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Miles Yates’s car had parked next to them at some unknown time. As a result, he had witnessed her rather passionate kiss with Simon Hawthorne from a close distance. Zoe Lancaster’s face instantly flushed a peachy pink, and she shoved Simon away in a panic.
"That’s enough..."
Simon shot a faint glance at Miles, calmly wiping the moisture from her lips. His voice remained as aloof and aristocratic as ever. "Remember to reapply your lipstick later. It’s all smudged."
Zoe’s scalp tingled with embarrassment as her hand frantically mashed the button to roll up the window. Only when she was isolated from the outside world did she let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Miles didn’t linger. He quickly got out of his car and took the elevator upstairs without so much as another glance in their direction, as gentlemanly and tactful as ever.
Zoe felt thoroughly mortified. What on earth was she supposed to do after being caught by her direct superior making out with a man downstairs at her company first thing in the morning?
Flustered, she gave Simon a push, her small face still bright red. "I’m going upstairs."
Simon raised an eyebrow faintly. "Shall I pick you up tonight?"
Zoe refused without a second thought. "No need."
Simon didn’t say anything more. He merely watched her retreating figure as she walked away, her heels clicking and her hips swaying gracefully. His dark eyes were deep and unreadable.
Once Zoe had completely disappeared from sight, Linden tactfully looked into the rearview mirror. "Mr. Hawthorne, you knew this was Miles Yates’s parking spot. Did you have me park here on purpose?"
Executives had dedicated parking spaces, and they knew a bit about these arrangements through their business dealings. Why did they just so happen to park here today, just so happen to roll down the window, and just so happen to be seen by Miles?
Simon glanced at the seat where Zoe had just been sitting. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his fingers loosened his tie. "I was just taking a gamble," he said, his voice slightly hoarse. "I didn’t expect it to pay off."
Linden understood perfectly. If he wasn’t one hundred percent sure, Mr. Hawthorne wouldn’t do something like this lightly. To put it bluntly, he had come today intentionally to stake his claim.
Although the X post from the Langley Corporation employee had been deleted, it had still become a thorn in Mr. Hawthorne’s side. The Madam was beautiful and had an open, generous personality; it was hard for men not to be drawn to her. It seemed Mr. Hawthorne was indeed starting to care.
Usually, Mr. Hawthorne arrived at work even earlier than his employees. Day after day, he had never been late. Today, he had wasted so much time just to drop the Madam off.
Simon glanced at the Bugatti next to them, then coldly withdrew his gaze. "Back to the company."
***
Zoe was still a little uneasy when she arrived at her department. After all, her marriage to Simon was a secret, yet Miles had coincidentally caught them. She claimed to be single to everyone at the company. Miles didn’t seem like a blabbermouth, so she wasn’t too worried about that particular aspect.
It was just inevitably humiliating. Having an intimate, private moment observed by a spectator would make it hard for anyone to calm down easily.
Fortunately, the morning passed without incident. That was, until the project was finalized, and Director Felix Jennings instructed Zoe, "Take this project progress report to President Yates for his review. If there are no issues, just have him sign it."
Zoe sighed. Speak of the devil.
Clutching the documents, she headed straight for the top floor. When Mason Sullivan saw her, he made a polite, inviting gesture. Zoe approached the office door and knocked.
"Come in."
She pushed the door open and entered. Miles was looking down, signing papers. He only looked up when he heard the noise. His gaze was still clear, warm, and composed, and he didn’t show any unusual reaction upon seeing her. "The project progress report?"
Zoe nodded and placed the file next to his hand.
Miles flipped through it for a moment. "There are no major issues. Continue to follow up on it." He signed his name and handed the file back to Zoe.
Relieved, Zoe was just about to leave when Miles capped his fountain pen. His voice was warm and mild. "I don’t recall hearing that he was married."
This was his first question. Simon had never announced anything to the public.
Zoe’s footsteps jerked to a halt. As expected, she couldn’t escape this. After all, they were rivals; how could Miles not pay any attention at all? She turned around resignedly and said, "We don’t plan on going public."
Miles nodded in understanding. "If that’s the case, why did you come to Langley?"
He really did ask.
Zoe took a deep breath. "President Yates, I’ve always kept my personal and professional lives strictly separate. I have my own personal ambitions, and it would be difficult for me to showcase my talents at the Hawthorne Group. I want to rely on my own abilities, and I don’t believe a woman must depend on her husband to survive. In my life plan, I won’t mix my relationship with my career. You don’t have to worry. I absolutely will not use my position for personal—"
After all, Langley and Hawthorne were business competitors. As Simon’s wife, she would inevitably be under suspicion—a completely understandable consequence. The exposure of their relationship had just been too sudden, so she could only state her stance to Miles as clearly as possible.
"I know you won’t." Miles raised a hand, stopping her from saying anything further.
This level of trust left Zoe astounded.
Miles didn’t explain. In truth, Jules Yates had mentioned to him long ago that his close friend was already married, but the marriage wasn’t a happy one and she seemed to be doing just alright. And now, he had learned that the man in question was none other than Simon Hawthorne. Furthermore, the two of them had no intention of making it public.
It wasn’t hard to guess that keeping the marriage a secret was undoubtedly Simon’s idea. As for whether he didn’t plan to announce it now, or if he was keeping it as a trump card, who knew? In his eyes, Simon was a deeply calculating, cold, and ruthless man—not the kind of husband who could give a woman true happiness. Since Zoe and Simon had an average, loveless relationship, there was no need for Zoe to risk acting as a corporate spy for Simon. After all, if she slipped up, she would be facing jail time.
"There’s no need to explain. I don’t interfere with my employees’ personal lives, as long as you know where the line is," Miles said mildly, not making things difficult for her.
Zoe was quite surprised. Was President Yates really this easy to talk to? This left her somewhat at a loss for how to react; she had prepared so many arguments, but hadn’t even gotten the chance to use them.
Seeing Zoe standing there in a daze, Miles tilted his head and curled his lips into a faint smile. "What is it? Do you want me to fire you that badly?"
Zoe snapped back to reality and hurriedly thanked him. "Then, I’ll get back to work."
The woman turned around to leave. Miles suddenly thought of something and pursed his lips. "I apologize. I was out of line."
It was an utterly baffling remark. Zoe couldn’t understand what he meant, but Miles didn’t look like he was going to explain. He merely waved a hand to dismiss her, and she didn’t ask any further questions.
After Zoe left, the door clicked shut.
Only then did Miles set his fountain pen down, thoughtfully gazing in the direction the woman had left. The cold space still held the lingering, rich fragrance she had left behind. It smelled like roses, mixed with a hint of citrus in the base notes, adding a touch of purity to it.
A long time passed before Miles finally furrowed his brows slowly. The scene he had witnessed that morning still flashed in his mind.
The woman’s delicate body had been pinned back against the car seat, her slightly tilted swan-like neck as flawless as white jade. Her cheeks had flushed with an alluring, pampered redness—sexy and enchanting. Whether it was because she couldn’t take it or because she was panicked, teardrops had clung to her eyelashes. She looked so pure yet seductive, beautiful beyond words, making one uncontrollably desire more.
That phrase, "I apologize. I was out of line," was actually because looking at her in that instant, he had surprisingly developed an irrepressible lust for her.