Is this destiny?

~ Chicago, Jasper\'s penthouse ~

October 6

Ellie woke up and it took her some time to calm herself down enough to turn and face the man whose toned arms are wrapped around her.

This time she was sure that Jasper is sleeping because his breathing was deep and steady and occasionally he made faint whistling sounds. There is no way he would make those sounds if he is awake.

Now that she confirmed he is sleeping, she can take her time to observe his handsome face up close. He is relaxed, and even with that, there is a faint smile lingering on his face. Is that smile a permanent feature? 

Oh, God! They are both naked under that cover!

But she has to admit that it feels nice. Waking up next to him… it feels nice.

She thought about previous night and how Jasper impressed her more than once. She used to imagine how it will be… to be held by a man. And he made the reality so much better than her wildest imagination. Ah, it will be impossible to erase that image of him, his strength, his firmness, his intense gaze… while he lowers himself on top of her. And he is so good at it, it\'s like he perfected the use of every part of his body just to please a woman. He is wasting his time being a CEO in a boring office… he should spend his days in the bed, with her, because those thumbs are great at rubbing much more than just the jaw, and his other fingers are not idle either. And the same goes for his lips, and his tongue, and his… She felt herself blush while getting heated up.

Ellie scooted out of the bed slowly and went to shower.

She could not find her underwear while glancing around, and she didn\'t want to wake Jasper up by searching, so she went in his closet and picked one of his numerous perfectly pressed shirts to put on. It\'s almost reaching her knees, and it fits her like a baggy dress.

\'This will need to do for now.\'

She checked herself in the mirror before going out in the living area.

Ellie was thinking of going to her villa. She has work to do. Well, nothing urgent, but still… However, if she leaves like this while he is sleeping, who knows what he will think? His reaction for her not responding to his texts shows that he tends to overthink things. If she just leaves after that steamy night without saying goodbye, he might think that she left the country or something like that. So, she decided to stick around at least until Jasper wakes up.

She made a phone call to her villa, requesting her maids to prepare and deliver a change of clothes. With her t-shirt still in the dryer and her underwear missing, it\'s safer just to get a second set of everything.

Unsure what to do next, Ellie decided to go to the kitchen and make herself a coffee. She ended up brewing the whole pot.

She sat on the sofa and got her phone. She can check her emails, latest fashion events, or maybe play her favorite match-three game.

Her sight fell on the paper on the table… it\'s the one with notes that Jasper made when he talked about K Industries, stocks and shareholders. Ellie glanced toward the bedroom and thought for some time before typing an email on her phone. When she sent it, she walked out on the terrace and closed the door behind her prior to making a call.

"Young Miss Young!", man\'s voice greeted her as soon as the call connected.

"Hi Ethan. I have a task for you. Did you get my email?"

"Email?" There was a sound of typing on the keyboard. "Yes. I just did. Give me a second…" After some silence and more typing, Ethan spoke. "Young Miss, you want to buy stocks of K Industries?"

"Yes." Ellie confirmed. "At least 15%, and the more the better."

She was thinking about Jasper\'s problem and decided to help him out. JoAnna told her that in a relationship they need to support each other, and this will be her way of supporting Jasper. He already told her several of his brilliant ideas about taking the company to the next level, and the only thing putting breaks to that is his father. If she gets enough stocks so that his father is not an obstacle in getting necessary 51% for approving his proposals, he can do his thing and at the same time her investment will pay off as well. Bonus is that his father will not be able to control him anymore. It\'s a win-win-win situation.

"I advise against it.", Ethan\'s curt response cut off Ellie\'s happy thoughts.

"Reason?"

"You already have stocks of KMY which is also in the energy sector. If you get more than 3% in K Industries you will become a board member there as well. Even if you don\'t attend their meetings, it\'s a conflict of interests because they are competitors, and either of the companies can pursue you legally for damages if they find out. And between KMY and K Industries, KMY is a better investment because K Industries are making much slower progress in adapting to new technologies and keeping up with demand of people for clean energy sources. Their stock trends are proving that." Ethan was proud with his concise explanation.

Ethan might be right, but that is not how Ellie sees it. "I usually trust you to make decisions related to my investments. But this is different. Sell off all my KMY stocks and buy K Industries. I have a feeling that they will see a rapid growth soon."

"Insider\'s information?"

"You can say that." Ellie glanced toward the bedroom through the glass door of the terrace. "Also, I need at least 10% to come from three people I sent you in email: Dickinson, Stocker and Bally. If you can drive them to under 3% that will be perfect."

"You want them to lose their place as board members?", Ethan can see where this is going.

"Correct."

Ellie praised her brilliant plan: if those three can\'t attend board meetings, they can\'t vote for Norman. It\'s that simple.

Ethan sighed. "I need to warn you that getting stocks from specific people might be tricky. What if they don\'t want to sell?"

"Do what needs to be done." Ellie knows that Ethan is much more than a stockbroker. After all, he is one of her dad\'s people.

"Even reaching out to Boss?"

Ellie exhaled. "I can\'t stop you from telling my father what I\'m up to, but I would prefer if you don\'t use his resources for this. Find another way. You have full access to my investment accounts, and after selling KMY shares there should be more than enough money for a measly 15%, but if it\'s lacking, let me know."

Ethan chuckled. His young Miss is probably one of few to say that 15% of a billion dollar worth company is \'measly\'. Not many will think that she is a powerhouse because she likes to keep a low profile, but as her financial advisor he knows about her resources. With an astonishing income Ellie\'s EY empire is generating and her wise investments over the years, she can afford to say that.

"I understand, young Miss. Anything else?"

"Yes. Jasper Kiani is the current CEO of K Industries. I have information that his father Norman Kiani froze some of his assets and resources few years ago. Can you find out more about that?"

Ethan took notes on this before responding: "Yes, young Miss."

"Thank you, Ethan.", Ellie ended the call with a chilling smile on her face.

She narrowed her eyes while thinking how that pompous old man dared to look down on her and he is bullying Jasper!

If she could see herself now, Ellie would notice exactly the same bloodlust Matthew is emitting when facing someone he wants destroyed. Ah, she has no idea how similar she is to her father.

It took her some time to calm down enough to be able to enjoy the breathtaking view of Lake Michigan which shimmered under the October sun. Only then she realized that she is feeling chilly. Of course, she is wearing only Jasper\'s shirt, and it\'s windy.

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