Meanwhile, Alexander was pacing behind the stage, lookingpletely frazzled. His secretary stood nearby, her notepad in hand, looking just as rattled.


    "I need you to find out who that woman was," Alexander said sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Now."


    The secretary nodded, wide-eyed, and immediately started typing furiously on her phone.


    Christian, his business partner, approached from the other side of the stage, arms crossed and looking concerned. "What the hell just happened? Who was that woman?"


    Alexander shot him an annoyed nce. "If I knew, I wouldn''t be asking my secretary to investigate, would I?"


    Christian raised an eyebrow, not convinced. "You sure this wasn''t some kind of stunt? The timing was too weird."


    "Believe me, I have no idea who she was. But I''m about to find out." Alexander sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen, I need you to stay here. Cover for me. ire and I are about to have a...discussion back at her office."


    Before Christian could respond, Alexander marched toward the exit. A small group of journalists had gathered by the door, but he didn''t give them a second nce. He walked straight past them, ignoring their calls forments, and got into his car, mming the door behind him.


    Back inside, ire was just finishing up with thest of the guests when Adrian approached her. He had a calm, reassuring presence that ire was grateful for, even though she wasn''t in the mood to talk.


    "I''ming with you," Adrian said simply.


    ire is not in the mood to argue after the sudden interruption. She didn''t have the energy to argue either. "Fine," she muttered, nodding as she made her way to the door.


    Inside the backseat of the car, Adrian kept sneaking nces at ire, whose face was still scrunched up with anger. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, and her arms were crossed as if she was trying to keep herself from blowing up. The silence was heavy, broken only by the soft hum of the car''s engine. Adrian sighed softly and turned to her.


    "How are you feeling?" he asked gently, trying not to make things worse.


    ire let out a heavy sigh, leaning her head back against the seat. "This is not how I wanted my press release to end, Adrian," she muttered, clearly still upset. Her eyes were fixed on the roof of the car, probably wishing she could be anywhere else but here. Adrian gave her a reassuring smile. "I''m sure there''s an exnation for all of this," he said, though his voice sounded a little uncertain.


    ire sighed again, longer this time, rubbing her temples. "That''s what I hope for," she replied quietly, staring out the window.


    The ride back to Metacortex was painfully long. Every red light felt like an eternity, and ire was on the verge of pulling her hair out at how much time they were wasting just sitting there.


    Thirty minutes passed, each second more unbearable than thest, but finally, they pulled up in front of the sleek, towering building. The moment the car stopped, ire didn''t wait-she practically jumped out of the backseat and stormed toward the entrance, Adrian trailing closely behind her.


    Just as they approached the elevator, ire spotted Alexander standing there, arms crossed, waiting. His face was a mirror of her frustration, and though neither said a word, the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.


    The elevator dinged open, and the three of them stepped inside. The ride up to ire''s office was awkward, to say the least. Alexander leaned back against the wall, eyes narrowed at the floor. ire, still fuming, had her arms crossed tightly. Adrian stood between them, his hands in his pockets, pretending not to notice the silent war brewing.


    As soon as the doors slid open on


    ire''s floor she stomped out of the


    elevator without a word, making a


    beeline straight to her office. Alexander and Adrian followed, both knowing better than to try and stop her ire shoved the door open, tossed her purse onto the couch, and spun around, eyes zing as she faced Alexander.


    "What the hell was that interruption about?" she snapped, her voice sharp.


    Alexander didn''t back down. He was just as angry. "I have no idea," he said, his tone matching hers. "I don''t know that woman, and I didn''t set this up. Someone must''ve paid her."


    ire crossed her arms over her chest, her brow furrowed in suspicion. "And who would pay that woman to pull a stunt like that, huh?"


    Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it''s one of your enemies," he shot back. "Like the one who hit you on the head a few weeks ago."


    ire scoffed, rolling her eyes.


    "That''s impossible. Did you even


    hear the way she talked earlier? She


    was obviously attacking you, not


    ??


    me. If she was sent by my enemy, why would she tell me not to make a


    deal with you?" Her eyes were


    sharp


    as they locked onto his, daring him


    to argue.


    For a moment, Alexander was silent, thinking it over. But before he coulde up with a response, ire took another shot at him. "Or," she said, narrowing her eyes, "maybe she''s someone you slept with and then ditched the next morning?" Alexander red at her, his jaw tightening. "I would never do that," he growled. "Don''t use me of something like that."


    "Then why did she attack you like that? And what did she mean about 30% and 70%? What deal did you make?" Alexander thought for a while as he dug into his memories.


    ire narrowed her eyes at him. "Don''t tell me you don''t even remember your business partner?"


    His eyes shoot daggers at ire since she can''t be silent. "I made a lot of business deals how the heck can I keep up with them?"


    Before the argument could escte any further, Adrian''s voice cut through the tension. "Uh, guys?" he said, holding up his phone. "The press release is going viral on social media."


    Both ire and Alexander turned to him. "Which part?" ire asked, her voice strained.


    "Both the good and the bad," Adrian said, wincing slightly. "But people are definitely more interested in the bad part."


    ire groaned, one hand on her hip and the other running through her hair. "This is not what was supposed to happen. I have everything nned perfectly inside my head," she muttered under her breath.


    Alexander, trying to be helpful, shrugged. "Why don''t we just delete the tweets?" he suggested.


    ire whipped around to re at him. "That''s a terrible idea!" she snapped. "If we delete it, it''ll just look


    like you''re guilty. Do you want to look quilty? Because that''ll not only mess up your reputation but also impact my business."


    Alexander opened his mouth to argue but then thought better of it. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, what do you suggest?"


    "You need to fix this, Alexander," ire said firmly. "This whole mess started because someone came after you. We need to find out who sent that woman and why."


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!