"Are you coming or not?" The man looked impatient.

Zaria gritted her teeth. She knew that the man was doing this deliberately to trouble her, but she also knew that if she said no, he would simply find a more sophisticated way to torture her. With a click of her tongue, she entered her office to return the final edition of the proposal—he wasn't going to need it anymore since the first one was already perfect.

Grabbing her bag, she went back to the hallway where he was still waiting. "Let's go."

Letting out a smug smile, he reminded her of the tiny details that she had already taken care of and led the way.

Behind them, Liam cradled his chin in his hand. "Well, that's even more interesting."

This was the first time he had seen any employee talk back to Desmond and still keep their job. To be exact, it was the first he saw his best friend smiling so happily at someone who was saying no to him.

Was he developing an interest in this Zaria girl?

"Pfft… and to think he kept claiming to have hired her just for the sake of torturing her." He thought, then recalled something. Desmond being interested in a woman meant nothing. In fact, being in love didn't mean much to a man like Desmond either. On the other hand, it meant an upcoming heartbreak for the woman.

Sighing, he suddenly felt bad for Zaria.

…

Zaria floored the accelerator out of the underground parking of Preston and Fort Group. By the time she got to the highway, the car was almost flying.

She cursed angrily and almost slammed the steering wheel when she got onto a lane with unmoving traffic up ahead.

Desmond peeked at her from the passenger seat. "What's the rush for? Is your house on fire?"

She rolled her eyes at him. Her house was not on fire, but her brain was, okay? All thanks to this idiot beside her, she had to break her promise to visit Nina today. And if she got home too late, how would she prepare the next day's schedule?!

Contrary to the anger she felt from her bones, she shot him a sweet smile. "Of course not. I'm just ensuring that my asshole of a boss—who doesn't admit his title—gets to the lawyer's office on time. If not, I will be the one who bears the blame, now wouldn't I?"

Seeing her smile, his own ego was struck. He had learned that whenever she was so angry that she could explode, she would give him that fake smile—the one that made her look so helpless against his tease. He raised an eyebrow when she accelerated and almost rear-ended the car in front of them. "So, what would happen if you accidentally killed your boss before driving him to his destination?"

She glanced at the steering wheel and then at the car in front. Her lips unhurriedly curled into a smile. "How I wish I could do that. I would have helped the world get rid of a jerk and myself out of the most regretful contract." She mumbled.

"Did you say something?" He probed.

"Yes. I said, a man like you must have undergone rigorous training from childhood. Your body must be stronger than an average person's. Surely a mere accident wouldn't be enough to give you a scratch."

"He-he…" He laughed at her cooked-up excuse. His hearing was quite excellent, so he had heard her mumble, but he just liked it when she made up the most readily available nonsense to cover up for her initial words.

Her smile was just too seductive when she lied.

He frowned at his realization. Why the hell did he think that her bad character was seductive? Was he an idiot?

Zaria sighed when she realized that the man beside her had suddenly switched to an angry face that didn't permit any joke or mistake. Seriously, the speed at which this man's temperament changed was faster than the flip of a page. Keeping track of his mood was enough to keep one busy for a whole day. Shrugging, she continued driving. Luckily, the cars ahead of her picked up their speed, so she followed suit and accelerated.

"Hold on. Turn around at the U-turn up ahead." He suddenly ordered. She did as she was told despite knowing that it was not on the way to the lawyer's office, though she wondered what this tyrant was up to this time.

He ordered her to park the car outside a building and got off as soon as the car stopped, expecting her to follow him.

She quickly grabbed her notebook and pen just in case she needed them. She strutted after him, almost running to keep up to his insane speed.

The building they entered was a phone store, much to her chagrin.

"Can't you finish your work before getting new phones for your mistresses?" She complained inwardly but didn't dare to voice it out.

He glanced at her and grinned when he saw the annoyance written all over her face.

Satisfaction flashed through his heart. Heh…