Chapter 87
Arnauld lowered his head, unable to bring himself to meet Daron’s eyes.
Daron kept his gaze averted, his tone icy as he spoke, “Take care of it yourself.”
Arnauld could only nod, mustering up his courage. “Yes, Mr. Zamora.”
As Arnauld’s assistant was tidying up the documents, she reached for the notebook Marina had put together.
Marina quickly pressed her hand down, taking the notebook back.
“If it’s not yours, don’t touch it,” Marina said, her tone icy.
Arnauld’s assistant froze for a moment before finally meeting Marina’s eyes.
Marina shot her a cold look, gathering up her own things from the desk, her gaze distant.
People like that just rubbed Marina the wrong way. She never had any patience for them.
Once all the old documents were cleared out, the secretary quickly came in with a fresh batch.
This time, there were more than half the files than before.
When Marina started going through them again, it was a breeze,
As she was reorganizing everything, her assistant sent her a message.
“Ms. Finley, Ms. Elnora Finley had her check–up on time. We got lucky today. Professor York was coming back from the lab when we arrived, and now she’s Ms. Elnora Finley’s attending doctor. With her in charge, you really don’t have to worry about Ms. Elnora Finley’s condition.”
Janette was the leading expert in the country on digestive system cancers.
After finding out last night that Elnora had stomach cancer, Marina started looking into everything she could about it.
Once she learned that Janette was from Vrufield, Marina planned to drop by and see her before heading back to Sicester.
No one had thought Elnora would get so lucky. She actually ended up under Janette’s care.
Marina couldn’t help but smile, the annoyance from earlier fading away as her mood lifted.
After replying to her assistant, she buried herself in the paperwork again.
Just as she was getting lost in her work, a warm voice called out from the doorway.
“Daron, still working?”
Marina paused, her hand frozen with the papers, and her gaze instinctively shifted toward Daron.
She watched as Daron put aside his work, rose from his chair, and looked at the woman entering, his eyes gentle.
“Didn’t I say I’d come pick you up? Why did you come by yourself?” Daron asked.
Joyce strolled in with an elegant, bright smile, her steps graceful as she entered the office.
She’d switched up her look. Gone was the long dress from this morning, and now she rocked an athleisure outfit with a ballet twist. Her hair wasn’t pinned up anymore; instead, she’d pulled it back into a ponytail.
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Switching between such different styles, she radiated youthful energy and life.
Raised in luxury, a true heiress like her could be effortlessly graceful and classy, but could just as easily be cute and playful
Not like those girls raised to follow strict rules, all stiff and awkward. You just couldn’t help but like her.
Daron got up from his chair and pulled out a seat for Joyce at his desk
“I’ve still got a bit of work to wrap up. Just hang on for a minute, okay?” he said.
She nodded. “Sure.”
Daron sat back down in his chair, casting a glance toward the partition in Marina’s direction.
Their eyes met across the room, and Marina instantly averted her gaze, embarrassment washing over her.
She felt like a glaring third wheel, practically lighting up the room with how out of place she was.
She made sure to turn the pages as quietly as possible, hoping Joyce wouldn’t even realize she was there.
She sat down across from Daron, not even bothering with her phone. She just sat there quietly, waiting.
Even though Marina was trying to make herself as invisible as possible, the sound of her flipping through papers still reached Joyce’s ears.
She turned her head, glancing over toward the partition.
Marina could feel Joyce’s scrutinizing gaze on her. She took a silent breath, hardly daring to make a sound, and kept her eyes glued to her papers, terrified of meeting Joyce’s eyes.
“Daron, is someone else here with you?” she asked.
Daron didn’t bother to look up, his voice steady. “Just the new girl who started today.”
Joyce just said, “Oh,” and turned her gaze away from the partition
Marina felt the weight of her gaze lift, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
But the very next moment, Joyce got up from her seat and walked over.
She stood right in front of Marina, looking down at her with a curious glint in her
eyes.
After all, Joyce knew Daron wasn’t the kind of boss who’d ever bother showing a rookie the ropes himself.
Anyone who got to work in his office had to be someone who really stood out to him.
Marina could feel Joyce’s gaze bearing down on her again, and she held her breath. With Joyce standing right in front of her, there was no way she could pretend she didn’t notice.
She took a steadying breath, forced a smile, and stood up from the couch, taking the initiative to greet her.
“Hello, Ms. Milner,” Marina said.
Joyce smiled back, her eyes curious but not at all judgmental, and reached out her hand.
“Hi, what’s your name?” she asked.
Marina quickly reached out to shake her hand, looking a bit starstruck, like she couldn’t believe her luck.
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“Hello, I’m… Marina started, her voice a little nervous.
But before she could finish, a sudden noise from Daron’s side cut her off.
“Alright, let’s go. I’m done here,” Daron said.
Joyce pulled her hand back without missing a beat and headed straight for Daron.
She clearly didn’t care what Marina’s name was. She’d just asked to be polite.
Marina withdrew her hand, feeling a little awkward.
Daron glanced over at her, his voice cool.
You can clock out too,” he said.
Marina nodded. “Okay.”
After she replied, Joyce looked her way again.
Marina pressed her lips together, choosing her words carefully to sound extra polite.
Thank you, Mr. Zamora. I’ll just tidy up and head out,” she said.
Joyce looked away from Marina and headed out, a smile still lingering on her face.
“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before,” she said lightly.
Daron’s voice was cool.
“You must be mistaken. She’s been working in other places, only just came to Vrufield,” he replied.
Joyce didn’t push it and just changed the subject.
Once their voices had faded away, Marina sat back down, tidied up her desk, and then left.
With Daron’s go–ahead, Marina got to leave work early. As she made her way to the garage to get her car, she happened to catch the sound of an argument coming from a corner.
The woman’s voice was shaky and on the verge of tears, sounding really upset and hurt.
“You promised we’d go to Sicester together and finally have some time just for us. Now this woman, who just popped up out of nowhere has ruined all our plans. Obviously, I’m not okay with this,” she said.
“I just wanted to give her more work so she wouldn’t get used to the Sicester project so quickly. I thought Mr. Zamora would change his mind and send you instead. How was I supposed to know he’d find out?” the man replied.
“Arnauld, I don’t want to leave the company, and I don’t want to be far from you. Just move me to another position for now. Mr. Zamora’s got a million things going on. He won’t keep paying attention to this. Once things settle down, you can bring me back to your side. Please?” the woman pleaded.
“Do you have to be so loud? You want everyone to know about us or what?” Arnauld muttered quietly, looking around before noticing the open elevator doors.
Marina hadn’t planned on witnessing their argument. It was honestly awkward for her. But with the elevator doors already open, if she didn’t step out, it’d look like she was intimidated or something.
She raised her brow slightly, walked out of the elevator, and made her way toward where her car was parked.
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When she saw the two of them standing by her car, Marina couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
Who in their right mind picks someone else’s car to have a fight in front of?‘ she thought.
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.
