She averted her gaze from his lips and looked aside. "Sir, what do you think?"

Although he was distracted by the woman before him, he knew that he had to focus on his work. He glanced through the report in her hand and recalled her words. He then nodded. "Reject it."

"Okay." She made a note on her tablet and rolled the stylus between her fingers. "There's a message from Ms. Samantha, inviting you to a banquet on the tenth of next month…"

"Reject it." He interrupted with a slight frown.

She knew that he didn't like attending banquets unless they were business banquets. She also knew that Ms. Samantha was his sister, with whom he was estranged. However, she still delivered the rest of the message. "Mr. Preston has confirmed his attendance."

He thought hard about it, cursed softly, and then raised his head to look at her. "Call Liam here on your way out."

She nodded. "Okay. At what time would you like to have your morning coffee?"

"In ten minutes, thanks."

She left the office, sauntering in her high heels. Watching her retreating back, he could not believe that she was focusing on her work so seriously after setting his mind and body on fire.

"What are you thinking about?" Liam's voice filled the air.

Desmond sighed, his voice filled with Zaria's breathtaking figure and the seductive way her hips swayed as she exited earlier. "She's so beautiful."

Liam glanced at him and was not surprised in the slightest. However, his eyes were full of disapproval. "Have you forgotten who she is?"

"I know that she is my executive assistant as well as Theodore William's daughter, but that…" His own words jolted him out of his trance and he snapped out of it. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you attending that kind of banquet?"

"This has nothing to do with you." Liam shrugged.

"It's about Samantha, isn't it?" Desmond's voice was filled with scorn.

The latter's lips twitched ever so slightly as he gazed out of the window. In the next moment, he turned. "Desmond, while we have been friends for as long as I remember, I don't answer to you. It's time for you to start getting this into your head."

"So it really is about her." Desmond smiled. "Look, I'm not trying to stop you. If you want to get manipulated into destroying your whole life, then you know what? You can go right ahead."

Liam thought about his overreaction and his eyebrows furrowed. "I don't want to fight with you."

"Who wants to fight with you? Get lost." Desmond scoffed disdainfully. Although he was curious about some things, he knew that it would be better not to ask. The Forts were none of his business, and neither was Samantha.

About a minute after Liam left, Zaria brought Desmond's coffee over.

He glanced at the dark liquid and frowned in displeasure.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" She asked softly.

Of course there was something wrong. "I want a cup of delicious coffee."

As if she had expected this kind of response, three sachets of cream powder and two of sugar appeared on his desk. She leaned over and opened them one at a time, pouring them into the cup. Then she took a spoon from the tray and stirred the content.

"Is it better now?" She asked as she straightened up. "I added one sugar and two creams to Liam's cup."

A smile formed on his lips as he took a taste. "It's the yummiest cup of coffee I've ever tasted."

She held back a scoff. Of course. She had once had a tiny taste of his coffee and almost threw up from how bitter it tasted.

The 'big baby' was pleased now, so he asked, "Do you want me to fire her?"

He was referring to Marion, the receptionist who had offended her earlier.

She let out an evil smile. "Do you need to? If my information is correct, executive employees have the right to hire or fire other employees." One of his former executive assistants had even misused this authority to fire all the women she thought were more beautiful than her, in order to keep them away from him and eliminate possible rivals. It made one wonder what exactly he was thinking while employing some idiots.

When he recalled this, he smiled. "Do as you please."

"Aren't you scared that I might use the chance to get rid of all the capable employees in the company and cause the downfall of Preston and Fort Group?" She asked teasingly.

His gaze met hers as he took a sip of the sweet drink before him. "Then I would have to punish you for being too naughty."

She gulped. Why did his words sound so wrong?

___

Later in the day, at the West Golf Course.

As usual, Desmond had dragged Zaria with him to meet with Mr. West.

"Do you know how to play golf?" He asked as they arrived.

She shook her head. "Do you want to teach me?"

Before he could respond, a handsome man in sports attire walked towards them. He had an alluring beauty in his arms, who he let go of to greet Desmond. "You finally agreed to meet up with me, you idiot. Who is this beauty? Your latest toy?"

"Evan!" Desmond roared at him. "This is my executive assistant, Miss Williams. Keep your eyes to yourself."

Zaria so badly wanted to recoil to the side. The man had a woman with him, but he was still looking at her like he wanted to undress her with his eyes? Disgusting!

However, she had to pretend to be polite for the sake of her boss, who was no less of a womaniser. She reluctantly shook his hand and stuck beside Desmond. Luckily, the man did not make things difficult for her after receiving a fierce glare. However, the woman beside Evan glared at her venomously.

Not caring, Zaria stuck by Desmond's side and helped him prepare for the game. He went to the changing room and returned in a royal blue golf shirt and white pants, with a pair of golf shoes and a cap.

Seeing him in casual attire, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. The two men competed with each other, and the whole time, her gaze was fixed on Desmond. He looked too handsome…