icon 0
icon TOP UP
rightIcon
icon Reading History
rightIcon
icon Sign out
rightIcon
icon Get the APP
rightIcon

THE WOMAN WHO TAUGHT HIM TO STAY

Chapter 2 HIS FIRST UNANSWERED CALL

Word Count: 1120    |    Released on: 01/11/2026

contract to cover the last three months and then some. Chloe, her assis

the Ashford cont

t

w m

een, and Chloe nearly s

ep us alive for half

his mind tomorrow

e? He called

him his whole reopen

a beat, slid a chai

women who disa

probably likes people who agree with him. I doub

ent timeline, expenses covered.

remain subject to the appro

leaned back, di

aniel. Isab

Have you had time to

There's a

t is

s Mr. Ashford overrule e

That's standard

y needs a be

cuss it w

as creative lead, and I want confirm

those reque

ank

's see if the billionaire can hand

de, Nathaniel was already working

viewed the contr

nd

got obj

signing documen

ence, direct authority, and

oked up. "An

clause four

e exists fo

akes the contr

"She's getting paid to manag

she just wants authority t

ad worked for him and rarely voiced op

sed agreement when

s,

she knows the ho

she gets

ad zero intention of calling Isab

was fixed. Her agency was credited. Authority? Front and cent

almost instantly

ord wants you at the hotel tomorrow

mor

o'c

make

I'll send

ing up, Isa

nie

es

lways use other peo

"Not a

eres

as she end

uxury-marble floors, ocean views, a chandelier screaming, 'Mon

ion. "Morning. Here

s Rowan? He's waiting. Private

directions, laptop

as the elevat

. Welcom

everyone's r

are still recovering

ded stronger co

ed and l

suit and a phone pressed to his ear. H

over. "Mi

Ash

. "You're

appoint people be

folder. "N

listic

s comf

hould

ditch the exclusive investor party and kick off with a community preview, food

he studied

e local businesses

es

e with our r

hat your rest

reputation

utation to

es. Isabelle met

scanned the budget. "

rience we're sel

the even

I control, not the cho

ld he

ways got a

en someo

t smiled

review the final bu

at. I'll need staff schedul

will han

to talk to t

hy

I'd rather not design a food fest

nodded. "A

d her stuff

or, he st

s Ro

rned.

llenge every de

to make every decisio

Nathaniel just wa

er apartment kitchen, cooking

iel As

swering but then decided-she was at home, not in his confere

ed. Seconds lat

ss supplier arra

inished prepping f

irst thing tomorrow. We can

s passed. An

take fiv

sm

n wait unt

ed burned a little. He honestly couldn't recall the last tim

saw his face.

ocked his p

w the name, looked

with a look. "Get ba

cour

tion again. He couldn't shake it-the woman who challenged him in f

was determined

Claim Your Bonus at the APP

Open
THE WOMAN WHO TAUGHT HIM TO STAY
THE WOMAN WHO TAUGHT HIM TO STAY
“He had everything money could buy. Except the one woman he couldn't control. Nathaniel Ashford was a billionaire who never lost a negotiation, never tolerated disobedience, and never allowed emotions to interfere with business. Love, to him, was simply another risk best avoided. Until Isabelle Rowan walked into his boardroom, challenged his decisions, and walked away from the job he had offered her. Desperate to save his family's prestigious seaside hotel, Nathaniel offers Isabelle a ninety-day contract. But she has one condition: he can be her employer, never her owner. What begins as a battle of stubborn wills soon becomes an irresistible attraction. Behind Nathaniel's cold exterior is a man terrified of being vulnerable, while Isabelle discovers that the billionaire who seems to have everything is secretly afraid of being left behind. But just when Isabelle finally gives him her heart, a buried family secret threatens to destroy everything. Her father's painful past is connected to the Ashford empire. And Nathaniel knew more than he ever admitted. Now the man who once promised her a future must face the truth that could cost him her love forever. Will Nathaniel finally learn that love cannot be bought, controlled, or demanded? Or will the woman who taught him how to love become the one who teaches him what it means to lose? He was a man who never knew how to stay. She was the woman who made him want to.”