"Aiden, why did you suddenly take my side today? Weren’t you always suspicious that it was my fault?" Inside the office, I looked at Aiden and asked with a teasing smile. "I know it wasn’t you who pushed my mom down the stairs," Aiden said calmly. "Oh? What made you change your mind so suddenly?" Aiden shifted his gaze toward the window, staring at the traffic outside as his Adam's apple moved. "Last time at the hospital, you were so desperate to prove it wasn’t your fault. You even helped me take care of my mom, and brought Dr. Tempest all the way back from abroad." "If someone like that could actually be the one who hurt my mom, then I honestly wouldn’t even know how deep their scheming goes." "And more importantly, I trust you." I listened quietly to Aiden’s serious tone, feeling a warmth spreading through my chest. "Aiden, so what are you really thinking? You don’t actually want me to be your secretary, do you?" Aiden looked at me. "What’s wrong? Isn’t being my secretary a good thing?" "I’ve never worked as someone’s secretary before, Aiden. You’re acting like it’s normal. Do you think everyone’s like Taylor, throwing themselves at you?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Taylor won’t be design director for much longer." Aiden’s tone dropped coldly. "Once I find proof she framed my mom, I’ll make her pay for it." I sighed and nodded. "Fine. I’ll ‘lower myself’ and play your little secretary for a few days." "Good. Then start by making me a cup of coffee. No sugar." He left the order and sat down at his desk, flipping open a contract. "You’re really getting into character fast, huh?" Grumbling under my breath, I grabbed his mug and headed for the coffee machine outside. Just as I stepped out, I heard some coworkers gossiping near the coffee bar. "Did you guys hear? Our VP signed a deal with Lawson Corp, and apparently, the company’s losing a lot of money from it!""Seriously?" "Dead serious. I overheard the VP mention it once. He said he got drunk at a business dinner and ended up being forced to sign the contract. He hasn’t told the CEO yet. Probably scared of getting blamed." "But isn’t Lawson Corp our business rival? Why would he sign a deal with them so easily?" "Easy? He worked his ass off trying to land that deal! I think it’s because our CEO is too damn good. The VP wanted to prove himself by landing a big client like Lawson Corp. He was trying to make a splash. But it turns out, Lawson Corp’s shady as hell..." "Alright, that’s enough. Get back to work before someone hears us." They quickly scattered after finishing their gossip. I walked over and started brewing Aiden’s coffee. Just as it was nearly ready, I heard footsteps. Looking up, I saw Alex walking over with a mug in hand. Clearly here for coffee too. His face was pale, brows furrowed, clearly not in a good mood. After hearing all that gossip, I could understand how he felt. He was the VP of the company. He’d worked so hard to prove himself, only to be swindled because he was too naive. Of course he’d be upset. "Alex." I called out to him, but before I could say anything else, he cut me off coldly. "You here to laugh at me too?" I looked at him, confused. "Laugh at you for what?" "You heard them talking over there. Don’t tell me you didn’t." Alex let out a bitter laugh. "What are you pretending for?" "I was just going to ask what kind of deal you signed with Lawson Corp that cost the company billions." Hearing me bring it up, Alex’s face flushed red with shame. "It was supposed to be a land deal. But they gave me a worthless piece of land. That’s why we’re losing money... I seriously didn’t expect it. I even checked the inspection report before. Everything looked fine. I don’t know how it turned out like this..." I said, "You know Lawson Corp has always had beef with us. Working with those old crooks was a risky move to begin with. And with Aiden out of the picture—" "Aiden, Aiden! Always Aiden! What, does the world stop spinning without Aiden? My whole life, I’ve been compared to him! We’re both from Midnight Pack. What makes him so much better than me? Am I really that worthless?"