was tough for him, too. It was so tough that he couldn't bear to see my sad face and went away even before I woke up the next morning."

Pressing my lips together, I tried to stop the laughter that was threatening to erupt from my lips. My eyes shifted from the dreamy eyed, Audrey to the bored to death eyed, Ashton. He was looking at me with a stern look as if asking him that why I had dragged him to this place? While all I could do was press my lips harder so I wouldn't end up laughing. "That is so sweet of you, Ashton," I cooed, smiling goofily towards him as he narrowed his eyes at me. "I always knew that behind your tough exterior is a very soft heart and I'm so glad to know that the girl who managed to melt his hard exterior is none other than you, Audrey." I finished with the biggest smile on my face as I looked at the couple sitting opposite me. "Oh God! You two would make the cutest babies." I kept my right hand over my heart and fluttered my eyelashes to be a bit more dramatic.

Ashton was obviously not enjoying seeing me so happy at his expense, which just added to my happiness. He was glaring at me but that glare could not wipe off my smile. Audrey on the other hand, was way too happy and over the moon as she added, "I know, right?" Instantly, I nodded my head, completely agreeing with her, which just made her continue, "I always knew that we were meant to be together. And look, fate brought us together." She ended her words by looking at Ashton with dreamy eyes as if he was someone worth all the praise in the world.

In reply, he just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The slight curses that he muttered under his breath were noticeable but Audrey didn't mind as she was still grinning from ear to ear.

A little laugh escaped my lips and I told them, "I'm so, so, so happy to have played a little part in bringing the two of you together. I can't even express my joy in words."

Audrey looked at me softened eyes and said, "Aww, Liana. You're a sweetheart. Thank you so much."

I shook my head and replied, "It has completely been my pleasure." I looked towards Ashton with an innocent smile, while he looked back at me with a death glare.

I had a sudden urge to do a little happy dance and sing at the top of my voice, 'There you go, Ashy boy.'

A phone ringing stopped the staring match that Ashton and I were having. It was Audrey's phone and she said, "It's Mom. She has arrived. I'll just see where she is." With that she excused herself from the private booth, leaving Ashton and me alone.

"You're enjoying this shit, aren't you?" he asked, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

A huge grin covered my face and I asked back, pointing towards my teeth, "Can't you guess?"

He groaned as he bent on the table towards me and said, "I should have seen the pictures and profiles properly. F*ck, I had no f*cking clue that I would meet with an old f*ck again. I didn't even remember her name for f*ck's sake." He was annoyed at himself, it was obvious but then he charged at me. "It's all because of you and your f*cking assignment."

With narrowed eyes, I corrected him, "Your mother's assignment, not mine."

"Whatever!" he dismissed with an angry expression on his face. "Do I really look like someone who would even think something insane like that? Why would anybody in their right mind think that a guy skipping in the middle of the night after a f*ck means that he didn't want to see you sad when you'll be parting?" The laugh that I had been trying to contain inside me couldn't be contained any longer and I erupted in laughter. "That's the most insane thing I have ever heard." While I was busy laughing, he shook his head at me and his lips twitched up ever so slightly.

But before I could see whether his lips were twitching up into his trademark smirk or his very rare smile, Audrey's voice reached our ears, making both of us look at her again.

"Mom, this is Ashton," she chirped. Mrs. Hocking, her mother, was an older version of Audrey and honestly, she didn't look even a day older than thirty five when in reality she must have been fifty. She was gorgeous with her platinum blonde hair that Audrey had inherited.

It took me a moment to realize that she was looking at Ashton with wide eyes as if she couldn't believe whom she was meeting. Frowning in confusion, I looked back at Ashton and saw the same expressions of disbelief on his face too.

"Damn! F*ck this shit, too," he cursed under his breath like he earlier had, making me widen my eyes.

I hissed at him, "Don't tell me-"

He cut me off by whispering back, "I forgot her name too. Do you know her name?"

A gasp escaped my lips when I understood what he had again implied. Audrey was completely oblivious to the two pairs of wide eyes and a loud gasp in the room. She was just happy about having her own real life incident of serendipity.

Trust Ashton for banging both mother and daughter!

"I don't know," I answered his question. "Go by Mrs. Hocking."

He sighed in little relief and shot a smile, which looked awfully like a grimace, towards the two Hockings. "Good Afternoon."

Mrs. Hocking managed to smile too, and it too looked like a grimace. "Hello, Ashton. It's so nice to meet you."

Audrey, who was over the moon, dragged her mother towards the table and introduced me to her mother after which we took our seats on the table. Ashton sat on his earlier seat, opposite me and Audrey sat on his right while her mother on his left. The expressions on his face were priceless. He looked like a deer standing between a lion and a hunter. No matter where he would go, he would be dead.

His expressions made me realize that the situation he was stuck in currently was probably the epitome of hilariousness. And due to that realization, a sudden laughter erupted from my lips and I didn't control it this time despite of the odd stares that the other three people around me were giving me. Audrey and her mother were looking at me with confusion etched on their facial features while Ashton stared at me with a death glare. In any other situation, his glare would have been enough to make me shut my mouth, but it was not any other situation and I just laughed a bit more loudly.

"Are you okay?" Audrey asked with concern.

I covered my mouth with my hand and controlled my laughter. "Perfect." I grinned, taking a sip of my heavenly coffee. I stared back at Ashton while sipping the drink. He mouthed something inappropriate to me with narrowed eyes and after putting the coffee back, I continued with the same grin plastered on my face, "Never been better."

I was enjoying this way too much. It felt like the embarrassment and the anger I had felt in the last two days was finally being paid.

Mrs. Hocking cleared her throat and we diverted our attention towards her. She smiled at Audrey and said, "Sweetheart, I left my phone in the car. Would you please bring it for me?"

"Oh sure, Mom," Audrey replied with a smile. She got up from the seat and told Ashton, "I'll be back in a few minutes." Ashton didn't even find it important to reply to her in any way which made me a little satisfied by thinking that it wasn't only me who was a victim of his rudeness.

The moment Audrey was out of the booth, her mother looked towards Ashton with panic clear on her face. "Oh God! I can't believe this." She drank the glass of scotch that Ashton was earlier drinking as Ashton and I stared at her. "You can't tell her the truth. You can't tell her that we met in a nightclub in France. You can't tell her that you and I had had an amazing sex night after that. You just can't," she literally begged to Ashton who looked at her with wide eyes.

Of course, she loved her daughter and she couldn't see her getting hurt. Won't Audrey be a little taken aback if she would know that her mother had slept with Ashton as well? No wonder her mother wanted this to be a secret. All I could do was sympathize with her.

Ashton didn't reply to her as well and she continued, "You can't tell her that you are in love with me." That had Ashton choking on his own spit. Pressing my lips together, I passed a glass of water to him which he gladly accepted. Being oblivious was probably in the Hocking's blood as Mrs. Hocking continued, "Parting with you was the most painful thing I had ever experienced. I knew that it was tough for you, too as you couldn't bear to see my sad face and went away even before I woke up the next morning."

"Oh f*ck."

"Oh crap."

Ashton and I cursed in our different styles as we heard her say the same things her daughter had said. All the sympathy I had felt for her had vanished into thin air and was replaced with utter joy and excitement again. Excitement of seeing Ashton in misery and by the look on his face, he was in a state of exactly that.

Like mother, like daughter.

"I can't believe you're sacrificing