Let's Do Lunch

Ashley slipped out of the booth, already pulling her mobile phone from her jeans pocket as she stood. The petite blonde swiped open her lock screen and shuffled off into a secluded corner of the bar, near a staff only door to the back of the building, while she found her sister’s number in her contacts. She hit the call button and waited, listening to the phone dialling through. She waited, and waited, and the longer she had to wait the more she thought about what she was doing, calling her own sister to arrange to meet up and ask if she was involved in some sort of conspiracy to oust Robert Ravers from his own company. On the very face of it, it was just ludicrous.

However, Ashley had to concede that Heather had a point. The **** had to have gotten into Lisa’s bag somehow, and without Robert’s involvement, her sister was the only one who could have done it. The thought that her sister really could be caught up in something like this terrified her. And worse, the more she thought about it, the deeper she went, the more details she considered, the more plausible it all became. She remembered, her head throbbing at the memory, just before their drinking game, Ashley had returned from the bathroom and Hannah had been outside, ‘vaping’. Ashley had never known her sister to vape, and if she didn't, what if it was all a ruse, just to go outside and get the **** from Robert’s car. And she knew exactly where they were. She had told Robert where to find them.

Ashley shook her head and hung up, noticing only then that the call had went through to voice mail. She frowned realising that Hannah likely wouldn’t pick up at work. There would likely be no way to contact her until she finished for the day, or took a break, but who knows when that could be. Pursing her lips thoughtfully, Ashley considered other means of contacting her older sister. It was unlikely that she would check any of her personal emails or texts, and Ashley didn’t know the corporate ones…but Heather would, and there might be one number that Hannah would be sure to pick up.

“Well?” Chloe asked, optimistically.

“No answer,” Ashley explained curtly, then offer her phone to Heather. “I need the number to your dad’s office?”

“Hopefully she’s at the desk,” Heather replied, understanding the blonde’s plan as she punched in the telephone number for her dad’s office, having memorised It off by heart. When her father was deep in a project sometimes it was the only way to reach him.

Taking the phone back when Heather was done, Ashley pressed it to her ear, already hearing the dial tone before it reached her face. She walked away casually, listening patiently to the tone, uncertain what exactly she might say if her sister answered this time. Should she play it cool and act like it’s just some sisterly bonding? Or tell her the truth? Maybe she should even lie and tell Hannah she had more questions about Shawn. But Ashley didn’t feel comfortable misleading her sister, and besides when her sister found out that she lied, as she inevitably would when they met up and Ashley asked the real question, it might only make Hannah more defensive.

“Hello, Ravers Enterprises, Robert Raver’s office, how may I help you?” The sweet, professional tone of her sister’s voice startling the young blonde and piercing through her train of thought.

“Hi, Hannah, it’s Ashley,” she said quickly.

As expected, her sister responded with an irritated growl. “Dammit, Ash, this phone line isn’t for your nonsense.”

“I tried calling your mobile, but you didn’t answer, and this is important,” Ashley insisted, leaning against a near by wall and biting her lip.

“Important? You’re not hurt, or injured, are you?” Hannah suddenly became serious as she was overwhelmed with concern with her sister’s well-being. “What’s going on?”

“No, no, it’s not me, it’s…” Ashley paused, wondering exactly how to word an offer to come and talk so that she could **** her sister to reveal who she was working for. But no matter how she put it, it sounded silly. “I have a question I really need to ask you.”

“Really, now?” Ashley could almost hear Hannah rolling her eyes. “Tsk, fine, what’s is it?”

“No, it has to be in person,” Ashley stated determinedly. “As soon as you’re free.”

“You’ll have to wait an hour for my lunch break,” Hannah warned her, her voice rushed.

“Okay, no problem,” Ashley agreed, though not looking forward to spending a whole hour debating with the others and in her own mind about whether or not Hannah had anything to do with Lisa’s arrest.

“Alright. There’s a little coffee shop just down the road from Ravers Enterprises, we can meet there,” Hannah suggested, but before Ashley could agree, the older blonde said, “sorry, I’ve got to go, I’ll see you then.”

Again, before Ashley could even speak, Hannah had hung up the phone. Ashley shrugged, since it didn’t matter anyway. She’d set up the meeting and that was what was most important. As she retraced her steps back to the booth, she wondered if Hannah had any idea of what Ashley wanted to ask. She hadn’t mentioned specifics on the phone, but Hannah knew they were investigating who was behind Lisa’s arrest and she knew enough about the case that she might be able to work it out. On the other hand, if she was so busy with work, she might not even think about it.

Back at the table, she told the other two girls what had happened, a brief conversation because the discussion between her and Hannah had been quite succinct. The discussion then turned to Victoria, since Chloe had been gone the previous night and inquired about what she had missed. Together Heather and Ashley told her everything they knew, which wasn’t quite everything, pressing upon the redhead the simple fact that Victoria was acting very differently to the bright eyed, intelligent young woman Chloe might have recognised before her date with Hannah. Heather again insisted that though she believed something was wrong, the best idea was not to **** the issue and allow Victoria to trust them with it when she was ready. Ashley didn’t disagree, but she favoured more immediate results, but Chloe sided with Heather, that Victoria needed time, not pressure.

The hour passed quickly as the friends talked, and when the time came, the trio left and made their way to the coffee shop near Ravers Enterprises. Ashley insisted, just as Heather had, though with more tact, that she talk to Hannah alone. Chloe and Heather reluctantly accepted those terms, though both were eager to hear what the older Woodsen had to say for herself. Instead, they took their coffee to go and left the building, sitting on a wall across the street, while Ashley found a small table inside and waited.

Hannah was late, and the sidewalks were packed with people, so she never noticed Chloe or Heather watching her arrival. She crashed into the chair opposite her sister, tossing down her handbag as she tried to catch her breath.

“This better be worth it,” Hannah warned Ashley, only partly joking. “Shit at the office is really busy today. Everyone is scrambling to try and salvage something of this Silver Lake project, though after Heather’s appearance today, Robert is talking about scrapping the whole thing. What exactly did she say to him?”

Ashley raised her hands and grimaced, “I don’t know. All she said was that she asked Robert about his involvement in Lisa’s arrest and he showed her the proposal he planned to offer Carlos.”

“Yes, well, I wish he’d shown all of us that proposal before now,” Hannah grunted petulantly. “Anyways, care to tell me why I gave up my lunch hour to come here?”

The younger Woodsen sister frowned, unsure how to broach the subject. Hannah was usually quite light hearted and carefree but accusing her of this could get her angry. She could be just as stubborn as Ashley, such as when the younger blonde had dedicated herself to freeing Lisa simply because Zack falsely accused her of planting the ****. Would her own family blow up at her just like her best friend had done this morning? She took a deep breath, steeling her will, praying that she wouldn’t lose another sister today.

“Look, Hans, I don’t know how to ask this, so I’m just going to come right out with it,” Ashley prefaced, pausing as she took another deep breath, attempting to dispel her dread. “Did you have anything to do with those **** in Lisa’s bag? Did someone ask you to put them there?”