Zaria let out a sigh of relief. At least that man kept his word in the end. If he tried to swindle her again, she would charge to his mansion and beat the crap out of him. "That's the best news! Now, we can try to save the agency."

He suddenly looked troubled. "We spent so much money trying to divert the news and averting the damage. We aren't capable of doing anything for now. Not to mention, too many employees left and we have to employ new staff. However, I will try to bring everything back in order soon.

Zaria didn't look anxious in the slightest. She was just about to tell him what she had in mind when her phone lit up with a new text message. She unlocked it and found that it was a message from the bank.

Theodore was not intending to snoop but he unintentionally saw the digits on the text message, which baffled him. Why would Zaria receive so much money? It couldn't be a scammer, right?

She smiled happily and explained, "It's my advance salary of six months. We can use it to save F&P Media."

Theodore was still puzzled. "Did you read the contract carefully? Don't fall into a trap."

"I did." She laughed. She had even thoroughly checked for any suspicious blank spaces that could potentially contain hidden terms.

He was reassured, but he still shook his head. "You should save the money and use it when you need to. F&P Media is my responsibility. I don't want to burden you with it."

Zaria was helpless. Was there something wrong with her dad? What was the difference between using his money and using hers?

"Why don't you just use it? Take it as me lending you some money." She suggested, knowing that she would never be able to convince him into accepting it otherwise. As expected, he was more accepting of this idea.

…

Desmond's mansion.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

This time, the thunderous laughter was from Desmond, who was doing a sorry job at trying to apply an ice pack on his fuming friend's swollen face.

"Don't you have bodyguards? In fact, aren't you a great fighter yourself? How could you get beaten up so badly?"

Liam fumed and remained silent. Wasn't it all your fault?

Desmond didn't sense the resentment and continued probing. "Was it that girl you met online?" He thought that Liam must have tried to take advantage of some girl and gotten beaten up by her brother or boyfriend. It would never cross his mind that the culprit was none other than Theodore Williams.

"Ow! Are you trying to help me decrease the swelling or worsen it?!" Liam exploded when the unreliable scumbag with the surname Fort ended up hitting one of the bumps on his head.

"Get lost. So whiny… call your doctor over and have him treat you." Desmond threw the ice pack aside and retreated to a couch. Why did he have to be so patient with a grown man? He would only tolerate someone acting spoiled around him if that person was Zaria.

Wait. Why did he randomly think about her?

___

The next morning.

Zaria arrived at Preston and Fort Group, having given her brand-new Ferrari a ride. The other employees had seen her alighting from cabs before; and there were even some who had seen her queuing for the bus or dash to the subway. Seeing her suddenly arrive in such a luxurious car was definitely more eye-catching than the bright-red color of the car.

Most of them felt jealous, it was inevitable.

"Hmph. So what if she drove a ferrari? What's there to be proud of?" One of the receptionists, Marion, sneered. She knew that Zaria was nearby and spoke loud enough for her to hear.

Her colleague, Cora, wasn't polite either. "I wonder how many times she had to bend over Desmond's desk to earn it."

Zaria frowned ever so slightly. From the first day, these two seemed to dislike her. However, she was too busy to have a scuffle with them. If they were so jealous, why not work hard and get their own rewards?

She was about to ignore them but Marion was venomous enough to jump in her way as she passed by the reception. "Oh, talk of the devil and she arrives."

Zaria crossed her arms. "I'm pretty sure you knew I was within earshot, though."

Marion didn't expect her to retaliate; most of Desmond's former assistants were too timid, which was the main reason why most of them were fired after a few days. However, Zaria's retaliation did nothing to intimidate her. She crossed her arms and looked the other woman up and down. "So what if you heard me? You are so shameless that someone has to point it out. Do you think you will be in that position for so long? No matter how many cars and properties you get by seducing your boss, he is engaged after all. He will dump you faster than I can snap my fingers."

"You think so?" Zaria smirked. "If I can seduce him into giving me expensive cars and properties, it would be such a waste of his affection if I don't use it to get you fired, don't you think?"

How stupid. She thought that Zaria was the CEO's woman but still had the audacity to provoke her. Wasn't she digging her own grave?

"Good morning Mr. Fort." Cora greeted in a deliberately seductive tone, abruptly ending the argument between the two women as they realized that Desmond had arrived.

Zaria disappeared into the elevator and hoped that the man had not heard her words, while Marion flashed a smile and hoped that Desmond would notice her big boobs that looked provocative under her low-cut blue dress.

However, the man didn't seem to notice her, he walked with long strides into the elevator that Zaria was trying to escape in.

As soon as the doors closed, she pretended to be nonchalant. "Good morning, Sir."

"You ignored me earlier but now you want to earnestly greet me? How 'sincere' of you." He smiled and loosened his royal blue tie slightly, then closed in on her. When she tried to escape, he pressed a hand against the mirrored wall and trapped her. "Running so fast?"

"Mr. Fort, please keep your distance!" She pushed him but he did not budge an inch.

Instead, he chortled. "Now, now Zaria. Are you getting angry because you are embarrassed? Can't even look me in the eye?"

She wanted to prove him wrong by looking right into his eyes but as soon as her eyes met his seductive, blue ones, she couldn't take it anymore and averted her gaze."

He stroked her face gently and teased, "How will you seduce me into firing the employees you d islike if you can't even look at me?"