The eyes of Marina and Zara met in the air for a moment. Zara briefly pursed her lips before looking down at the papers she was holding.
Marina shot her a calm glance, then looked away.
Chloe spoke up again, her voice tinged with awkwardness.
“I’ve been with the Zamora Group for years, and I’ve never screwed up like this before. Honestly, it’s pretty embarrassing,” she admitted.
Chloe had worked alongside Daron for ages, and this was the first time she’d ever made such a blunder.
With other people present when Daron scolded her, Chloe couldn’t help but feel embarrassed with everyone watching.
“Maybe you’ve been burning the candle at both ends lately,” Marina said. “No wonder you made a mistake.”
Just the other day at the winery, Chloe had actually fainted from exhaustion.
Chloe gave Marina a grateful nod before heading back to her office.
With people constantly coming and going from the copy room, and Garret taking care of all the document checks, Chloe couldn’t help but feel something was off.
Still, she decided not to look into it any further.
After Chloe left, Marina returned to her seat.
She recalled the look Zara had given her earlier, something unreadable flashing in her eyes. Without hesitating, she got up, eft the office floor, and made her way to the security office.
She wanted to check if Zara had mixed that document in with the rest.
After all, when Zara came to see her earlier, Marina had been helping Chloe revise some documents.
Zara must’ve seen the discarded papers in the copy room and thought Marina was handling that contract.
That was probably why she mixed the discarded contract in with the stack of unsigned documents for Daron.
If Daron failed to spot the data error in the contract, Marina would have to shoulder all the consequences herself.
To confirm her suspicions, Marina walked into the security office.
After the last incident, the security team had a pretty good sense of Marina’s status around here.
Nobody wanted to cross her, so when Marina mentioned she’d lost something and asked to check the security cameras, they didn’t hesitate to pull up the footage from that day for her.
The security staff waited nearby, scrubbing through the video for Marina as she watched.
The footage showed Zara coming out of the copy room with a stack of papers, slipping them into her drawer.
Then, while everyone was still out for lunch, she headed over to Garret’s office with the documents.
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Throughout the whole thing, Zara looked completely at ease on camera, without even a flicker of guilt or anything shady.
While Marina was deep in thought, one of the security staff quietly ventured, not wanting to disturb her.
“Ms. Finley, that’s all the footage from today,” he said.
Marina’s suspicions confirmed. She simply nodded her thanks and made her way back to the office
She sat down at her desk just as the delivery guy showed up with everyone’s afternoon coffee.
Calista and Zara went around handing out bubble tea to their colleagues.
Marina was focused on her computer, tuning out everything else.
Calista placed the last bubble tea on Bella’s desk and said to Marina, “Sorry, Ms. Finley. Zara ordered bubble tea for everyone arlier, but you weren’t at your desk, so you missed out.”
Marina kept her eyes on her screen, replying in a cool, flat voice, “It’s fine.”
Hearing this, Zara quickly handed her bubble tea to Marina.
he said gently, “Here, you can have mine. It’s my fault. I just started at the company and didn’t realize how many people here were, so I missed you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
Marina shot Zara a cool, faint smile.
he said, “Miss Blanchard, since you just joined Zamora Group, maybe you should put your energy into your job instead of nessing around with shady stuff.”
Lara’s expression immediately turned uncomfortable, a flush of embarrassment creeping onto her face.
he realized Marina had connected her to the whole document fiasco.
ara hadn’t expected Marina to catch on so quickly.
That contract wasn’t even supposed to be Marina’s responsibility. She was just helping Chloe out with some edits.
Still, Zara had been discreet about everything. Whether she was heading to the copy room or Garret’s office, she always nade sure to bring real work and paperwork with her.
Even if Marina knew she was the one behind it, there was no way to prove it.
Even with the security footage, there was no way to show Zara was the one who planted that file among Daron’s unsigned
Contracts.
Ms. Finley, I was trying to build some rapport with my colleagues, that’s all. I don’t have any ulterior motives. I just want to keep things friendly at work. How could that be considered shady?” Zara said.
Zara acted like she had no idea what Marina was getting at, quickly shifting the topic back to coffee.
Calista was shocked that Marina could act so high and mighty right in Zara’s face. Instantly, she wanted to defend Zara
She pushed Zara’s hand back, bristling with indignation as she spoke, “Zara, she wasn’t even here earlier.
‘Why should you give up your bubble tea to her?
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“It’s not your fault at all. Ms. Finley was probably off somewhere goofing off instead of working. Missing out on perks because she wasn’t at her desk. That’s her own fault for not being committed.
‘She’s always thinking about how to slack off, never cares about the team. Now, she’s blaming people with real team spirit for being shady. Does she think the rest of us are blind or something?”
As soon as Calista finished talking, the whole office fell silent.
Everyone buried themselves in their work, not a single person chimed in to back her up.
Bella, who was sitting closest to Calista and Zara, quietly got up, grabbed her files, and walked over to the farthest coworker o talk about work, obviously wanting to steer clear of the drama.
Whenever things got awkward or tense, everyone suddenly started fidgeting, acting busy to avoid the uncomfortable vibe.
The office, which had gone quiet for a split second, was soon buzzing again with the sound of paper rustling and keyboards lacking.
Marina swiveled her chair toward Calista, looked up at her with a subtle, dismissive smile.
she said. “It’s just a cup of bubble tea. Those who don’t know might think I missed out on something amazing.
Miss Rollins, do you even know why you’re in the executive office?”
Calista gave Marina a scornful look. “Of course, I got this job on my own merit. Not everyone here had to pull strings to get
ired by Zamora Group, unlike you.”
ust then, Zara gently tugged at Calista’s sleeve.
Calista, let it go,” Zara said softly.
Calista patted her hand, trying to comfort her.
she said, “Zara, you’re way too low–key. That’s why anybody thinks they can mouth off at you. Don’t forget, you’re Mr. Zamora’s sister.
If you carried yourself with even half the attitude some people here do, no one would dare talk back to you.”
Zara bit her lip. “Alright, let’s drop it. Don’t disturb everyone’s work. If Mr. Zamora comes out and sees this, he’ll be pissed.”
Then, she gently led Calista back to their workstations.
Calista was worried that this little conflict might catch Daron’s attention, so she went along with Zara’s lead and let it go.
After settling back into her chair, Calista couldn’t help but brag about herself a little, making sure Zara heard every word.
‘See, that’s the difference. Zara, you’ve got real class and manners. Not like some people who only landed their jobs because of connections, strutting around like they’re better than everyone else.”
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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.
