The message appeared on Vespera''s phone screen, right above the text box. It read, "If you don''t want toe upstairs, should I bring it down to you?"


    When Vespera saw the message, her heart stood still. After a long pause, she finally replied, "I already had breakfast. I''m currently on my way to work."


    After sending the message, she locked her phone and tossed it aside.


    The summer sun was ring even in the early morning. It beat down on her face like fire, making her dizzy. Her breathing turned shallow. The light stung her eyes and blurred her vision with tears she refused to shed. She hated this feeling.


    With a swift motion, she yanked the sun visor down and started the engine with a calm expression. She wasn''t going to let her emotions take control. No one had that power over her.


    Within half an hour after Vespera arrived at the office, Dominic and Gerard arrived too. With theptop in her hands, she met them in the corridor.


    "Ms. Gildon, where are you going?" Dominic asked. He looked at theptop in her hands and then at her face.


    "I have a meeting with the secretarial department. If you need anything, just call me," answered Vespera gently.


    Then, Vespera turned to Gerard and said, "I might be down there for a while. Thanks in advance for holding the fort."


    Gerard responded, "Alright."


    That should have been the end of it, but none of them moved. It was because one person, Dominic, stoodpletely still, leaving the others awkwardly waiting. He just kept looking at Vespera, his gaze unreadable but intense.


    Vespera felt the weight of his stare. The silence had been dragging on for way too long, but Dominic didn''t seem bothered at all.


    Gerard seemed used to it. He stood by like it was just another day, likely ustomed to Dominic''s odd behavior, like stalking and crashing meals uninvited.


    Unable to take it anymore, Vespera finally spoke, "Mr. Reid, I''ll be heading down now."


    It was only then that Dominic turned and headed into his office.


    Gerard sneaked a nce at Dominic''s side profile. At first nce, Dominic looked calm, but his clenched fists said otherwise. He was definitely in a bad mood.


    Gerard sighed. It was going to be a long day.


    But honestly, he didn''t me Vespera. After everything Dominic had done yesterday, who wouldn''t be wary? She wasn''t just keeping her distance to make a point, this was her way of declining without actually saying it.


    Vespera spent most of the morning in the secretarial department, only stepping out briefly for thepany meeting at 10:30 am. Due to that, the employees in the secretary department thought she was going to move to the secretarial department.


    In the pantry, two employees, both recently promoted from interns, were whispering over the coffee machine.


    "Do you think Ms. Gildon is here because she''s mad at us for cking off? She''s probably keeping watch over us because we can''t meet her standards."


    "Maybe. I mean, she gave me the cold shoulderst time because I was slow, but then she gave me a piece of cake afterward."


    "Hey, you two are idiots." At this moment, a senior employee walked in. She nced at the office area before lowering her voice, asking "Have you two ever considered that maybe Ms. Gildon isn''t here to supervise you? Maybe she and Mr. Reid had a falling out."


    Had a falling out with the president? That was impossible.


    The senior employee continued, "ording to unconfirmed gossip, Ms. Gildon went to Ashfordst week and had it out with Ms.


    Moreno. Apparently, Mr. Reid sided with Ms. Gildon and upset Ms. Moreno. Ms. Moreno''s friends retaliated by posting nasty things about Ms. Gildon in their social circles."


    One of the employees said, "Wait, seriously? But even if that''s true, who cares if Ms. Gildon and Mr. Reid are in a rtionship? She''s divorced, and he''s single. So what if their backgrounds don''t match? Love is love!"


    The other employee jumped in and said, "That''s right. It doesn''t matter if Ms. Gildon was married before. Remember that woman from Holsword. She was divorced too, but she still married into a wealthy family in the end."


    The senior employee, still smirking, said, "You still don''t get what I''m saying, do you? The point is, Ms. Gildon used to deny everything, and some people believed that Ms. Moreno would be Mr. Reid''s


    wife. But now, Ms. Gildon and Mr.


    Réid might really be together.


    Whether she''s his lover or his future


    wife, that''s up to her."


    The three women shared a look over their coffee cups and smiled knowingly.