Darcy sighed. She held up five fingers. "How many is this?" "This is..." Cindy squinted, her head tilting. "How many is this, anyway? Ugh, I see... double. So many fingers!" "You can't hold your liquor, yet you kept drinking one after another," Darcy chided, exasperated. "Anyone would think you're trying to meet the bar's sales quota." The drunk woman wasn't offended. She just hugged Darcy's arm and giggled, "That guy was so slimy! If I didn't drink to numb myself, I'd have thrown up right there!" Thinking of the date, Darcy's brow furrowed. Who on earth set this up? They must have a grudge against the Blackwoods. She patted Cindy's shoulder. "Stay right here. I'll get the car." "'Kay," Cindy mumbled, letting go. The moment her support was gone, the off-balance drunk began to topple backward. A pair of steady hands caught her just in time. Darcy, her heart in her throat, looked up in surprise. "Mr. Knight? What are you doing here?" "Hmm," Zephyr said, not mentioning he'd been watching. He looked down at the woman in his arms, her eyes unfocused, cheeks flushed. "I'll take her. It's late. You should get home and rest." "Alright." The Knight and Blackwood families were close neighbors and old friends. Zephyr and Jethro were close friends. Besides, Darcy trusted Zephyr's character. She helped him get Cindy into the passenger seat and buckled her in. "Thank you, Mr. Knight." ... The next morning, as soon as Darcy got to the office, Cade rushed in, looking worried. "Ms. Gale! Bad news. SummitCore has scheduled their new product launch for March 16th too! I heard it was originally slated for late March, but they suddenly changed it to the same day as ours! "And I heard they invited tons of clients and peers this time. Way more than us. I'm worried... I'm worried..." Darcy knew what he meant—he worried Stratagem Tech's event would be empty, turning them into a joke in the industry. She soothed him, "It's fine—we just stick to our own plan. Don't let them mess up our pace. Besides, we've got nothing to be afraid of. Only the ones with worse tech should be nervous." She paused, then added, "Please notify Mr. Knight of a meeting." Cade scratched his head. "Mr. Knight isn't here yet." Huh? Darcy checked the time. Almost ten, and Zephyr still wasn't here? She didn't expect the ever-diligent Zephyr to be late for once.No big deal. R&D is stressful. Being late once is nothing. She got up to get coffee from the break room. When she returned, she noticed Cindy's desk was also empty. Both of them were late... Last night, Zephyr had offered to take Cindy home. Now they were both late. Even Darcy, who wasn't one for gossip, couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. Just then, Zephyr walked in. He looked slightly rushed, a bit out of breath. Their eyes met. He gave her a brief, polite nod. Darcy noted he was still wearing the same clothes from last night. Five minutes later, Cindy slipped in. She moved like a guilty cat, trying to look nonchalant at her desk. But the scarf wrapped tightly around her neck screamed that something was up.Wearing a scarf indoors? Might as well wear a sign. At lunch, when they were alone, Darcy raised an eyebrow at her friend, who was shrinking into her seat. "Were you with Mr. Knight last night?" Cindy stammered, "H-he drove me home." "Which home?" "My apartment." "So... you slept together?" Cindy's face turned bright red. She buried her head. "N-no!" "No?" Darcy pressed, unconvinced. "Then what's with your neck?" Cindy looked like she might cry. "Mosquito bites." Darcy burst out laughing. "Wow, evolution is fast. Mosquitoes surviving in early spring now." Seeing she couldn't hide it, Cindy put down her fork and came clean. "Fine. You guessed right. We slept together." Darcy wasn't surprised, just sighed, "I thought you were moving on. What now?" Cindy was quiet for a moment. "Whatever. I'll figure it out as I go. It's not like I didn't enjoy it." Yeah. Remembering Zephyr's physique, Darcy instantly understood the weight of that last statement. As they left the restaurant, they ran into Jethro and Zephyr. All four locked eyes. Cindy mumbled something about having work to do and hurried off. Zephyr said the same, making a quick exit. Jethro looked pleased and turned to Darcy. "You really know how to motivate your team. Everyone at the subsidiary is so dedicated." Darcy gave a dry smile, feeling a pang of sympathy for her boss. His little sister and his good friend had a one-night stand, and he has no idea."Oh, Mr. Blackwood," she said, switching topics. "About the Stratagem Tech launch. It's scheduled for March 16th. We've just learned SummitCore's launch is on the same day."