“Well, I guess I may as well just say it,” Ashley said, uncrossing her legs and sitting up slightly straighter. “I’m here to respectfully request a transfer.” Once the words were out, she pursed her lips and then exhaled through her nose, like a weight was beginning to be lifted off of her shoulders but could come back to smash her at any moment.
Aaron was stunned. That was the last thing he’d been expecting to hear. Well, one of the last things anyway. “You want a transfer?” he repeated, still staring at her. “To another area?”
“Yes,” Ashley said with a firm nod that indicated she’d given this a lot of thought. “I know that everyone wants to be here, in KC, and I don’t blame them. It’s a great team to be a part of. I’ve learned so much already in just the past few months, and I know that I’m a better Hunter from having been here. Cadence and Aurora have been great to watch and learn from. There are also a lot of Guardians that I’ve been able to pick up tips and techniques from. It’s been a fabulous experience.” As she continued to speak, he thought he saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “But… I just don’t think this is the place for me. Anymore.”
He held her eyes for a few moments, not sure what to say, and realizing he was tinkering with a notepad, causing everything on his desk to be shifted out of place, he pulled his hand away and folded them. “Well, Ash, I have to say I’m really surprised to hear that. Do you mind if I ask how you came to this decision?”
She swallowed hard, like she wasn’t sure if she could start to breathe again or not. Having it out there was one thing; knowing what he was going to say in return was likely a whole other beast. “I just feel like I could be more useful in another area, one where there aren’t as many strong Hunters,” she reasoned, her face perfectly straight, though he did notice she had a tell. When she wasn’t being completely honest, her right eyelid twitched slightly, as it was doing now. “I feel that other people should have an opportunity to learn from the best, as I have, and I know there are a lot of great recruits coming up through the ranks now.” Seemingly satisfied with that answer, she gave him a small smile and then dropped her eyes again.
Aaron studied her for a long moment, choosing his words carefully. Cadence wasn’t there to defend herself, and the last thing he wanted to do was throw the woman he loved under the bus, but… something told him all of this had to revolve around her. “Ashley, I understand that Cadence hasn’t exactly been… welcoming. If the two of you are having problems, perhaps it would be for the best if all three of us sat down together and tried to work through them.”
The blonde was shaking her head before he even finished the sentence. “No, it really doesn’t have anything to do with Cadence at all, I swear,” she said. “It doesn’t.”
A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “Are you sure? I know the two of you had lunch today. She said it was fine, but that usually tells me something happened she doesn’t want to talk about.”
“It was fine,” Ashley confirmed. “Really—this isn’t about Cadence. This is about me. Seeking growth opportunities. For myself.”
“Well, if that’s really the case, Ashley, I have to say, I think this is the best place for you. Obviously, you show a tremendous amount of potential. You’re the top Hunter in your class. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have kept you here, and we certainly wouldn’t have you out in the field on some of our most difficult hunts. That being said, you do have more that you can learn. From Cadence and Aurora. Even Meagan.”
Nodding, Ashley said, “No, I agree. And I do want to keep learning. Just… not here.”
Aaron ran his hand through his hair and studied her again in silence. She was still sitting in the same rigid position she’d been in when she first sat down, and even though her face had relaxed slightly, it was evident something was bothering her. But if not Cadence—then what? “Why did you want to talk to me and not Cadence, then, if this has nothing to do with her?”
Her eyes enlarged slightly, as if she hadn’t been prepared for that question. “I, uh, thought you’d be more understanding than she would be.” That wasn’t a lie. He could tell she was being perfectly honest with him then. “I think you and I have always gotten along fairly well, and I thought maybe, assuming Cadence does have to approve every Hunter who transfers, talking to you about it first would make it easier, especially if I needed you to speak to her on my behalf.”
“You do realize that everything you just said makes it sound like you recognize there are some issues between the two of you, don’t you?” he asked, keeping his voice as gentle and unemotional as possible.
Ashley tipped her chin down and inhaled through her nose. “I know the two of us have issues, but that’s not my reason for asking for a transfer. I wanted to be friends with Cadence; I thought I could be. I’ve been trying for so long. But after we had lunch today, I realized we can’t be friends.” She looked up now, meeting his eyes. “She told me we couldn’t be.”
Aaron raised both eyebrows and stared at Ashley in disbelief, wondering what in the world Cadence could’ve said for Ashley to think that—and if she had used those exact words, what his fiancée might’ve been thinking. He didn’t get a chance to ask before she continued, though.
“And she’s right. We can’t be. Because, no matter how much I’m impressed with her, how much I like her as a person, or how much she comes to like me—once she gets to know me—there will always be something between us.”
“What’s that?” he asked, crinkling his forehead. He had absolutely no idea what she was getting at, and something told him she expected he would’ve come to the correct conclusion by now.
Chapter 426 Honesty
Ashley’s perfectly manicured brows went up, and once again she was swallowing as if her throat was parched. “You really don’t know?” Slowly, Aaron shook his head. “Boy, for someone who always seems to figure everything out before the rest of us get to step one, there are some things you aren’t quite as quick about, huh?” Most of that came out under her breath, as if she was muttering to herself, and while he was tempted to ask her if she realized what she’d just said—to her boss—he only stared at her. “Aaron, I can’t stay here any longer. Not because of Cadence. But because of you.”
