"I have no new answers, not really." Oh, Ashleigh could mention how Alicia wanted a new career, or how Asher was worried about retiring, or how their mother was nearing retirement age herself. Those circumstances were all new, to some degree, but the reason she couldn't leave her job at the Ministry was still that it wouldn't be sensible to do so. She needed to be able to support herself and, if worst came to worst, to support her siblings and their mother. Asher had many of his own, of course, far more than Ashleigh had, but that somehow never factored into her decisions. That was his money, apart from the very little bit of it she urged him to contribute to their mother.
Ashleigh had no idea how to make an interior design business work. She could learn, she could read books and take courses in business, she could ask for advice and hire herself an accountant, but it would still take time. Working for herself would never - could never - be an overnight success, she would have to slowly build up word of mouth, gain clients, prove herself good enough over and over until it stuck. It wouldn't bring in money right away, and how could she justify dipping into her savings when Alicia or Asher might need them? The sensible thing would be to start the business while holding her current job, working evenings and weekends, but her dancing and her trips to the opera and seeing her friends was all the joy Ashleigh allotted herself. Could she give that up for administration and publicity work that might only lead to failure?
"I'm sure he could," Ashleigh agreed. Axel wasn't hopelessly incompetent, he only acted as if he were. "I don't think he had before I arrived, and he refused to let me help." Not that Ashleigh had looked for frozen corn. Perhaps that would have been more successful. She pursed her lips over the question. Had it been helpful to Axel? No. Had it been helpful to her... "I was less anxious when I left." Anything beyond that was still a mass of confusing emotions that Ashleigh didn't want to unpick.