Kaia froze, not sure what to do, and glanced at Zora. Zora stood up, smiling, and placed the gift box back in front of Bex. "Bex, what are you talking about? This gift is for your parents. Given our friendship, what's wrong with me showing some respect to your parents? It's perfectly reasonable." Bex understood. The gift contained health supplements. And Zora's reason for giving it wasn't related to the tender; it was personal friendship. As long as she didn't say otherwise, no one at the company would know. Thinking this, Bex didn't refuse again. He smiled and accepted it. But he knew exactly what accepting this meant. "Zora, don't worry. What I promised you won't change," Bex said, his gaze fervent as he looked at Zora. Zora raised her glass to toast him. "Thank you, Bex. Cheers." Kaia watched, amazed. With just a few words, the matter was settled. Zora was incredible! Zora only drank one glass before saying she had urgent work to handle and needed to step out to make a call. Before leaving, she whispered to Kaia to keep Bex company. "Maintain a good relationship with Mr. Stone. The contracts for phases two and three will be yours to handle. The sales commissions will all go to you too." Kaia's eyes lit up with delight. She nodded eagerly. If she could secure the contracts for phases two and three, the sales commission would be a substantial bonus. Despite her title as the Lark family's eldest daughter, her life wasn't glamorous. The Lark family merely provided a place to sleep and eat. They didn't give her an allowance.When she asked her father for money, he'd just say she was an adult and needed to be independent. But it was clearly favoritism! The Lark family gave Chloe a six-figure monthly allowance! Kaia's previous salary wasn't high, and she had no savings habit. Recently, she'd even taken out a loan to buy a birthday gift for Zora's mother. Future sales commissions would make her life much easier, allowing her to buy luxury brands regularly like Chloe did. Zora was gone for half an hour. When she returned, Kaia was slumped over the table, drunk. Bex, however, was only slightly flushed. Zora gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Work's a little crazy." Bex waved it off. "No problem. The capable are always busier. It's normal." Under the soft light, Bex gazed at Zora's delicate face, feeling a stir in his heart.He swallowed, moving to sit closer to Zora. He hadn't forgotten why he came tonight. He'd held back because of the extra person at the table. But now that person was out cold, and he'd had some alcohol—liquid courage and all that. He mustered the courage to reach for Zora's soft, delicate hand. "Zora, I—" He'd barely started when Zora interrupted, "Sorry, Bex, I have another call to take." This time, Bex waited half an hour, but Zora didn't return. Suddenly, a text message arrived, "Sorry, Bex. An urgent work matter came up. I have to head back to the office. Could you please take Kaia home? I'll send you her address." Bex frowned, looking at Kaia asleep on the table. After a moment, he stood up and lifted her. Off-balance, Kaia slumped against him, her soft form clinging closely.Looking down, Bex saw Kaia's pale neck and the gentle curve of her chest. He hadn't realized Zora's assistant had such a nice figure. His breathing grew heated. His throat moved as he swallowed hard... ... The next morning, Kaia woke with a hangover, her head pounding. She grabbed the alarm clock by the bed. She was late for work. Yawning, she made a phone call. "Hello, Kaia? Are you okay? Why aren't you at work?" Zora's voice, tinged with concern, came through the line. Kaia yawned again. "Oh, I'm okay. Sorry, I drank too much last night and overslept. I need to take the day off." There was a slight pause on the other end. "Alright, no problem. Submit a leave request later, and I'll approve it."Kaia said, "Okay, thanks, Dr. Moss." She was about to hang up when Zora asked, "Where are you... right now?" Kaia was confused. "At home. Mr. Stone brought me back last night. I haven't thanked him yet." Zora's lips tightened. "I see. That's good. Rest up then." She hung up, eyes dimming. Idiot. I gave you a shot and you blew it. Five minutes later, Zora's phone screen lit up. A message from Bex, "Zora, are you free this weekend? There's an art exhibition you might like. I have two tickets." The Easemark tender was only two working days away. Zora didn't want any complications. This was her first project at SummitCore. She had to win it. So she agreed. After some polite back-and-forth, she deleted the chat history.... Kaia woke up late. Coming downstairs, she found no breakfast had been left for her. Chloe mocked her again, saying she'd been fooling around with some man last night. Furious, Kaia stormed out and went to the Gale household.