"Can't I?" Desmond feigned innocence with a shrug.

She rolled her eyes and chose to ignore him. He would simply come up with a random, insane excuse if she continued to argue with him.

A message popped up on her screen when their food had just arrived.

[Ryan: Zaria, can we talk?]

Her mood that had just brightened up dampened. What did Ryan want to talk to her about? What she hated the most was people who deliberately did mean things and made excuses for their actions later.

Desmond noticed her mood change and was curious. Who was texting her? Was it Liam?

He had noticed that she had been ignoring him lately, and he had a guess of what it was all about.

She pursed her lips and set her phone aside then continued smiling like nothing had happened.

He couldn't help chuckling. Were women able to switch their moods so fast?

___

The following day, Preston and Fort Group.

The company was in a frenzy when the employees saw their boss walking into the building, carrying a crate with a white pomeranian puppy inside it. His serious face was a stark contrast to the little ball of fluff, which kept looking around curiously.

The women were especially excited and kept shrieking and giggling.

"What a rare sight! The CEO has a pet? I wouldn't have ever guessed it!" A red-lipsticked intern whispered to her friend excitedly.

"It doesn't look that used to him. Maybe he just adopted it?" Came another comment.

"Maybe he is helping someone take care of it?" Another speculated, earning odd looks from her colleagues. Was there anyone with guts big enough to make Desmond do that kind of task?

Ignoring the excited women, he made his way to the elevator and was waiting for the doors to open when a strong perfume hit his nostrils. Even the puppy in the crate scrammed to the farthest corner of his crate.

A long-haired woman appeared in his line of sight. "Sir, I know a lot of dogs. Can I help you take care of this cutie?" She offered sweetly, but just like all the other women who were obsessed with him, she was more keen on trying to make him notice her beauty than on the puppy.

The man furrowed his brows, almost sneezing from her perfume. "Get lost!"

"Sir…" The woman was confident about her beauty, having been complimented by almost all her male colleagues. It was unbelievable that Desmond didn't pay attention to her.

She looked wronged and thought that he would feel guilty for shouting at her. However, the man's frown deepened. He dialed a number on his phone and Zaria's voice came through clearly. "Good morning, sir. Is there anything you need my help with?"

"I need a new rule to be set. No one is allowed to use strong perfumes in the company—especially those that smell like cow poop."

Zaria was stumped. That was an odd rule… "Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Desmond made sure his words were loud and clear for all the women to hear. "Filter out the employees so all the brainless ones are kicked out. This is a conglomerate, not a night club for sl*ts to parade themselves naked."

The women shuddered in fright.

A moment ago, they were jealous of the long-haired beauty for having the courage to go up to Desmond. But his words… Wasn't he too sharp-tongued?

No, the point was, they had always showered him with attention. Every time he showed up, ninety percent of the female employees would affectionately greet him and he had never minded it before. Why was he suddenly so harsh?

"If you know so much about dogs, how about you become a vet? I don't need dirty hands to contaminate my puppy." He entered the elevator when he was done speaking.

…

By the time he showed up at Zaria's office, he was still frowning in disgust.

She found it hilarious, paired with the odd order she had just received from him. She held back a laugh. "Sir, did something bad happen? Also, what's with the dog?"

His brows were still tightly knitted, but they relaxed slightly when he got closer to her and felt her calming, sweet scent.

"Get me a change of clothes. I'm going to shower."

"Okay." This order wasn't any less strange than the others, but she followed instruction and prepared to contact a store of the brand from which he usually bought his clothes.

He was happier now, but he kept sniffing himself as though afraid that a horrible smell had rubbed off him. At the same time, he kept trying to check Zaria's reaction. That brainless woman's perfume was so repulsively strong. If his clothes ended up smelling like her, would Zaria be mad?

"The clothes will be ready and delivered in ten minutes. I will send them to your office." She spoke up after successfully ordering a change of clothes.

He nodded and placed the crate in his hand onto her desk.

"Huh?" She didn't comprehend his actions. "Uh…What's this?" "It's a pomeranian." His eyes seemed to scold her for not being able to tell the obvious.

"Yeah, I know it's a pom…what is it doing on my desk?" While she asked, the little thing knocked its front limbs against the door of the crate, as though curious about the new human in its vicinity.

Desmond observed its actions with a smile. "He likes you. You will make a good human and pet duo."

"Wait. What the heck?!"

The man took a deep breath, opened the door, and then hugged the little ball of fur when it jumped onto his arm. "Zaria, I was a jerk that day. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you, especially before trying to understand you. I'm sorry."

She finally understood what was going on, but she was still indifferent. "I'm not going to say that it's okay—it's not. But it's in the past, there's no point talking about it now."

Just as she had suggested, he presented the puppy to her. "For the sake of this cutie, can you please forgive me? I will make it up to you whichever way you want."

Now they were back to where they had started. She wasn't usually one to forgive too easily, but how the heck was she supposed to say this to her boss? He had believed her, so she was no longer hurt by what he had done in a fit of anger. However, that didn't mean she would be as comfortable with him as she was before. Not to mention, there were already things that she disliked about him.

After racking her brains, she decided to ambiguously evade the answer. Instead, she focused on the puppy. "I don't think I need a pet."

"Is that so?" He looked disappointed. "But you said that you would never reject a cute pet."

"When did I…" She suddenly remembered their conversation from the day before. So the woman he had said he wanted to apologize to…was her?

She was helpless against his gaze. Just when she was about to insistently say no to keeping the puppy, the little thing whined pitifully. It was as though it could feel her rejection against it.

Zaria's heart softened when she saw how sad it looked. She extended a finger to poke it and the puppy jumped onto her excitedly to play. She had no choice but to rub its fluffy coat.

"How old is he? What's his name?" She asked out of curiosity.

Seeing that his goal was halfway done, Desmond pulled out the exaggerated story he had come up with. "He doesn't have a name yet. You can give him one. He is only five weeks old and will get used to a new name pretty fast."

Before she could say anything, he added, looking sad. "He is quite pitiful. His brother was taken away a few days ago, so he was left on his own. It isn't easy for him to get close to the other dogs at the pet center since they are all bigger than him. It's no wonder he so badly craves for attention…"

"Just stop. Please." His words were making her heart melt into a mess. It was already sinful enough that the little thing was about to steal her heart from cuteness. After hearing about its tragic life, how could she bear to reject it?

He shrugged. "I would have taken it in. However, I'm too busy, and besides, I brought him to apologize to you."

There we go again.

The man used the lapse to laugh and tap the puppy's head. "You've got a mother now, buddy."

She rolled her eyes at the ambiguity of his words and petted the cute, fluffy thing. "What shall I name you? Cookie? Jellybean? How about whitey…"

Desmond smiled. They were starting to get along, at last.

Zaria thought about it for a long while and decided to do her job first. She would think about the name later.

Just as she sat down, she caught sight of the door between the offices and giggled. "Pfft, why didn't I think of that?"