Lowly schemer

"I'm sorry, but I need to go home. It's already so late." She said. She wasn't merely saying it as an excuse. She had to go home earlier today.

"You can sleep here if it's too late to leave." He spoke like it meant nothing.

She frowned when she heard his words. "Why would I do that?"

He looked unhappy about being questioned. His gaze was a little cold when he looked at her. "Do as I say."

It would have been better if he was a little polite, but since he wasn't, she was not going to tolerate him either. She closed in and stood in front of him, looking confidently at him as she enunciated word for word. "That is not part of my job description. Just because you are my boss doesn't give you any right to order me around."

His eyebrows scrunched up mockingly. "I am your boss, but I don't have the right to tell you what to do? How laughable."

She didn't retreat even under his scheming gaze. "You have the right to tell me what to do alright, but that doesn't include dictating my personal life. See you tomorrow, Mr. Fort."

"You…" Desmond was infuriated, but all he saw was her back as she sauntered away in her high heels.

How dare she?!

___

Preston and Fort Group, the following morning.

Desmond delivered a stack of files to Zaria as he headed for his office, leaving behind only two words: "Translate them."

She took the files and opened the documents. She found that all of them had been written in English. Which language was she supposed to translate them to, then? French?

Since she was not sure, she decided to ask as she delivered his coffee.

She knocked softly and walked in with the files and the coffee. She placed the cup on his desk before asking, "In what language do you want the documents?"

"Arabic." He spat out without lifting his head.

"Uh…" What?

He looked up, his menacing eyes sending chills down one's spine. "Is there a problem?"

Of course, there was! She didn't know Arabic!

"Get to work. I want it ready before the meeting at 10 am." He picked up his cup nonchalantly. Her infuriated expression looked quite funny and adorable. He sipped on his coffee to prevent a smile from surfacing.

She went back to her office and so badly wanted to curse. It was already 8 am, only two hours before the meeting. Even if she were to learn Arabic now, she wouldn't make it in time. What was worse, she couldn't use an online translator. If the content was distorted or the grammar ended up as gibberish, she wouldn't even be able to tell.

With a sigh, she checked through the company employee profile. Luckily, there was an intern who had lived in The UAE for a long time before, so she learned the language in passing. She was just about to call the intern and ask for her help when the telephone on her desk rang.

That demon in the office beside hers was calling. She was annoyed but had to be respectful. "Sir?"

"As you must have noticed, those are confidential documents." His implication was clear: she had a death wish. How dare she plans to reveal the content of a confidential document to other people?!

Her head spun. "But I don't know Arabic. This is the only thing I can do."

"That's none of my business." He hung up directly.

She bit her lip, finally comprehending what was happening. She had been too naive. She thought this devil would let her off since dealing with her merely wasted his time, but she had been wrong! Clearly, he wanted to mess with her. How petty. Just when she was starting to think that he wasn't too unkind.

She sighed as she looked at the open file in her hands like it was an atomic bomb. Was this his way of finding fault with her so he could fire her? If that was the case…

She was still thinking about it when the reminder clock on her desk rang. She looked over reflexively and caught sight of the label [Mr. Dumont, Dynasty Hotel: 10 am]

She frowned when she remembered setting this reminder. She was accompanying Desmond to meet Mr. Dumont at 10 am. Did this mean…

When she read the documents in her hand clearly, she found that indeed, it was the contract for the acquisition of Dynasty Hotel which was owned by Mr. Dumont.

The point was, Mr. Dumont was French. She had done a quick search on him and she was sure that Arabic was not listed among the languages he could speak. On the other hand, he was fluent in both English and French!

Her lips twitched. Damned man. What a lowly trick.

…

9 a.m.

"Are you done?" The man asked as they walked towards his car in the underground parking.

She smiled mysteriously. "I'm ready for the meeting."

He glanced at her and held back a smile. Did she really translate the documents to Arabic? She must be very hardworking and talented. Perhaps he should reward her by increasing her workload.