He stared down at her and frowned. "Don't flatter yourself."

Now it was about her flattering herself? "You clearly…" She shut her mouth when she realized how insane it would be to argue with a fool. Never mind.

She grabbed the proposal out of his hand and gathered her documents then stood to leave.

"Don't you want to know what I think of the proposal?" He asked, to which her lips twitched.

"No. I am not collaborating with a jerk who has his head halfway up his ass."

___

Zaria was almost late for work. Luckily, Lucy was a few minutes late. She went over to the COO's office after mentally giving Lucy some time to settle in.

"Mom," She called gently.

"It's good to see you again, Zaria." Lucy looked bright and happy as she looked over at her. "How was your weekend?"

"Perfect." Her cheeks flushed from the thought of it. It was awkward to talk about it with her mother. They had done nothing but eat, watch movies, make love and sleep over and over, but she couldn't have asked for anything else. It was the most relaxing weekend ever.

"You want to talk to me about something?" Lucy observed that Zaria was not holding any files.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Let's talk in my car this evening." Lucy could pretty much guess what it was about and didn't think it was sane to address it during working hours.

The entire day felt like it was dragging, and when evening finally came, Zaria confirmed the venue of the dinner Lucy would have this evening before going to meet her in the parking lot.

This time, Lucy drove on her own so they had time to talk on their way.

"I…" She started.

"Just be straight with it." Lucy smiled, knowing that Zaria was probably nervous.

Zaria took a deep breath. "Okay. So, you never talk about your family."

"And that's an issue because?" Lucy flashed over a look.

"Someone asked me about you before. He kept asking what my mother's name was, then her surname and…" She found herself ridiculous. This was her mother. Why did she need to beat around the bush?

Lucy noticed it too but her attention was caught by what must be the outcome. "Zaria?"

It was a familiar tone, similar to how Theodore would sternly draw out her name if he suspected that she had done something wrong.

"I didn't go snooping, I promise." She held her hands out to signify that she was innocent. "At least not on purpose. It's just that… Desmond's friend helped me check out who was trying to harm dad. It just turned out to be related to the person who asked about you before."

She waited to see if Lucy would connect the dots and trace it back to Nathaniel. If she did, she did a pretty good job at hiding her expression because she seemed nonchalant.

"You don't need to worry about it anymore. I already disclosed the real culprit to the Qins and they will no longer try to sue Theodore. As a matter of fact, they are going to compensate him." Lucy promised with a smile.

Zaria's eyes fell. "The point is why the culprit would do it. What does the Su family have against dad?" She asked a little more directly. "Nathaniel Su, to be precise. We have nothing that we are competing for and neither has dad. We are not business rivals either."

"Why would I know that?" Lucy feigned ignorance. If Zaria didn't see how tightly she was gripping the steering wheel, she would have been convinced that Lucy didn't give a damn about the Su family.

"Because they are your family?" She pointed out.

"Not anymore." Lucy gave her a sidelong glance. "It would do you a lot of good if you don't go prying in my past. Trust me on this, princess."

She was frustrated. "I'm only trying to know what concerns me."

"The only thing that concerns you is that your mother is Lucy Roatta and your father is Theodore Williams. Anything aside from that is a potential recipe for heartbreak and disaster." Lucy insisted.

"But…"

"No buts, princess. Look. I promise not to let anyone hurt you, okay?" She turned to face Zaria at the red light, her eyes probing whoever was looking at them to do as she said.

"Okay." Zaria could only agree.

"It's partially my fault and for that, I will apologize to Theodore in person." Lucy promised.

It was a personal dinner and Zaria didn't need to accompany her, so Lucy dropped her off near her neighbourhood.

When she got out of the car, she was confused. What now? Should she be obedient and leave it at that, or should she go against what Lucy said and seek answers anyway?

…

When she entered the villa, the aroma of whatever Theodore was cooking lured her to the kitchen.

"You are home. Are you unhappy?" Theodore was worried.

"No way! I'm super elated." She hugged his arm for a few seconds so she wouldn't distract him from cooking. "No one will try to put you behind bars anymore. The culprit has been dealt with. I'm guessing it's because you are making a lot of food."

"We need to celebrate." He agreed. The deep fryer dinged. The chicken must be ready, so he took it out.

"I'll quickly knock off my heels and help you out." She offered, seeing as there were still many things that needed to be done.

"Don't run too fast. Be careful not to trip!" He called after her when she sprinted away. He laughed helplessly. He couldn't blame her for being excited. It had been long since they had something to celebrate about and even longer since they did so by cooking together.

His phone buzzed and he used his free hand to receive it before placing it on the empty kitchen counter.

"When will you be free?" A female voice asked as soon as he answered the call.

He paused in his tracks. That familiar voice… Not wanting to use up his time trying to figure it out, he said, "I don't talk about my schedule to unknown callers."

"Ms. Roatta." The caller introduced herself.