The man glanced at the gutsy creature before him and couldn't help smirking. "You are so confident, aren't you?"

She looked confused, all the traces of fear that she had in her eyes gone in a puff of smoke.

"You even dare to try and shoo me away." Something in his laugh made one's insides clench. He sounded like he was about to start a killing spree.

However, she kept herself calm even though she knew that she was merely faking it. "Did I? I don't remember doing such a thing as shooing the 'almighty Mr. Fort' off. In fact, I gave you an option to stay…"

"Right. If I'm a woman." He laughed heartily.

Zaria knew that the longer she stayed in here with this man, the higher her chances of losing her life. Thinking about it, he would not blindly go into such a place as the women's restroom, which was not in the slightest private, to commit a crime. His identity as a man was outstanding enough for anyone to find him suspicious. He must have messed with the entrance before coming in.

This was not her first time encountering people who wanted her life and it had happened a few times in the past. After all, she held onto too many secrets whose owners thought were none of her business.

She had gotten into too many people's way in the past and had thus become a target. Even so, she could never get used to it. She still had to use up all her inner strength to keep up her nonchalant front while showing the man the door. "Ah, so Mr. Fort happens to be a woman. Sorry, my bad. I shouldn't have tried to kick a fellow woman out."

She thought the man would be angered, but he merely laughed. "Interesting. I was aiming for the fiancée, but I just happened to bump into the pretty and feisty toy."

"For the last time, I am neither a pet nor a toy, and there is nothing interesting about me." She wondered how long it took for him to get it into his head. "Besides, you don't 'bump into' people in the women's restrooms."

"Aside from family, every other woman around Desmond is either his fiancée or his new toy. He replaces the latter every week." The man pretended to have let the last statement slip accidentally, then seemed to have remembered something. "Right. Then there's you: the executive assistant he must be thinking of bedding if he hasn't done that yet."

When he saw her glare at him, he switched back to the main point. "And you are right. I have something to talk to you about."

"Spill." She wanted this man out of her sight and the only way to do so was to ensure he told her whatever the heck he wanted to say so he would no longer have any business with her.

"Work with me." He said it like it was one of the sanest things to do.

Her eyebrows furrowed deeply, which was within his expectation. Women like her would pretend to be loyal until the terms were good enough and he had met many of this sort. His lips twitched as he ran his eyes down her body. "You are such a beautiful woman, Zaria. Why are you letting yourself be treated this way? Do you think you deserve to be the mistress of the man who doesn't give a damn about the women he sleeps with, a man who will discard you before you get the chance to pull your clothes back on?"

She kept her lipstick back in her purse as she listened to the man before her ramble on. She heard him conclude his powerful, standing-ovation-worthy speech. "You deserve better than this, beautiful Zaria."

"And this better option is you." She raised an eyebrow, and he nodded in affirmation and made her wonder how shallow he was to have not sensed the sarcasm in her tone.

She ignored the rest of his words since she had already figured out his strategy. He wanted to make her think he cared about her and probably fall for his charm. By the time that happened, she would be knee-deep into the mud. If she didn't agree to turn against Desmond willingly, the man would probably blackmail her using the evidence that he was planning to gather. Being the enemy of two powerful men was much worse than only being on the bad side of one of them so anyone would know how to choose.

Zaria smiled with a slight raise of her eyebrows. "Aren't you scared that I will tell him about it? He is my boss, you know. While I have only met you once. I could do just that."

The subtle threat in her tone made him pause for a second before he found her humorous. "You have a good sense of humor, beautiful girl. Aren't you scared that you might not leave this place alive?"

The brothers must both be fond of using pet names on everyone, she thought. Besides that, they were both arrogant and looked down on everyone else like they were more worthless than the particles of sand under their ridiculously expensive shoes.

Not only was she not intimidated, but she was also scornful. "Aren't you scared that you might be the one whose head will be rolling on the floor while I leave this place?"

"I mean, the world is so unpredictable… angels can turn out to be devils in disguise. Don't you agree Mr., no, Miss Fort?"

She took his narrowed eyes as a chance. "Of course, you can relate to what I'm saying. You understand better than anyone, so even if a soon-to-be-discarded pet like me turns into the woman who will make your head roll across the floor, it will not be surprising considering the things you have done yourself, right?"

She knew she had caught his attention. From her information about the Fort family, Jaime believed that everyone had been blinded by him and no one suspected him of having any dirty secrets. No one except Desmond, who he was now trying to go against.

"Humans can be greedy." She taunted to let him know that she knew much more than he would have thought. "If you found out that there was a document that could make you inherit everything your family owns, what would you do? We are talking about all the family assets here—billions in company shares, properties, and estates." She whispered out the last few words like a devil making a tempting offer to him, and it made his frown deepen.

She knew he was wondering how she would know such a thing since it would not make any sense for Desmond to have told her. She did not wait for him to try and figure it out before she leaned over with a quizzical look. "Would you keep them safely, or… use it to your advantage?"

A few heartbeats later, he laughed her words off. "You are so creative, beautiful Zaria. You should consider being an author."

"Right? I've thought of it. But it's already good enough to write articles about real life. Those are more interesting to me." She dropped yet another indirect threat and glanced at her wrist as though she was wearing a watch when she was wearing none. "ah, look at the time. Desmond must be waiting for me. Goodbye, Mr. Fort."

She made her way past him, having figured out that he would not try to hurt her. At least not yet. She knew what he had done in secret, and it was unsure to him whether she had told anyone else about it. If he was smart enough, he knew that killing her might agitate whoever else knew the truth into revealing it to the public. Desmond was on alert at the moment and would grab whatever tiny piece of news showed up. It would be wise not to risk it.

Jaime glanced at the woman as she brushed past him, leaving behind her mild yet sweet floral scent. She was wearing a beige business dress that was not tight, but it didn't manage to hide the beautifully shaped body beneath it. Such a beauty with a brilliant brain in her head at that…

Was it time to finally switch targets from Natalie to this new beauty?

Of course, he wasn't thinking about permanently using her alone as it was unsure how long she would be by Desmond's side. All he wanted was to take away what Desmond wanted and it would be worthless if his little brother merely thought of Zaria as a bed buddy.

He had tried to woo Natalie before, but much to his chagrin, the woman had never spared him a glance despite his vehement pursuit. Now that he had met this stunning beauty, his tongue peeked out from the corner of his mouth to run along his lips.

She would make a good partner, and he could use her to get rid of Natalie when the time was right.