"Don't be so full of yourself! Who wants to seduce you?" Zaria retorted.

He let out a chuckle at how flustered she was. "Don't you? I heard you say such things a moment ago."

"That's just because she angered me! She was saying such slanderous words that I had to shut her up." She explained.

"But I want to shut you up." As soon as he finished speaking, he leaned down and pecked her lips. Her eyes widened in shock.

Her hazel eyes looked more seductive thanks to her surprise. He kissed her again, this time taking his time to taste and savor her lips. He hadn't realized it earlier but he had so badly missed this feeling…

"You…" She tried to push him away.

"Zaria…" He cupped her face and looked into her eyes.

She held his arm to hug him but in the end, she shook her head. This shouldn't be happening. Knowing that she would not be able to stop him, she changed the topic by pulling him and then pushing him against the wall, so she was in front of him.

"Desmond, do you know why I agreed to sign a ten-year contract with you?"

He swallowed in surprise. How long had it been since she called out his name? She had been sticking to being overly formal and it had been making him incredibly unhappy.

She looked up at him and continued, "Do you think it's for the money? Sure, money is an important reason, but do you think it's the only factor?"

"What's the other reason?" He tried to ignore the reaction of his lower body that stemmed from the waft of her sweet floral scent.

She smiled slightly and raised her hand, then timidly extended it to touch his face. Her fingers trailed down his skin softly as she said, "Why not? If my boss is such a handsome man, forget ten years; I would work for eighty years if I can live long enough."

Her dazed eyes looked into his as she smirked. Although she was saying such words, something about her gaze jolted him out of his trance. Her tone was too odd. Did she mean any of the words she was saying? Her fingers traced down his neck and came into contact with his tie as he tried to figure her out, and he immediately forgot all about it. Whether it was real or fake, he did not want to ruin it.

However, just as he made a move to hold her, she laughed evilly. "Boss, what do you think? Would that make you fire a competent employee just because I dislike them?"

He finally figured out what she was doing. She was merely playing around because of what he had said about her seducing him. Darned woman, wasn't she afraid of taking the act too far? He looked down at his body and wanted to complain.

He grabbed her and pulled her against his body. "Forget a competent employee that you dislike. If you act that way around me, I would even fire the COO."

The elevator had just arrived and the doors slid open before the duo could realize it.

This is the scene that the COO, Liam, saw when he was on his way towards the elevator.

Seeing his friend and Zaria tangled up in such a suggestive position, he scratched his head and turned away. "I didn't see anything. Please continue."

Desmond shot him a glare for ruining his moment.

To alleviate the awkwardness, Zaria spoke up before Liam could leave. "Sir, are you feeling better?" Even though he had allowed her to address him by his name, she didn't think it would be appropriate to do so in the company.

The man touched his face and head, smiling about the extra care he had received at Desmond's expense. "I would feel much better if you got me something yummy to drink."

"Right away." For the convenience of these two bosses, there was a pantry on the same floor as their offices. She went and prepared a cup of coffee with cream and sugar, then sent it to his office.

Of course, a certain sulky boss was jealous.

"I called you two minutes ago, but you are late." He berated her when she went to his office.

She knew that he was being unreasonable, but she would go crazy if she tried to argue with him, so she took the fault. "I will be more punctual next time."

She then proceeded to read him a proposal that he had asked for—but he comprehended nothing of it because he was staring at her lips. When she finished, she looked at him. "Any comments, sir? Should I accept it?"

"What do you think?" He asked, his mind forming all sorts of unwanted imaginations.

"The proposal in itself has no loopholes. However, this company has been constantly making losses in the last two years. There is a sliver of hope that it will improve in the current year, but it is not guaranteed. In my opinion, the people in charge must be all talk and no action. Otherwise, there is no way such a brilliant plan could incur losses. It's dangerous to work with them, so I would not accept it if it were up to me—though you have the final say."

He remained silent, and she thought he was contemplating until he suddenly said, "Nice lipstick."

"What?" They were discussing serious business. Where did the topic about her lipstick come from?

Who compliments a woman's lipstick? And he did so with such a straight expression too!

No, the point was, she was not wearing any lipstick at the moment. While she did have some on a few minutes ago, she had accidentally rubbed some off on his lips, so she wiped the rest of it out. Just as she was about to say something, she caught sight of his lips. They still had an obvious red stain...