"Let's get to work." She said, speechless after hearing what he had just said. It would be impossible to argue with him so she let him be.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" She asked when they reached her office.

"No." He rejected firmly.

"Oh…" She was slightly disappointed, but she knew that he had already done her so many favors, so she didn't try to push it.

"Don't be silly." He grabbed her to push her against the wall while closing the door of her office. "What I mean is, my love, you can ask for anything whenever you want. You don't need to term it as a favor."

She looked up at him with a smile and closed her eyes when his lips brushed against the side of her neck.

"I…I hope Lucy can accept…" She gasped as he sucked on her skin.

"Mmh?" He probed and held her thigh to place on his waist.

"Uhm… your COO proposal." She bit out.

He chuckled against her neck. "What COO proposal did I make to Lucy?"

"I don't know what I'm saying either." She was disoriented. It was impossible for her to think straight in their current position and he knew this, which was why he was making it even harder.

"We're at work, boss." She gave a gentle reminder.

"And you don't want to do this?" His hand snaked around her waist, earning a gasp from her but they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

What a bummer. He cursed whoever it was but had to quickly straighten up his and her clothes before she let the intruder in. If it wasn't bad enough for there to be an intruder, it just had to be Liam.

"What is it?" He asked him before Zaria could.

"I would like to speak to you." Liam's words were directed at him, which infuriated him all the more.

"And why couldn't you have waited in my office?" Desmond wanted to throw a punch.

"It's urgent." Liam's gaze uncontrollably fell on Zaria, who looked up just in time to catch him staring at her. He could only smile, and she gave a meek smile in return.

"Boss, you should speak to Mr. Preston first. You have a meeting with Miss Roatta in thirty minutes, I will report the rest of your schedule later." She got to work to evade the awkwardness brought in by Liam.

…

Desmond led the way and Liam looked at Zaria before leaving. As soon as Desmond sat behind his desk, he gave his friend a stern look. "You have ten minutes. I will use the remaining twenty to make up for the time I didn't spend with my girlfriend."

Liam shrugged. He had expected it. Besides, he knew that Desmond was rubbing in the fact that he and Zaria were together, that it was too late for anyone else to be with her. Liam found it awkward and funny because he wasn't planning to snatch Zaria to begin with.

He would have done so ages ago if he really wanted to, but he had learnt that not every feeling should be talked about and one didn't always have to be with the person they liked.

"Desmond, I want you to know that whether or not I have any shares in the company, I will still help out as much as I can." He declared.

Desmond waved his statement off. "Don't I know that already? Let me guess. You want to give up your position to Ms. Roatta as well?"

Liam nodded.

Desmond didn't mind, as long as Lucy qualified for the position. However, he still needed to know what she was up to. "Why is she here, exactly?"

Although he had a guess, he was still uncertain. It would be tragic if she was here for revenge.

"I'm sorry, I promised her that I'll keep it a secret." Liam apologized, almost scolding himself for being Lucy's die hard supporter when he had been so unswayed before.

Desmond nodded. That did sound like something Liam would say. He would die before breaking a promise, which was what made him confused when Liam started acting strange and creating trouble before.

"Is she the reason why you didn't want me to be close to Zaria?" He asked to be certain, to which Liam hummed.

"I didn't know that she was her daughter. I thought she would target her just because she hates you. Well, she's one of the major reasons. The other is your mother."

"Urgh women." Desmond groaned. Aside from Zaria and Natalie, all the women in the world were proving to be more troublesome by the day.

"You can say that again." Liam agreed.

_

Lucy arrived half an hour later and her bodyguard followed her to the conference room and continued standing behind her.

Zaria narrowed her eyes at him. She had long forgotten about that Zeus guy and felt strange when she saw him. The man had black sunglasses on, and with his head lowered, it was impossible for Zaria to see his face clearly.

"Is there something wrong with my bodyguard, Miss Williams?" Lucy's question pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? No, there isn't." She shook her head.

"If you do not like him, I can fire him." Lucy suggested jokingly, to which Zaria shook her head. "Since there is nothing wrong with my bodyguard, let's get down to business."

"I agree." Desmond placed his elbows on the glass table in front of him with a smile. "Miss Roatta, I have read your proposal. I don't know why you would want to be COO of my company for any reason other than it being a waste of your time, but I will give you a chance."

He wrote a digit on the stack of paper in front of him. "Three months. If you can help the company achieve 10% more profit than the last quarter within this period, you can continue."

"No problem." Lucy smiled. It would not be a piece of cake because Preston And Fort Group was already almost at its peak. However, she will do her best.

"Then you can go ahead and read the contract." Desmond signalled for Zaria to give her the thick stack of paper that she had printed out twenty minutes ago.

"Do we need a contract?" Lucy was amused.

"Who knows whether you are trying to pull us down?" Desmond smiled. "I heard you are planning to provide a platform for people to be able to directly book hotel rooms online."

"News does travel fast." Lucy glanced at Zaria, who was probably the one who found that out. It was suddenly uncertain whether or not she should be proud of her daughter. "But so what? Don't such platforms exist already? Just because one person lives in a mansion doesn't mean no one else can build it, right?"

She had a point, but Desmond still found her dangerous. "You will provide the platform but you are not a hotel owner. You will have to purchase or construct one, or make collaborations with existing ones. What does that make you, a potential partner or competitor?"

Lucy listened to him with a smile. How cautious. It seemed like she wasn't one of the most trusted people around here. "Whatever it makes me, I will not be able to do anything once I sign this contract, I presume?"

"It is why contracts exist." Desmond responded.

Lucy read through a few lines of the contract that was supposed to be a rip off and flipped onto the last page, then signed it. Before she gave it back, she scribbled another term at the end of the list of terms. "Party B reserves the right to choose their own subordinates."

Desmond facepalmed at the term. "Is this necessary?" He knew that she was asking for Zaria.

"Just three months." Lucy raised three fingers and looked at Zaria pleadingly which made the latter's heart fill with joy.

She had merely suspected it earlier but she was certain of it now. Lucy wanted to be close to her, which is why she had gone through all the trouble to buy shares and take the position of the COO from Liam. It was because they couldn't be together as mother and daughter, so she had decided to make them a boss and her subordinate.

She suddenly looked forward to it.

Desmond saw Zaria's unrestrained smile and gave up. "I guess I'll have to get a temporary executive assistant."

After agreeing on the terms, Lucy decided to start working in the afternoon, since she had to attend a meeting with Twilight's board of directors.

"Zaria, see me to the parking lot." She stood up as she beckoned at her.

"Yes ma'am." Zaria followed her out, glancing at the bodyguard as they left.

Lucy noticed her gaze and chuckled. "He is not a threat to you, if that's what you are afraid of."

"Who?" Zaria feigned innocence.

The bodyguard had gone to start the car, so Lucy took the chance to hug her daughter briefly while making sure no one noticed it. "My bodyguard. He is someone I am very close to. He would never hurt you."

Zaria nodded and randomly asked, "Mother, do you know the creator of Creszone?"