Emily instinctively took a few steps back. "Shouldn't I coordinate my work with Ken? Isn't he around?" "I asked him to leave," Vincent replied. "Emily, why are you avoiding me?" He spoke with difficulty, his voice rough and full of effort. Emily turned her head away, avoiding eye contact. "Where’s Dylan? Didn’t he go looking for you?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "Answer me!" Vincent cut her off. He took a step forward. Emily tried to turn and leave but found the door behind her locked. The blinds were pulled down, and there was no way anyone outside could see what was happening inside. "What’s the meaning of this, Mr. Norman?" she demanded. "I just want to talk to you," he said, slowly approaching until he stood right in front of her. "Please, don’t avoid me." Emily turned her face away, avoiding his gaze. "There’s nothing left to say between us, Mr. Norman. Besides, you have someone else now. I don’t want to get tangled up in this mess again, only to end up being targeted." "Someone else?" Vincent frowned. "Who told you I have someone else?" "Penelope, for starters. And the HR manager," Emily took a deep breath and let out a bitter laugh. "I just didn’t expect your standards to drop so much. Cathy Miller? Really, Mr. Norman? A woman like her, now worthy of you?" "You mean Cathy?" Vincent kept his response brief. "I have nothing to do with her." "Then why do you let her act like a tyrant in your company? She’s fired so many old employees who worked with you from the start, openly challenges Ken. Would she really dare if you weren’t backing her?" Emily shot back. Vincent remained silent. It was a long time before he finally spoke softly. "Has she made things difficult for you?" "It doesn't matter," Emily replied. "I've dealt with enough snide looks before. She doesn't faze me. I’m just reminding you, Mr. Norman—if you already have someone, then don’t involve me anymore. It’s not fair to either of us." Shouting her feelings out like that made Emily feel oddly relieved. Maybe it was the privacy of the room, finally giving her emotions an outlet. Or maybe it was standing in front of this man—the one who had once given her so much love, and so much pain—that stirred so many unspoken words. She found her release in bringing up Cathy, letting herself vent everything she had held back. Vincent's face paled. "I don't..." "I was just reminding you, not accusing you," Emily said, closing her eyes briefly. "Why did you want to see me? If it’s anything about the luxury apartment project, please just email me. I will respond accordingly." "Emily, you need to rest," Vincent's eyes were soft, affectionate. "You didn’t sleep well last night, did you? Work can wait. This project isn’t urgent." "This is my job. I have to do it well," Emily answered. "And Stardream has other projects waiting for me in London. The faster I finish this, the sooner I can go back." Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw Ken standing outside, peering in. She spoke firmly. "It’s working hours, not personal time, Mr. Norman. Please act professionally." As more time passed, more people showed up outside. This was Ken’s office, and seeing him standing outside could only mean that someone with authority was inside. There was no one else it could be except the CEO himself. People were coming and going. If anyone saw her like this, it would only add to the gossip and put her in a bad spot. "After work, don’t leave. Wait for me." Leaving those words behind, Vincent finally pressed a button on a remote to unlock the door, then walked out with long strides. As he passed her, he reached out, briefly clasping her right hand before letting go. His familiar warmth and gentle touch sent a shiver down Emily's spine, making her heart ache. "Miranda…" Ken patted her on the shoulder. "Are you okay? You look a little pale." Emily sniffed, forcing a smile. "I'm fine. Thank you." "Did my boss scold you?" Ken handed her a few tissues. "Like I said before, this project means everything to him, since it's the one his wife left behind before she passed. He’s put it above everything else, even his own life. He used to snap at me all the time before you got here, but you just arrived, and he's already being this tough on you. It's a bit much. He wasn't always like this." She knew better than anyone how Vincent used to be."Ken, when do we start pushing the project forward?" Emily asked. Ken glanced at his watch. "Half an hour from now, I’ll call a meeting for everyone involved in the project. Miranda, is that enough time? There’s a lot of material on this project, and you just arrived yesterday. Should I give you more time?" "No need. Half an hour is fine. I’ll just go to the restroom first." Ken had given her a half-hour to gather herself. Emily went to the restroom, splashed her face with cold water, and retouched her makeup. When she returned to her desk, Ken was no longer there; he had already headed to the conference room. Emily tidied up the documents on her desk and quickly made her way to the meeting. There weren’t many people in the conference room. Emily was only responsible for the design part, so all those present were designers. Including Ken and herself, there were just six people in total. "This layout seems to waste space," one designer pointed out. "The land utilization isn’t ideal. Couldn’t this part be optimized?" "Yeah, I noticed that too," another added. "This small area here isn’t big enough for a parking lot, and the underground garage is already sufficient for the parking needs. I don’t see why we need another above-ground parking space—it doesn’t make sense." The designers were buzzing with ideas, discussing a particular point of the design. Ken sat at the head of the table, arms crossed, staring at the blueprint, deep in thought. Emily knocked on the door. "Ken." "Oh, Miranda, you're here just in time. We were discussing a design issue. No one can quite figure out the designer's intention here." Ken pointed to a small area on the bottom of the blueprint. "This section isn't clearly labeled for its intended use. Can you take a look?" Emily followed where he was pointing, then smiled knowingly. "Oh, that part is a designated rest area." "A rest area?" Ken was puzzled. "This is a residential building. People come home to rest. Why build an extra rest area downstairs? Isn’t that redundant?"