At the same time, the sound of a helicopter echoed through the air. Oliver and Mia paused what they were doing to look at where that sound came from.
Only to find a black helicopter flying straight toward them. It soon landed nearby, causing waves to crash against the shoreline and sand to fly everywhere.
The side door of the helicopter opened up to reveal a woman wearing a black suit and sunglasses. She stepped out and started walking toward the mother and son pair.
They stared in surprise, wondering who she could be, as both of them didn't know that person.
"Hello," The woman greeted them once she was close enough. She took off her sunglasses to reveal her emerald green eyes and gave them a professional smile. "You are Mrs. Mia, right?"
Mia blinked at that. "Yes, I am. May I ask who you are?"
"My name's Elle. Elle Brown. I work as an assistant to Mr. William Ashford. I am here because Mr. Ashford requested your presence immediately," the woman said, before her eyes trailed over to Oliver.
Seeing the way she looked at him, he could tell that she was judging him for some reason.
The moment Mia heard who sent her, her eyes narrowed, and a frown formed on her beautiful face. "What does he want from me? I clearly made it obvious that I don't want to have anything to do with him."
Mia's voice carried a tone of displeasure as she spat out those words. It was obvious she hated the man, although Oliver wasn't sure why because he never heard about him.
Elle, however, wasn't fazed by it at all as she maintained the same business-like smile on her face. "I'm afraid I can't tell you why Mr. Ashford wants to meet you, as it's his orders. However, if you come with me, I assure you that your questions will be answered as soon as we arrive."
"No. I'm not going anywhere near him unless you give me a good reason why." Mia shot back immediately with finality, her face contorting into one of frustration as her anger increased. "He isn't someone I wish to be associated with, and I hope you would understand that."
Oliver looked at his mother with surprise, because this was the first time he'd seen her this angry before. What did this person do to her?
"Mom? Who is Mr. Ashford? And why do you have such a bad impression of him?"
Mia looked at her son with conflicted eyes before she opened her mouth. "Not now, Oliver. I promise I'll explain everything to you later." Then, she turned toward Elle and glared at her. "In the meantime, tell William that if he thinks he can boss me around, then he's sorely mistaken. I don't care what he has to say to me; I'm not going to meet him."
Her eyes spoke volumes to Elle about the hidden emotions inside Mia, but even after hearing what she had to say, she didn't waver.
"Unfortunately, ma'am. This isn't something you can refuse. It's an emergency situation that you must attend to. I understand that you may have some unpleasant relationship with Mr. Ashford; however, I'm sure you can put that aside and meet him just this once," Elle spoke with a hint of pleading in her voice. "I really hope that you'll accept my request."
Mia furrowed her brows. She didn't understand why this woman was so adamant about getting her to come. What exactly was going on? Was this truly something important, or did William just want to use this as an excuse to get her to meet him?
"Please, ma'am..." Elle tried again with a more earnest expression than before. "Mr. Ashford wouldn't contact you if it wasn't something critical."
It was obvious that Elle was serious about this, and it made Mia more curious as to why her presence was being requested. She thought about the pros and cons of going, trying to make a final decision on what to do.
After taking a look at Oliver, she let out a deep sigh and then nodded. "Alright, fine. I'll meet him... but on one condition."
Elle looked relieved once Mia agreed. However, she raised an eyebrow when she heard there was a condition to be met before she went to see her boss.
"And that is?"
Mia pointed to Oliver, who was standing beside her. "I want my son, Oliver, to join me during the meeting along with his father, Adam."
"That's not an issue. Mr. Ashford has also asked for the presence of your son," Elle answered without missing a beat before continuing, "However, your husband wasn't mentioned by name, so I don't know if he could come too."
Mia shook her head. "No, Adam will come as well. It'll be just the three of us coming together."
Seeing that Mia wasn't going to budge, Elle sighed in resignation. "Very well then, ma'am. Now can you please hurry up and get ready so we can leave right away?"
Oliver stared at the two women while listening to their conversation. It felt like an odd situation where he had no idea what was going on, yet it somehow involved him too.
But before he could dwell further into those thoughts, Mia grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to her. She gave him a small smile before leading him towards the beach house with the woman, Elle, not following behind them.
"Mom, what's happening?" Oliver asked as they reached the house. "What's going on?"
"It's complicated, dear. For now, let's just get ready and head off to see what that asshole wants from us."
Mia walked into the house without saying another word, leaving Oliver alone with his thoughts.
There was no telling what might happen next, but he trusted his mother and knew she would tell him more once they were alone.
"Well, let's not waste time." Oliver said to himself as he entered the house and put on his clothes.