It was past one week and Ashley was yet to find herself forgetting the tall, built man with the lustrous dark hair and twinkling eyes.

She turned in her bed, her eyes appreciating the bright, natural setup just right outside the window of her room.

As she delved into her thoughts about Dave, she recalled the delightful view of his chest. That chiseled chest of his was still etched in her head and it did not seem like she would be forgetting the image soon. To speak the fact, as time went by, Ashley was oddly able to point out more features about the man she did not fully notice during their encounter.

Like how his huge hands clenched into small fists each time he spoke. Or his scent. Ashley could still smell him, he had a very strong masculine scent that was probably a combination of two or more scents.

In summary, Ashley had been swept off her feet which was still surprising even to her.

Getting off her bed, her mind partially appreciating the wonderful rearrangement she had done to her room during the course of the week, Ashley began to ponder on ideas to meet him again.

She could just walk right into their company - it was just around the city anyway- and tell him she has been considering his proposition to fix her and she accepts it.

Or, she could ruin her pipes again and have him specifically come over to fix them again and maybe eventually, fix her. While the term that suggested that she would be fixed was a little strange, Ashley shivered slightly when she recalled his words about touching her intimately. He had said those words with a touch of intense sensuality.

Either way, she needed to work on one of her ideas and if she wished to meet that man again, she needed to swiftly decide which option it was going to be. Dave's unexpected presence in her life had caused a little bit of disturbance to her entire system and the only way evident to Ashley to calm it was to let him into her life and, fix her.

As she approached and opened her stand-alone, polished wardrobe whose brownness went along with the cool theme in the bedroom, she began to play out the two scenarios in her head.

After seeming too desperate in one and appearing to be more sensible and of course less desperate in the other, she grabbed her outfit of the day from the rack that had been patiently watching her melodrama.

~

It was indeed nice to be back outside. Summer had set in and Ashley could not be more glad that she decided to come out at that period.

Her GPS soon indicated that she had arrived at her destination and while the skyscraper ahead of her was not what she pictured the company building to be, she found a suitable parking spot. Soon, Ashley's wedged sandals, which accessorized her simple flare gown, were gracing the marbled ground floor of the building which led to the desk of the receptionist.

'Okay Ash, this is it. You are doing this.' she convinced herself as she walked towards the smiling and the stylishly suited lady behind the long wooden desk.

"Hello."

"Hi, there ma'am. Welcome to Everything Pipes, how may I help you?"

"Uh yes," Ashley went on to rest her elbows on the desk. "I will like to see Dave Scott please." Ashley had noticed his full name written on the side of his toolbox.

And, she saw the way the receptionist's face lit in slight surprise.

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked, her voice still tender and welcoming.

Ashley frowned. Why would she need an appointment to see an employee of the company? "No, I don't. Am I supposed to? Or doesn't Dave Scott work here?"

"Uh... your name please?"

"Ashley Steve."

"Oh." The lady quietly said after she had read something off the computer screen in front of her. "Please, take the elevator to get to the last floor. You will meet his secretary waiting for you. Have a nice day, ma'am."

A little confused, Ashley replied, "Thank... you."

Her slow steps showed her confusion but she made it to one of the elevators that were tucked at the end of the corridor.

'Why does Dave have a secretary? Do companies run differently now?' she wondered as the elevator took her to her destination.

When the ride came to an end, Ashley met a woman seated a few distances from the elevator. While the simple setup of that open room appealed to Ashley's soul, she could not help but notice the unpleasant look on the face of the woman.

"Are you Ashley Steve?" On hearing that curt question, Ashley was able to confirm that even people with the sweetest voice could sound sinister. Though it was unclear why the slender, blue-eyed, ivory-skinned, and well-suited woman was irritated by her presence, Ashley nodded in response to the question she was asked. "Mr. Scott will see you now. Please go in."

Hearing that unpleasant tone again gave Ashley an idea of what was going on. She just had to walk past the pots of fake plants and the blurry glass doors to confirm it.

And there Dave Scott was. Seated behind a beautifully carved wooden desk, looking all serious and highly concentrated on what was in front of him.

While the setup of the medium-sized room was enough for Ashley to confirm that Dave was not just a plumber (and that his secretary had the hots for him), why he would show up at her doorstep to fix her pipes was something she was instantly curious about.

"You certainly don't want to keep standing there," Dave said, not looking up. Ashley noticed his voice lacked the amusement it carried the last time.

The Dave Scott she was about to talk to was probably the cliché stern CEO she read a lot about in her erotic novels back at college. The ones that are stern and cold to every other person but that one beautiful female. Yes, those ones.

Taking her seat on the leather chair that faced his, Ashley's eyes proceeded to tour the room again. There was nothing fancy about it, well apart from the company's name that was boldly painted into a frame and hung directly above Dave's desk and the pictures of the company's management which exposed the fact that Dave was the CEO.

Apart from those details, the cream-coloured walls, and the lush green carpet was all to look at.

"I see you have decided to accept my proposal." Dave was still not looking up at her.

"What makes you think I am here to tell you that I have accepted your proposal? Maybe I am here to complain about the work you did."

After her daring statement, Dave lifted his head and he neglected the paperwork that had his attention. "Ashley," he gently called, the twinkle in his eyes reminding Ashley of their first meeting, "you certainly did not come all the way here to complain about my work." She shifted in her seat. "You know, you are a very predictable woman."

"I don't think I like being called predictable."

"Well, you are."

Ashley scoffed at his remark, a part of her annoyingly agreeing. "You hardly know me so I don't think you have the right to make that kind of statement. I have a question though," his attention was stolen by the paper again, "why did you show up at my doorstep as a worker?"

"Sometimes I like to leave my expensive and torturous seat so that I can enjoy life as an ordinary labourer."

"So, you don't like being CEO?"

His head came up again, this time his lips were drawn up in a smirk.

"Why? Don't you like Dave as an ordinary plumber?"

"I... I am not insinuating that. I am just saying, you know... uh..."

"Don't beat yourself up, Ashley." He slammed the document against the desk. Leaping to his feet, he said, "I hope you are ready."

The tone in his voice told her that Dave the CEO was gone. The man staring at her as though he wished to figure her out was the very one that appeared in front of her door. But, caution could not help but settle in Ashley's mind as she asked, "Ready for what?"

"Ready for the amazing ride ahead, of course." His smile at the end of his statement distracted her.

"Uh..."

"Good." His quick steps walked to her side, his scent engulfing her. "Let us go."

As she got up, she asked, "Where are we going?"

"You'll find out, but first, I hope you are fine with me taking you wherever I want."

"Uh..."

Wherever he wants?

Ashley was beginning to have second thoughts again. What on earth was she doing with a man she hardly knows? What if he meant to harm her?

But at the same time, she was jumping at the idea of something thrilling, something different happening in her life. She did want to find ways to get her divorce out of her mind and the man standing too close to her with a questioning look on his face was a way for her to go about the revival of her soul.

Once her mind was made up, Ashley pointed a warning finger at him. "If I end up dead in some random bush, I will haunt you even after you die. I am sure you have not heard of ghosts haunting another ghost. I will be the first to do so if this ends up being something sketchy"

Dave chuckled at her response and pulled gently at her hand. "I will keep that in mind."

Ashley wasn't sure why, but as he held her hand and led them out of his office, she felt somewhat joyous. For a second, like a bubbly teenage girl, all she could stare at was their enjoined hands. But when they stepped into the open office, Ashley looked up and the nasty sneer the secretary gave her was not missed.