Chapter 89
“I’ll take a day off tomorrow and stay home to help you look after the guests,” Marina said.
The Finley family hadn’t had guests over in a long time, and there weren’t many servants. Most of them had just started working here.
Marina didn’t want Elnora to get too tired. She was worried it might be too much for her sister.
“No, that’s not necessary,” Elnora replied right away.
Elnora turned down Marina’s offer without a second thought.
“Just go to work at Zamora Group as usual tomorrow,” she told her.
Marina paused, her hand hovering over her phone as she was about to text Daron to ask for the day off.
“I’m the star of the show tomorrow. How can I not be home?” she protested.
Elnora gave her a frosty glance, her eyes cold and distant.
“The star of the show should make an entrance that turns heads, right?” she said.
“So you want me to be the showstopper?” Marina asked.
Elnora gave her a look that said, ‘Are you really that clueless?‘
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll have the assistant drop you off at Zamora Group. After work, just hitch a ride back with Daron,” Elnora said.
Marina’s eyes widened as it finally clicked for her.
Even though she was the star of the show tomorrow, the real goal was to make everyone at the party think the Finley Group and Zamora Group had patched things up and were working together on a project.
So if she and Daron showed up together, that would really sell the whole thing.
Early the next morning, everything was set in motion just as Elnora had arranged.
Everything went according to Elnora’s plan.
The assistant dropped Marina off in front of the Zamora Group building and then drove away.
Marina made her way upstairs to her temporary workstation.
Marina went out of her way to arrive early today, but to her surprise, Daron had already beaten her to it.
With a polite smile, Marina took the initiative and said, “Good morning, Mr. Zamora.”
Daron didn’t even look up. He just hummed lightly and didn’t say another word.
Marina quietly slipped back to her desk, careful not to draw any attention.
Daron was busier than usual today. After a last–minute meeting, he rushed straight back to his office for a video conference,
The video call dragged on for ages, and Marina was so careful not to make any noise while flipping through her documents.
But the more careful she was, the more she worried about making a mess, the more likely something would go wrong.
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Chapter 89.
55 Vouchers
Marina was so focused on organizing her notes that she accidentally knocked over the water cup sitting beside her with her elbow.
She reacted almost instinctively, reaching out to catch it.
But just as her fingers brushed the cup, it slipped from her grasp and hit the floor with a sharp, ringing sound.
‘Crap, I’m screwed, Marina thought, her heart sinking.
She was so frustrated she could cry, but no tears came.
Daron had been stone–faced the whole video call, his expression cold and unreadable.
Every word he spoke carried a quiet authority and seriousness.
Now that she’d made a noise, it was obvious he was going to take out all the anger he couldn’t vent on the other end of the call on her instead.
Marina mouthed, “Sorry, sorry,” her expression tense with embarrassment.
She mouthed her apology and quickly started picking up the shards of glass from the floor.
She was kicking herself for being so clumsy. As she reached for the second piece, her mind wandered for just a second, and a sharp shard of glass sliced right into her finger.
Blood welled up instantly.
A sharp pain shot through her, but Marina pressed her lips together, not even daring to hiss in pain.
Biting back the pain, she hurried to pick up the broken glass, then wrapped her finger tightly with a tissue.
Thankfully, the sting in her finger faded pretty quickly.
Marina breathed a silent sigh of relief, not daring to glance at Daron. She pretended nothing had happened and buried herself in her files.
Only when a shadow loomed overhead did Marina look up.
Daron, fresh from his video call, was now standing right in front of her.
He looked down at her, his expression unreadable.
Marina gave an awkward smile, saying apologetically, “Sorry, Mr Zamora.”
Daron shot her a cold look, tossed a box onto her desk, and turned to leave.
Marina blinked, a little stunned, as she picked up the box of band–aids from her desk and shot a quick look in Daron’s direction.
He was already seated back at his desk, his tone icy and detached
“Let’s continue the meeting,” he said.
Marina looked at Daron’s icy expression, pressed her lips together, and reached for the band–aid. Her gaze flickered with a
mix of emotions.
But she quickly steadied herself and carefully put the band–aid on.
As soon as the band–aid was in place, the pain in her finger faded away as if it had never been there.
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Chapter 89
After the meeting ended, Daron closed the video call.
He sat back in his chair, his face grim and his voice cold and serious.
“Marina,” he called out.
He called her by name, his tone direct.
Marina had thought the whole video call interruption was behind her, but when Daron suddenly called her out so seriously. she reflexively stood up from her seat.
“Yes, Mr. Zamora,” she answered.
Daron gave her a blank look, let out a visible sigh, but didn’t say anything.
“Get back to work,” he said, his tone flat.
Marina had been ready for a scolding, but when Daron just let it go so easily, she sat back down, still a bit stunned.
By 11:30, Marina was about to order lunch when she remembered Daron had treated her to Silkwind Kitchen yesterday. Plus, she’d messed up today and hadn’t been called out for it. Since she was eating here, it wouldn’t feel right to only order for herself.
So she picked up her phone, glanced at Daron, who was still busy working, and after a moment’s hesitation, snapped a screenshot of the Silkwind Kitchen menu and sent it over to him
“Mr. Zamora, lunchtime’s almost here. Is there anything you’d like to eat?” she texted.
After sending the message, she looked over at Daron, waiting for his response.
Daron picked up his phone as the screen lit up, glanced at it, then shot Marina a look.
Marina tried to look agreeable, flashing him a smile.
Daron replied in a flat tone, “No need. I’m not having lunch at the office today.”
Marina mumbled, “Oh,” and focused on her own order.
Just then, the office buzzer sounded.
Daron buzzed the person in, and Joyce peeked her head through the door, grinning.
“Daron, it’s lunchtime. Zachary and the others are already there. Let’s head over now,” she said.
Daron replied in a calm, even voice, “Wasn’t I supposed to meet you there?”
She grinned, “The restaurant’s right on the way past Zamora Group, so I figured I’d stop by and pick you up. Otherwise, you’d probably still be buried in work and keep everyone waiting”
Daron said, “Sorry, my bad.”
Hearing their conversation, Marina kept her head down, trying to make herself invisible as she focused on ordering lunch.
Daron glanced at Marina, who looked just like a quail, head down and timid, then
out.
grabbed his coat from the rack and strode
As soon as the office door clicked shut, Marina chewed on her lip glanced at the food she hadn’t even ordered yet, and suddenly wasn’t hungry at all. She deleted everything and went with a plain bowl of porridge.
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Chapter 89
Once she’d placed her order, Marina closed out of the application, feeling a heavy weight settle in her chest.
vouchers.
Daron had left with Joyce, and the Grant family were there too, he figured they probably had more get–togethers lined up for the afternoon.
If Daron couldn’t go to the Finley family with her tonight, then everything she and Elnora had plotted would totally fall
apart.
She felt a headache coming out of nowhere. After hesitating for second, she opened her chat with Daron and typed out a
message.
“Mr. Zamora, are you coming back this afternoon?”
曲
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