She was looking directly at him now, her eyes boring through him, and for a moment he began to wonder if he’d done something wrong. Was it something he’d said? Something she’d taken the wrong way? How had he offended her that would make her want to transfer to another team? But then he realized exactly what she was getting at. Cadence had been right after all. “Oh,” was all he could manage to say. He leaned back in his chair and ran his hand along his jawline in contemplation. She was right—he didn’t miss a lot, but he’d missed this. Even when it had been pointed out to him on numerous occasions.
“I am sorry if that makes you uncomfortable,” Ashley continued once the silence in the room became painful. “I don’t want to make you feel like… like, I’m stalking you or something creepy like that. I mean, I haven’t constructed a shrine or anything.”
That made him chuckle, and when she saw that he wasn’t about to call security to come and escort her out of his office, her shoulders lowered slightly and she seemed to breathe a tad easier. “I had no idea,” was about all he could manage to say.
“Good,” she said, firmly. “And perhaps I should’ve left well enough alone and not have pointed it out to you. But when Cadence mentioned it at lunch today, I realized, if it was that obvious to other people, then I needed to do something about it. It isn’t fair for me to make her uncomfortable, and not only is it inappropriate for me to have any sort of romantic inclinations toward you, it’s stupid because obviously you’re marrying her. I know that. And I want you to.” As if the floodgates were open, she was pouring her soul out, and Aaron just sat back and let her talk. “It’s just… sometimes a person can’t help the way they feel, even when they know it’s ridiculous. Even if you weren’t engaged, it would still be stupid on my part. So… so anyway. I just… I need to go somewhere else. Somewhere away from you. So that I can get my head on straight.” Ashley took a deep breath and settled back into the chair for the first time, and whatever weight she’d been carrying around with her was dissolved.
Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Aaron fixed the items on his desk that were already perfectly in alignment and ran his hand through his hair again. “Ashley, I really appreciate you coming in to talk to me about this. And I don’t mind bringing it up to Cadence, but here’s the thing, we need you.” He looked her directly in the eyes now and saw her once hopeful expression begin to disintegrate. “With everything going on right now with the shapeshifters, the lack of reporting, we have no idea what’s happening. To let a great Hunter such as yourself go when we need you most would be beyond stupid.” She didn’t blink, continuing to stare at him as if he’d just shattered every dream she’d ever had as a child, including the fact that Santa Claus is real. “If it makes you uncomfortable being around me, then we can take precautions with that. You answer to Cadence anyway, so we can make sure that you and I are never in the same vicinity if you want. Personally, I don’t think this is quite as big of a deal as you obviously do.” He was hoping to calm her nerves a little bit and saw a flicker of hope return to her countenance. “While I am flattered that you don’t see me as quite the pretentious jerk most everyone else on the team takes me for, I think everyone’s been in a similar position before where they’ve found themselves having a bit of a crush on a teammate. It’s really not something we need to worry about, from my perspective. I mean, like I said, I didn’t even notice. So it’s not like you’ve been blatantly obvious or anything.” It seemed counterproductive to mention that Cadence had noticed months ago.
Ashley was contemplative for quite some time before she quietly said, “I don’t suppose I have to transfer right now, if you think it would be better for me to stay here until we get everything figured out with the portal.” Telling her and Mickey what was going on with the blue moon portal had been essential once they started going out on regular hunts with the core team. There were still plenty of people at headquarters who had no idea there even was a portal, and Aaron wanted to keep it that way, but he’d become certain both Ashley, who understood the importance of keeping it quiet, and Mickey, who hardly ever spoke anyway, would keep the information to themselves.
“I’ll tell you what, why don’t you think about it for a little while, maybe give it another hunt or two, and if you still feel uncomfortable, the three of us can sit down and talk about it again. I think having it out in the open will probably go a long way toward letting you deal with it however you need to and let me know to give you some space.”
The Hunter nodded and took a deep breath. Deciding there really wasn’t much else he needed to say at this point, Aaron stood, and Ashley jumped up out of her seat as well, as if the bell had rung and she was dismissed from the most uncomfortable class a person could ever imagine.
Deciding keeping his distance was for the best, Aaron didn’t go around the desk. “Thanks a lot for coming in, Ash,” he said, smiling, and hoping his nonchalant demeanor would assure her that she really didn’t need to feel unsettled around him.
“Thanks for listening to me,” she replied, managing a small smile as well. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, as soon as we figure out what’s going on with this strange Vampire movement, we’ll put another hunt together.”
“Cool,” she said, which seemed more than a little out of place. “Good luck with that then.”
“Thank you,” Aaron replied, running his hand through his hair once again as the unsettling idea that he needed to get back to what he’d been doing most of the day weighed on his mind. “I’m gonna need it.”
Ashley gave a polite chuckle and headed for the door. She disappeared without looking back, and Aaron stuck his hands in his pockets, looking up at the ceiling and taking a deep breath. Of all the things for the new Hunter to want to talk to him about, never in a million years would he have guessed it was that. He was almost certain she was going to come in and ask him to talk to Cadence about being rude to her. Who knew Cadence was actually right?
