The old man at least had some shame in him.
He was flustered as he slowly backed away from the office table, rearranging the stack of papers on the desk in his poor attempt of trying to make it look like he didn't touch anything, though he also realized that this is useless since he was already caught red-handed.
He lowered his head in embarrassment as Ashton walked past him. He saw him looking at the papers, then he said:
"Oh, so you've read through the files I suppose? Great! This makes it easier for me. Please, have a seat."
"I-I'm sorry for...you know..." Manny awkwardly said while sitting down.
"Hm? Ah! No, it's fine. I was supposed to show this to you anyway. Like I said, you knowing its contents makes this easier for me." Ashton replied, "If you don't mind Mr. Crossford, can you let me know your thoughts about this certain project? Feel free to be candid, I specifically asked you here for a reason."