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Be Honest 105

    I obediently stopped moving, but I only held onto Josh tighter.


    The strong beat of his heart thumped in my ear, and that’s when I realized I was pressed up against his chest.


    But at that moment, I wasn’t scared-I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was holding on tightly to him.


    It was the only way I could be sure I wasn’t moving around-only the lift was swaying.


    After a while, the shaking finally stopped, and I realized I hadn’t let go of him yet. He broke the silence with his voice. “Got a new colleague?”


    I froze for a moment, pulling away from his arms and looking down. And when I did, I froze even harder.


    Not only was I stunned, but a surge of frustration shot through me. Without thinking, I mmed the button for the elevator and headed straight down.


    There stood Thea, with her signature fake smile stered on her face. “Zoe.”


    I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. I shot her a sharp, unfriendly question. “What are you doing here?”


    I wasn’t being rude for no reason-she was pregnant, anding here was absolutely inappropriate. The park hadn’t even opened to the public yet. There were still uninspected safety measures, and if anything happened, no one could take responsibility.


    Thea’s answer left me dumbfounded. “I’m here to work.”


    I blinked, sure I hadn’t heard her right. “What did you say?”


    “Mr. Dolton sent me here. He said I need to follow up on the safety checks,” she said, making me want to throw up.


    I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Is Alvin out of his mind? He wants you to handle safety checks?”


    My blunt words caused the people around us to nce over. Thea wasn’t alone. The project manager hade with her, and Myra and Philip were also there.


    “What do you mean?” Thea’s face turned a shade darker, her voiceced with fake hurt.


    “I mean, it’s totally inappropriate for a pregnant woman to be here,” I said, pulling out my phone and dialing Alvin.


    Of course, he wasn’t answering at first, and just as the call was about to end, his voice came through. “What’s the matter?”


    I didn’t waste time. “Why did you send Thea here?”


    I didn’t have any hidden agendas-just a strong sense of responsibility. I was always straightforward.


    “You didn’t hear? I sent her to work,” Alvin replied coolly.


    I looked at Thea and asked him point-nk, “Is it appropriate for her to be here? Who’s responsible if something goes wrong?”


    “Of course, you are,” Alvin’s reply caught me off guard.


    Before I could respond, he continued. “Zoe, you’re in charge of the amusement park project. You’re responsible for delivering a safe, functional park, and for the safety of all the workers. Understand?”


    His words made it clear-he was doing this on purpose. One spy, Philip, wasn’t enough. Now he’d brought Thea in too, just to distract me, to tie up my energy.


    I tightened my grip on my phone, looking at Thea’s innocent expression and huffing. “Well, if someone rushes in and gets themselves hurt, don’t me me.”


    Thea’s face darkened even further. Alvin finally snapped on the other end. “Zoe, why do you have to be so vicious?”


    “Mr. Dolton,” I replied, keeping my tone cool. “I’m just speaking harshly right now. But if you’re worried, maybe you should pull her out. Or….” I nced at Philip, my voice dripping with sarcasm, “I could arrange 24/7 protection for her.”


    Alvin didn’t catch on to my underlying tone. “Fine, if you’re the one protecting her, I’ll be more at ease.”


    “That’s not possible,” I replied quickly. “I’m not that free.”


    I ended the call without waiting for further response. Thea, sensing an opportunity, spoke up. “Zoe, you don’t have to be so hostile toward me. I can take care of myself.”


    “You’re healthy and capable. I believe you can. But it’s better to be safe than sorry,” I said, making Myra bite her lip to stop herself fromughing.


    “Mr. Dolton said on the phone that someone should protect you around the clock. But I think that’s unnecessary. After all, when you’re sleeping, the only one who can protect you is someone close to you, right?” I didn’t mince words.


    In the past, I’d felt sorry for Thea-her husband had died early, and I could empathize. But now, I understood the saying “those who are pitied often have something to be despised” all too well.


    “Mr. Dolton,” I said, turning to Philip, “You and Thea are both new here. Why don’t you familiarize yourselves with the park and keep an eye on her?”


    Philip was momentarily stunned. “Zoe, you…?”


    “Mr. Dolton,” I interrupted, my tone decisive. “You’re the Executive Director at thepany, and you’re my superior. But here at the park, I’m in charge. Everyone who works here has to follow my lead.”


    This was the privilege Alvin had granted me from the start, and I’d never used it until now, right before the project’s conclusion.


    Philip had nothing more to say. Thea, however, was furious, her face turning a deep purple. “I don’t need anyone’s protection. I can look after myself!”


    She couldn’t possibly be unaware of the connection between Philip and Alvin. She was involved with Alvin, yet often found herself with Philip too. The situation must have been awkward for her, especially with the two of them in such close proximity.


    I shot back coldly, “I’ve told you-it’s better to be safe than sorry. Besides, Mr. Dolton’s not here specifically to protect you. It’s just a side job for him. Don’t overthink it, Thea.”


    Thea had nothing more to say. She turned to Philip, but when he looked at me, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he just nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll follow Zoe’s lead.”


    That was the end of it.


    “Everyone, back to work,” I said, using my position to take control.


    Reluctantly, Thea walked off, but not before muttering to Philip, “How could you agree to this? She’s doing this just to make


    us look bad.”


    “You’re overthinking it. She’s just doing her job. She doesn’t want anything to happen to you,” Philip replied, his calm response making me smirk.


    I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken my frustrations with Alvin and Thea out on him. But what was he doing here in the first ce?


    “You’re clever,” Myra said, giving me a thumbs-up.


    “Get back to your work. Otherwise, I’ll have to assign you 24/7 protection duty with Thea,” I teased.


    She immediately shook her head and said, “I’ll go back to work now, I promise!”


    As I watched everyone walk away, my expression darkened.


    The anger I felt earlier had turned to a bitter, sour feeling deep inside. Alvin had hurt me enough. Was he really trying to make me suffer even more by sending Thea here? Did he think I wasn’t humiliated enough already?


    Just as I was lost in my thoughts, the light in front of me dimmed, and arge hand blocked my path. I was about to push it away when Josh’s voice came to my ear. “You did well.”


    He moved his hand, revealing a lollipop in front of me.


    I looked at him, and he added, “This is a reward.”
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