Chapter 2

At Sterling Group Tower, my boss suddenly had to take emergency leave.

So handling the investment talks for my company ended up on my plate.

Just the thought of facing my arch-nemesis made my stomach churn.

"Please head to the conference room and wait a moment. Mr. Sterling will be here shortly," someone said.

Not long after, Alex strutted in, all arrogance.

When he saw me, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

Then his eyes landed on the bottle of water in front of me.

"Tom, get Ms. Bennett a glass of warm water," he said.

I raised an eyebrow at that. After all, Alex and I had been rivals since high school.

Back then, he'd even use my cup to water the plants.

When did he suddenly get so considerate?

Soon, the meeting kicked off. My team went first, presenting their slides.

Without thinking, my gaze wandered to the other side of the table.

Alex was turned slightly, staring at the screen, and the hickey peeking out from under his white shirt collar was impossible to miss.

No way that was just a coincidence.

Maybe I was staring too hard, because Alex suddenly turned and looked right at me.

The moment our eyes met, I could totally tell he was feeling guilty.

No wonder he'd had someone bring me warm water.

Wait, that was not Alex. It was Evan—he reached up and rubbed his neck.

"I just got my hands on some top-grade coffee. Ms. Bennett, would you care to stay after the meeting and join me for a tasting?" Evan said, his tone inviting.

"How could I refuse such a kind offer?" I replied with a smile.

An hour or so later, the meeting wrapped up. Everyone else filed out.

Only Evan and I were left in the conference room.

Drumming my fingers on the table, I asked, "So? Your sugar mama's not paying you enough these days?"

"Babe, I'm sorry." He dropped his usual line.

He grabbed my hand, putting on his cutest act. "Blame Alex. He's such a slave driver. He wanted to skip work and cover for him. I almost got caught pretending to be him."

He said he only agreed to cover for Alex so he could milk some money off Alex and buy me a gift.

I was such a pushover when it came to Evan, so I just let it go.

"I'm not getting involved in whatever drama you two have going on. I'm heading out," I said.

As soon as I stood up, Evan wrapped his arms around me from behind.

He gently nibbled at my ear as he spoke, "It's almost quitting time. Babe, will you wait for me so we can go home together?"

"I'll wait for you in the parking lot," I said, patting his hand on my waist. "You've got 30 minutes, tops."

I was sitting in the driver's seat, waiting for him.

Before I could even get comfortable, Evan opened the car door and hopped in.

"I totally scammed Alex out of a ton of cash. Babe, tonight's on me. Let's go all out and have a feast," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, since you're offering, I won't hold back," I replied with a smirk.

At the restaurant, I ordered a nice bottle of wine, and before I realized it, I was already drunk.

I glanced at Evan across the table, and suddenly, I just felt annoyed for no reason.

"Alex is such an asshole! That damn sharp-tongued bastard. I never did anything to him, but he keeps haunting me—always finding ways to screw me over," I complained.

Evan chimed in, as always, "He's so worried about his own toxic mouth that he only drinks with a straw. Like he's afraid he'll poison himself if he touches the glass."

"By the way, he mentioned what happened last night. Mr. Yates isn't as clean as he looks—better steer clear of him," he added.

When I heard him defending Alex, I shot him a suspicious glare.

"Oh, so Alex is suddenly a good guy now? What do you say, Evan?" I challenged.

"Me? Hell no, he's the worst," Evan blurted out, quick to take my side.

Then he rattled off all kinds of dirt about Alex.

"I still remember last month when he made me go to some social event and forced me to play golf with a bunch of people. You know, babe, I'm just the black sheep of my family. They dumped me overseas and forgot I existed. I don't even know how to play golf. I was just there for everyone's amusement," he complained.

After hearing all that, I wobbled out of my chair, still tipsy, and gave him a couple of pats on the shoulder.

"Relax, I've got your back. I'll get revenge for you," I said with a grin.