"The pleasure is mine," the lawyer responded, shaking his hand firmly.
Their words sounded sincere, but Ashley felt as if there was a sudden tension between the two men. 'Perhaps I am imagining it.'
"Kindly keep nothing from me, Mr. Guiscard," Elijah continued once the bodyguard was seated. "I am Ashley's lawyer-on-retainer henceforth. An advance payment has already been made, which has kicked in the attorney-client privilege."
"Very well," Guiscard replied. "But I was referring to your safety. There are groups involved in this mess that you may want to steer clear of."
"I am not new to the evils of Norwich, Mr. Guiscard. I think I can handle myself."
The two men exchanged grim smiles, having reached an impasse. They settled for curt nods at each other. Ashley felt herself in the middle of an awkward, cold war.
"Well!" she began, breaking the silence. "You can share the details with Elijah, Chevy. He can be trusted."
Guiscard sniffed and crossed his legs. "Very well. Miss Scarlet Palmer hired a bunch of goons to kill Ashley. A week back, she was kidnapped by the Zetelica, and I rescued her from the outskirts of the city."
Elijah furrowed his forehead and whistled. "Zetelica, huh? That's one tough crowd."
"Are you familiar with them?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I was forced to represent them in a civil suit."
"Seriously?" Ashley exclaimed.
"We lawyers don't discriminate in general. If a case comes to us where we see resolution, we go ahead and represent the client. However, in this case, we cannot turn down offers from Zetelica. People have disappeared for less."
"I understand." Ashley figured Zetelica were a powerful group considering they kidnapped her from a public coffeehouse. 'What has Jake entangled himself in?'
"Okay!" Elijah continued. "I reckon you are going to be my most interesting client ever, Miss Palmer."
"Ashley, please," she interrupted, making a convincing impression of him.
"Ashley. Let's put a pin on other things and discuss your case. Scarlet Palmer is currently the CEO of Palmer Industries, and you intend to make a hostile takeover. Am I going right with this?"
Guiscard raised an eyebrow at Ashley. "That's brutal. Ambitious."
She smiled gingerly at both the men and nodded. "You're right. What is your bird's-eye view of the matter?"
"Well. You and your stepsister have twenty percent each share in the company, and your father owns thirty percent. The rest of the stakes are with minor holders. In his absence, he left Scarlet as Acting Chairman and CEO."
"Yep."
Elijah clicked open a file folder and rifled through some printed paper sheets. "I have identified all the minor shareholders. We'll purchase their stakes at high prices. My team is connecting with them as we speak."
Ashley and Guiscard leaned in, listening closely.
"Of course, all of it will be carried out hush-hush. That is, my team will purchase shares at high prices through proxies. I've already sent you an estimate of the expenses. Then they will sell the shares to you. I hope that much is clear?"
Ashley nodded, calculating in her mind the millions of dollars’ worth of assets she had to liquidate overnight. Tessa had pitched in as well. "The funds are ready."
Next, Elijah went over some formalities, including several signatures over the power of attorney documents, among other things.
"Perfect!" Elijah declared, closing the file. "When my team has finished the initial targets, I'll contact you. Without doubt, this takeover is going to take the city by storm, but I reckon that is your very intention."
Ashley shrugged, getting to her feet. "I guess you have everything under control, Elijah. I'll be along then."
"Uh, if I could have a minute," Elijah said, standing up and buttoning his suit. "Privately?"
"Of course." She motioned to Guiscard, who met Elijah's eyes and left the room.
'Something is up between them,' Ashley thought. 'There was almost a spark of electricity right now.'
"Please go ahead," she told Elijah, smoothing her pants and fixing her collar.
"This can be a little awkward. We have barely known each other. But let me assure you I mean this with utmost sincerity-"
This time Ashley, who had been otherwise distracted, looked into his eyes, alert all of a sudden. "What are you-"
"I'm asking you out on a date."
Ashley opened her mouth to say something. Instead, she pursed her lips, which perhaps was not a fitting response to being asked out. Elijah took the hint and shrugged, adjusting his cuffs.
"I understand if you don't want to-"
"Yes."
"Excuse me?"
"Let's go on a date."
Elijah exhaled, and color returned to his cheeks. "That's- well. I'll check with your assistant and schedule something."
Ashley had agreed to Elijah before she had time to think, and then she had to escape before her composure gave way.
"Looking forward to it," she replied, grinning like a maiden and giving him a last top-to-bottom glance.
She turned to leave, half-delirious. Elijah looked at her walking away, his eyes narrowed.