“Good morning Mr. Damien,” Flora said, running one finger through her hair.

“Who were you talking about?” Damien asked again.

“We weren’t really talking about anyone, sir,” Lilian replied.

“Yes… We… we were just talking about a show we watched recently,” Flora added, tapping Lilian slightly on her hand.

“Have a great day ahead, sir”, she continued, faking a smile as she dragged Flora with her down the hallway.

“Damien,” a voice called out.

“Why are you standing here?” The voice added.

“I was just about to come to you when I heard some staff members gossiping about something… they were talking about the girl in the red jacket or something… I wonder who they were talking about,” Damien explained.

“We both know the only person who wears a red jacket in this company,” Emerald replied with a smirk.

“Come on. Does that give them the right to talk behind her back?” Damien retorted.

“People will always gossip, and you know that”, Emerald scoffed.

“Anyway, I need you to sign this for me… Uncle refused to sign it when I took it to him, and I know nobody will dare refute your order as the CEO”, Emerald added with a soft smile.

“Let’s talk about it in my office,” Damien said and they both walked to his office.

Not long after, Vanessa rushed back in, her legs wobbling as she ran towards her boss’s office.

“Good morning, Mr. Damien… Good morning Mr. Emerald,” she greeted, her breath shaky.

“Good morning Miss Vanessa,” Emerald replied while Damien gave her a discerning look.

“I’m so sorry, sir… I had to…”

“Drop my breakfast and leave… I will call you if I need any other help,” Damien said, cutting her off.

“I’m sorry sir,” Vanessa whispered, dropping the food items carefully on the table.

She turned back and closed the door behind her.

“You don’t have to be so hard on her, you know? She’s trying,” Emerald stated.

“I don’t think I owe her anything… I’m paying her for her services,” Damien replied.

“It’s fine… sign this and let me get back to work please,” Emerald sighed and shifted the file across to him.

Damien appended his signature and handed it back to him.

“Should we grab a drink tonight?” Emerald said, turning back as he was about to open the door.

“That sounds cool… let’s meet up after work then,” Damien replied with a smile.

Vanessa, on the other hand, sat quietly at her desk, shaking her legs anxiously as she stared at her phone’s screen. She didn’t even notice Emerald walking out of the office.

She picked up the phone and typed a text message but she deleted it immediately.

“No… I have to preserve my self-respect,” she muttered under her breath.

“I was at fault… I should apologize,” she said again.

Just as she picked her phone up to send a text message, her intercom beeped.

“Vanessa, come to my office now,” Damien said from the other end of the call.

“Alright sir,” Vanessa said, quickly stood up from her chair, and rushed to his office.

“I’m here, sir,” she said, peeping through the half-opened door before entering.

“Get me the Royal B and B file”, Damien said, his gaze fixed on his computer.

“Huh… okay sir,” Vanessa replied softly, then she walked out of the office.

“What the actual heck? I don’t know why he couldn’t tell me that over the phone,” Vanessa mumbled to herself as she searched her table for the file.

She picked up the file and dashed to his office.

“Here it is, sir”, she said, placing the file before him.

“Alright… you can get off work early today… I need to meet up with Emerald,” Damien muttered, his gaze still fixed on his computer.

“But sir, you have a meeting with Ace Hill by 8pm,” Vanessa said, running her fingers through her hair.

“I have a prior engagement… You have to find a way to postpone that,” Damien stated.

“You can get off work early indeed,” Vanessa mumbled.

“Did you say anything?” Damien asked, looking up.

“No sir,” Vanessa replied.

“I’m very sure I heard something,” Damien said.

“Oh… that… I said there’s no problem with that sir… I will make a call to them and tell them you are not available,” Vanessa explained.

“Good,” Damien replied and gestured to Vanessa to leave his office.

It was now closing time, Damien packed his desk and was ready to leave when Emerald walked in.

“What’s up, guy? Are you ready?” he asked.

“Sure. Let’s go,” Damien said, picked up his bag and they both exited the office.

“Goodbye sirs,” Vanessa said, standing on her feet.

“See you tomorrow,” Damien and Emerald chorused.

Just as they left, Flora and Lilian walked up to Vanessa.

“We can see our CEO’s secretary is going home early today,” Flora started with a scoff.

“Yeah, right… Today must be a really good day”, Lilian added.

“Yeah,” Vanessa muttered, her voice barely audible.

“Will you hang out with us tonight?” Flora teased.

“I would love to… but I have some errands to run for Mr. Damien,” Vanessa replied.

“Mr. Damien this, Mr. Damien that… Do you even get time to unwind at all?” Lilian asked.

“I mean we are both secretaries too…” Lilian continued but Flora cut her off.

“Come on, Lilian… we are not secretaries to the CEO… I’m sure she has more workload than we do,” she said.

“Thank you, Flora… you are a genius,” Vanessa smiled.

“We will catch up later then,” she added, picked up her bag, and dashed out.

“It is well,” Lilian whispered.

Damien and Emerald got to the bar. It was dimly lit, glasses clinked and laughter filled the air. It was a kind of place where money spoke in whispers and everyone listened.

They sat down across from each other and a bartender immediately took their order.

“Lest I forget, will the board meeting still be held next week,” Emerald asked.

“No office talk please, we came to unwind,” Damien replied.

“Fine, boss,” Emerald smirked.

Soon, the bartender arrived with their drinks.

“Thank you,” Emerald said.

“What’s up with Mira?” he asked, looking up at Damien.

“She’s fine… our parents insisted we pick our marriage date soon,” Damien replied, gulping his drink.

“Oh, wow… I’m the best man in the making,” Emerald teased.

“Come on… I don’t think I’m ready for that now,” Damien said.

“But you love her… I’m pretty sure she loves you too. What’s the delay for?” Emerald asked with a serious face.

“I don’t know, man… marriage isn’t something simple, you know,” Damien stated.

“I get your point though,” Emerald agreed.

A few minutes into drinking, Emerald’s eyes shifted. It was a habit. He was always aware of the room. But what he saw this time around shocked him.

She walked in, her heels clicking softly on the marble floor. She wore a red dress, the one she would only wear on a special occasion.

Beside her was a man, tall, muscular, and confident. He wrapped his hand around her waist and she smiled up at him.

Emerald didn’t blink, his glass halfway to his lips.

Damien noticed.

“What are you staring at?” he asked, turning to look.

“What… the… hell! Is that…?”