Liam was on his way to Desmond's office when he saw an enraged Zaria storming out. What a familiar scene. His gaze subconsciously trailed down her chest as she walked past him and indeed, her employee badge was no longer in its place.

His lips twitched as he entered the office and looked at his friend with a frown. "Will you die if you keep your temper in check? Great. Now you've angered yet another one away."

Desmond, who was caressing the small emerald employee badge, looked up in annoyance. "Can't it be her who angered me?"

The heavens could witness it. He didn't say anything wrong.

Liam scoffed. "As if I don't know my own friend well enough."

Desmond ignored his taunt. "Why are you here?"

Liam leaned against the window, looking at a loss. "The old man called."

"Ignore him." Desmond responded without flinching. He then pushed a white envelope towards the edge of his large desk. "Send this to Lawyer Su."

Liam jolted and ran a hand through his spiky blond hair, his beautiful eyes full of disbelief. "Shoot! I can't let this happen again!"

He bolted out of the office as he mumbled. He would not allow himself to be this man's interim assistant again. He had to find Zaria!

In the office beside Desmond's, Zaria was typing something at an insane speed when the door flew open and a tall figure in a blue suit jumped in.

She frowned when she saw that it was Liam. His intention was obvious.

"Zaria, help! It's an emergency." He exaggerated the situation like a drama king. When he saw that she did not react to his words, he leaned over to scan her face. "Zaria?"

She raised a hand to gesture for him to wait. He didn't know what came over him but facing such a gloomy aura, he subconsciously zipped his mouth and silently waited at the side.

She printed whatever she had been typing then stood up and took her bag. Glancing at the freshly printed document in her hand, she handed it to him.

The man did not reach for the document, but he lowered his eyes to read the content. His jaw dropped when he saw the words [Letter of resignation]. "You are asking for my life right now!"

Zaria paid no attention to his dramatics. She would send herself to an early grave if she kept trying to put up with a certain man's childishness.

She placed the document on the desk. "I will pay the compensation for termination of contract. If he is unsatisfied with this, let's meet in court."

Liam cursed when he saw Zaria leave. It was not that he was unable to stop her. He could, but the only way to do that was to suppress her using his authority. The matter was already beyond friendly negotiation.

However, he couldn't bring himself to do something that might make the woman sad—not when he didn't know what his temperamental friend had done to make her so upset.

Damned Desmond. Was it so hard to be reasonable?

…

Zaria threw her handbag on the bed and kicked her heels off her feet. She was back to the starting point. It was already bad enough that she had offended Desmond before—but she had done it again.

However, she was not going to remain silent and listen to that man talk crap about her and her father.

His words were unspecific. He did not directly call her out for being a liar or for faking news for the sake of money. In fact, one may think she was being petty. However, heaven knew that F&P Media had never published anything that was supported by irrefutable evidence.

Even as the CEO's assistant, she would spend a lot of time investigating just to ensure there was no false news. Heaven knew the harsh circumstances they had been through. Yet, after all their effort, they had been sued for libel. The irony.

She could accept this. Media agencies were often targeted for what was usually termed as 'too much truth'. What she couldn't accept was his accusatory words when he knew better than anyone that he was in the wrong. He had sued her father for telling the truth. What right did he have to call him a liar using such an arrogant tone?

Her phone rang and pulled her out of her thoughts.

Glancing at the words [Asshole Boss] on her screen, her eyes flickered with annoyance. She was about to directly hang up but when she thought that it could be an important matter, she picked it up impatiently. "Speak."

"Miss Williams, it's one thing to storm out on your boss but how dare you miss an important meeting? Do you still want your job?"

Based on his tone, Liam must have kept her resignation from him. These two were doubtlessly birds of a feather. They were both unreliable.

She calmed herself and announced, "I gave my resignation letter to Mr. Preston. I'm no longer an employee of Preston and Fort Group."

She hung up, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

___

Preston and Fort Group.

Liam had plastered his ear against Desmond's phone so he had heard Zaria's words. He frowned. "Just what did you do to her?"

"It's none of your business. Get lost." Desmond fumed.

Liam analyzed the situation. There was only one thing that had been making Desmond's mood explosive lately. "Is this about the news?"

Ignoring him, Desmond felt the smooth, little badge that was still in his hands. He caressed it with his long fingers, his lips curled into a devilish smile. "She will be back."

Liam got goosebumps from his chuckle. They both knew he was talking about his executive assistant. But why did he make it sound like he was vowing t o coax his willful runaway wife back?