Talia smiled at the man who was approaching her, her back straight and her chest puffed out.

She had been expecting the annoying assistant to come over in order to escort her upstairs but the person who had arrived was the big boss himself.

'Stay calm and keep smiling!' She chided her over-enthusiastic heart which wished to rush over to his side.

Watching Reuben move in her direction made both Talia and the receptionist gulp as they waited for him to reach their position.

"Great to see you, Brother Reuben." Talia chirped in greeting when he was just a couple of steps away from her.

However, the man whom she had come to meet did not answer her greeting.

The moment he passed her by and continued striding forward in the same direction, she realized that he had not come downstairs for her.

This made her whiplash as she turned in the direction he had left in.

'That bitch!' She gritted her teeth when she saw Reuben step towards Lina.

The prideful look that she had shot Lina now was a joke because he had not come for her but it was for the other woman.

Mathew was enjoying the darkening face of this snake-like woman who had overestimated her place in his boss' heart.

Snickering, he passed her by and followed his boss.

Talia's teeth-gnashing was heard by the receptionist who was just as clueless about what was happening.

When she had called Assistant Kim to inform him about Miss Zheng's arrival, he had asked her to not send her upstairs and even said something that surprised her.

"Boss, time for us to go downstairs." Mathew's words were clear and she was sure that she had not misunderstood something here.

Therefore, when she had said that her boss was coming downstairs, she had meant that Reuben Ming, the big boss was coming.

However, Talia had interpreted this sentence as Assistant Kim, her superior was coming downstairs.

The two women awoke from their daze and watched the scene before their eyes.

The man who was known for keeping women at a distance was now helping someone from the opposite gender to get to her feet.

When Reuben had reached Lina and Benji in the waiting lounge, he made sure to cover Lina's face by using his wide back as a wall.

This resulted in none of the people present in the lobby witnessing the evil smirk present on Lina's face.

"Hello, Ruby~" She chuckled as she accepted his hand, letting him pull her up to her feet.

Reuben did not let this opportunity go to waste as he leaned closer to her ear once she was standing.

"I want to kiss you but there are too many people here… Let us go to a quiet place soon!" He urged and made a sly move of biting her ear.

Thanks to the wide back that was covering everything that was taking place, the others were none the wiser.

"Soon." Lina replied and patted his chest as a shy giggle left her lips.

She was here to watch a show which had just begun so there was still time for the other things.

Mathew and Benji were given a mouthful of dog food even before they got a chance to eat lunch.

Neither Reuben nor Lina were bothered that they had inconvenienced their assistants with their public display of affection.

Reuben could not appear to be too close to his Kitten in public as she did not want everyone to know about their relationship yet.

Hence, he stood at a respectable yet short distance from her once he had gotten the answer he wished to hear.

"Shall we?" He inquired and smiled when he saw his Kitten nod.

Once again, Talia and the receptionist were stunned to see the gentle smile that had appeared on the CEO's face.

'She seems to be well-acquired to the boss.' The lady inferred and was relieved that she did not misbehave with Lina.

However, the same could not be said for Talia who was seething with anger.

She clenched her fists in a tight hold which caused her recently manicured nails to press down on her skin, threatening to pierce through but she didn't care about that.

All that mattered to her was the position next to Reuben that should have been hers was now being occupied by that insufferable woman who had appeared out of nowhere just to wreak havoc in her life.

Reuben and Lina walked next to each other while the two assistants were right behind them.

Lina acted as though she had not noticed the deadly glares that the Zheng woman was shooting at her as she turned to her right, in the direction of the entrance which would lead them outside the building.

Suddenly, she felt a warmth touch her hand as her palm was enveloped in someone else's hand.

"Wrong direction, Kitten." Reuben's voice brought her feet to a halt.

She looked down at their hands whose fingers were now interlocked and then up at him with a confused look in her eyes.

"Upstairs." He answered to clear the confusion and chuckled when he saw her 'O' face.

'I want to kiss her!' He yearned but there were too many eyes which made him put a pause on his desires.

Mathew and Benji shared a glance and shook their heads because they were also men and could make out the look in Reuben's eyes.

Talia's eyes were glued to the hands which were still held together and the anger in her heart surged higher.

*Crack*

The nails which she had gotten done before arriving here were ruined when she applied too much pressure as she clenched her fists.

The pain was nothing compared to what she was experiencing inside her chest at this moment.

Once again, Reuben and his group walked in her direction and this time she smiled when he stopped upon nearing her.

"Lina is a friend and does not need permission to be let inside. Make sure that this does not happen ever again." His stern words to the receptionist acted like a bucket of cold water being poured over her body.

'He did not stop for me…' This thought appeared in her head but she was not willing to accept defeat just yet.

Not once did he look at her, making her eyes teary but she was adamant not to show her weakness before her rival.

"Brother Reuben, can we speak?" She whispered in a soft voice which elicited the impression of a weak animal that needed to be protected.

Sadly, her little voice modulation trick which would make other men feel the need to protect and stand up for her was useless on the men who were present here.

Mathew shuddered in disgust, Benji rolled his eyes at the coquettish behavior and Reuben was least affected as he shot her a blank and indifferent glance.

What none of them had noticed was that this CEO was busy rubbing his thumb over Lina's palm while she tried her best to act normal and not giggle at the ticklish actions he was using on her.

"Do we even have anything to talk about?" He retorted in a dry tone that did not accommodate the woman who was here without any valid reason.

"Pfffttt…." The shorter assistant tittered at the savage answer from his boss which earned him glares from every direction.