Using all her strength to finish, Darcy turned and walked out the door without looking back. Clara was furious, even considering firing Darcy on the spot. But then she realized that would definitely alert her son. ... Darcy stood on the curb in a daze for a dozen seconds, then hailed a taxi back to the office. Once there, she locked herself in her office, forcing herself to calm down. At 2 PM, Rowan called to remind her of the weekly one-on-one progress report with Jethro. Darcy paused. "Sorry, Mr. Kerr. I'm not feeling well today. Can Cade take my place?" Rowan hesitated. "Well... let me check with Mr. Blackwood."Hearing Darcy was unwell, Jethro frowned and waved his hand. "If she's sick, cancel this week's report." Rowan had expected this and accidentally overstepped. "Understood. Should I go check on Ms. Gale?" Jethro looked up at him. Rowan felt immense pressure. Ugh, seriously—keeping him company's like walking on eggshells. Should've just kept my mouth shut. Just as he was about to leave, that unreadable man gave an order. "Buy some ginger tea. Have the receptionist downstairs deliver it to her." "Oh, okay." Rowan secretly sighed in relief. Finally guessed right. ... Downstairs, Darcy stared blankly at the ginger tea. After a moment, she guessed Jethro had sent it. Her expression darkened.She returned it to the receptionist. "I don't need it. Keep it here. Some other female employee might." In the afternoon, she received a message from Jethro. "Feeling better?" Looking at the message, Darcy's eyes burned. She flipped her phone face down on the desk. She didn't reply until just before leaving work. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Blackwood. I'm much better now." Jethro was in a meeting when he received the message. He frowned deeply. Is it my imagination? Why does she sound so distant? ... The next afternoon was the monthly executive meeting. All senior managers from the group's various branches attended. Darcy was among them.When she pushed the door open and stepped inside, Jethro was seated at the head of the table, in quiet conversation with a manager who'd traveled down from a neighboring city. Hearing the noise, Jethro instinctively looked over. Their eyes met. Darcy was the first to look away, then calmly took a seat in the corner. The seat was so far to the side that Jethro had trouble seeing her. The manager he'd been talking to, getting no response, called his name again. "Mr. Blackwood? Mr. Blackwood?" Only then did Jethro snap out of it. He frowned slightly, loosening his tie. Two hours later, the meeting ended. Jethro wanted to stop Darcy, to ask what was wrong, if she was still unwell. But he was surrounded by other executives. By the time he finished, the conference room was empty.He pressed his temples, a sense of frustration building in his chest. Darcy had fled the conference room the moment the meeting ended. During the meeting, even though she'd tried to avoid Jethro, she'd still felt his gaze on her while she was taking notes. She didn't need to look up to know who it was. Back in her own office downstairs, she closed the door and finally breathed a sigh of relief. But an ache suddenly spread through her chest. She'd warned herself not to fall for him. Only now did she realize she'd already been drawn in, had already fallen for him, without even noticing. Yesterday, facing Clara's humiliation, she could still argue, claim her relationship with Jethro was purely professional. Today, she could no longer lie to herself. Luckily, she'd hit the brakes in time.Clara was right. They were worlds apart, doomed to never fit. It ended here between her and Jethro. From now on, she would only be his subordinate. She patted her cheeks, took a deep breath, and reminded herself. I can live without a man, but I can't live without a job. Companies like Stratagem Tech, with good pay, benefits, and humane management, were rare. She needed to keep this job. When the neon lights lit up outside the window, the city's night descended. Darcy didn't plan to work overtime tonight. She left on time, picking up her bag and heading to the underground garage. Her car was fixed. But shortly after she started the engine, Jethro stepped out of the elevator from the B1 level.If the side window had been up, she could've pretended she didn't see him and sped off. But the driver's side window was down. Darcy sighed helplessly, pursed her lips, and initiated a greeting. Jethro's deep eyes fixed on her. He was about to step forward to ask if she was avoiding him, but the window was already rolling up, and the car was slowly moving toward the exit. In the driver's seat, Darcy's eyes were fixed on the rearview mirror. Jethro stood still in the mirror, watching her. He didn't look away until her figure shrank to a tiny dot. Forcing herself to look away, Darcy drove toward home.