Ashton had an almost unrecognizable expression on his face, but he looked like he was relieved to see Will in one piece, healthy and especially, awake.

Will could not say anything because he was expecting Ashton to meet him sooner or later. It was mainly because of how many executives had already made visits to meet Will after he had woken up. Even CEOs and Chairmen from other studios like Colt Miller and Steven Wolf had come to visit Will as soon as they heard the piece of information about Will waking up.

And in the end, even Ashton was here.

"Good to see you, Will. How are you now? Oh, and Amanda, I did not expect to see you here, how are you?" Ashton said while walking in.

He placed the little gift he had brought for Will on the little desk that had so many other gifts and walked around to stand next to Will.

"Just came for some office work. It's already finished, so I'm leaving. Take your time." Amanda said, standing up and collecting her files from her lap.

She didn't really like Ashton, as in the few interactions she had, the old man came across as someone who seemed condescending towards everyone else. Though, it was hard to notice it.

"Thanks, Amanda," Will said when Amanda slightly nodded at him.

"No problem, see you later… Mr. Banasiewicz." Amanda said and walked out of the room, leaving them to talk alone.

Now that the two of them were alone, Ashton looked at Will.

"Will," Ashton said and took the seat that was previously occupied by Amanda. "It's really good to see you fine, I'm really sorry that something like this happened while you were at my party. Whatever happened was absolutely horrific, and I take responsibility for the negligence.." Ashton said with a worried expression covering his face.

Seeing that Will was listening, he continued.

"I have been feeling guilty for weeks, Will. You don't know how much it bothered me, but I swear I will do anything in my power to get Matthew the punishment he deserves."

Ashton continued talking with guilt laced in his voice.

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Will said with a small smile.

A moment of silence passed through them while Will kept staring at his face. Will looked as if he was examining something. Noticing Will staring at him, Ashton looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

Finally, after a while, Will broke the silence.

"You know what," Will questioned, gaining Ashton's attention more. "I actually find the incident very weird if I really think about it… It's strange."

Will said in almost a whisper.

There was no change in Ashton's expression. .

"Oh really? Do tell," He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm… Well, I'm aware of how Matthew was getting the information since his entire family is based in Hollywood. He has a lot of connections. My story is something that's on every tabloid in LA. But, if I really think about it, something just doesn't seem to add up." Will said with a meaningful look.

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is, it would not be hard for Matthew to get information about the party and about me. But, the strange part is how he was at your party, that too, as a waiter."

"Wha-"

"I'm aware of how your company micro manages everything for the party, personally, including the staff. It is really weird to think that he would be able to fool your staff and infiltrate, don't you think, Ashton?" Will asked, smirking and looking at him.

"Uh… Not really. These kinds of things happen. I have done my investigation, and it turns out my staff made a mistake somewhere and were not aware of it the whole time until the incident. You do know Matthew is pretty cunning." Ashton said, a calm expression on his face like he was himself curious about how Matthew had broken into the party.

"He's so cunning that he would himself come to kill rather than hire a hitman?"

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Hearing the words coming out of Will, Ashton froze.

Both stared at each other. The latter did not utter anything but kept staring at Will's face. The environment felt as if suddenly it dropped by a few degrees. A few seconds passed by, and still, Will kept his gaze on him.

Will suddenly broke the staring streak and smiled. "I'm kidding. I have been trying to joke as everyone is too serious since I woke up. I think I found my inner sense of humour after being in a coma." Will chuckled, however, Ashton wasn't smiling.

"Your jokes aren't funny, Mr Evans." He replied in a monotonous tone.

"Hm, you look weird suddenly. Is everything okay? Or did I say something to trigger you?"

Will said, unbothered by Ashton's act. He hadn't even brought up the bodyguards yet, and that was mainly because he didn't want to alert this man just yet.

"Not really, I would prefer to not get accused of something vile which I didn't commit," Ashton replied.

Soon they both calmed down, and the talk shifted to their work.

"How have things been going with work?" Will asked.

This was a question that was very easy to start a new topic about and make the atmosphere better. Moreover, he was also a bit interested in what was going on in Allen pictures.

"Everything is pretty well, actually. Our movies are going good. Same with the other businesses. But these days, the only thing I hear at work is news about you."

"About me being in a coma?"

"Everything. Oh yes, are you really going on with [Spiderman] for your next? You have not announced it yet, but it's already being talked about everywhere in Hollywood. From what I know, the comics are doing pretty well these days. Even an animated show is coming."

Both began talking as if they were good old friends meeting for lunch.

And just like Ashton mentioned, Will's next movie, which was going to be [Spiderman] was still something that has not been announced to the public yet.

Although nothing was announced officially, there had been a lot of rumours about Will's next project. Among different rumours which barely cover the truth, like him making a movie about space cats or about time travel, Will's next movie being [Spiderman] was true.

It was only a matter of time till the information got confirmed.

"Yeah, it would be [Spiderman]. The rumours are true. I am planning to get to it soon because it would be better if it gets released by the start of the year. That kind of is the reason why I feel like I need to get back to work soon."

Will replied. He did not hide the fact that what his next movie would be from Ashton as he would find out sooner or later..

Thinking about Will's words, something popped in Ashton's mind. Although he was aware of the possibilities of what his next movie would be, he never knew when the movie would be released. In fact, his words seemed to make him realize something suddenly.

"Then there are a lot of chances that our movies could clash next year at the box office. Allen Studio is shooting a movie which we are planning to release next year too. It's pretty big, and we are investing a lot in it." Ashton muttered his thoughts out.

Will smiled, hearing the words coming out of Ashton.

"Is that so? Then I really hope that both of our movies will do great." He smiled.

After that, they started to talk a bit more about work. Ashton talked to Will about the current situation in Hollywood and the rumours going on about him. He also congratulated Will on how good [Friends] had been doing after its release.

The conversation ended after half an hour, and Ashton stood up after a while.

"There are not many creators like you in Hollywood. You should take care of yourself a bit more, Will." Ashton said with a smile.

"Sure will do," Will said and saw him walk away from the room, closing the door behind him.

After a while, Will wasn't able to stop himself from frowning.

"Bastard."

Will said finally.

Until now, he had been experimenting with Ashton to see if he had any involvement with the assassination attempt. Although he had his doubts, a confirmation was still necessary.

And the result was in front of him.

[Envy, Sees you as an equal, Manipulative]

These vague emotions said it all to Will. After all, it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening.

As soon as Will had woken up, he received multiple notifications from the system, which was usually quiet until his movies were banging the Hollywood.

[The system's neglect of the host's self-defense is deeply regretted.]

[As compensation, the host is given the 'Eyes of Discernment'.]

[A new part has been added to the System shop. You can now buy various types of Martial arts and self-defense skills from the system.]

[Eyes of Discernment

Passive skill

The host can see the target's emotions, putting their inner feelings on display. This can be used to save you from people with malicious intentions.]

He had already checked the system store, and there were quite a lot of new things added there with martial arts like Kung Fu, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and even kickboxing available for purchase.

But he could only buy them when he was in good condition, as according to the system, his current body wouldn't be able to handle the amount of muscle memory.

'I just want to get back to work.'

Will sighed inwardly but felt a sense of security.