Matthew barged into ire''s office, as he usually did, without so much as a knock. ire, who had been peacefully scrolling through some documents on herputer, jolted in her chair. She turned to re at him, her voice dripping with mock annoyance. "There''s this magical thing called knocking, you know," she said, raising an eyebrow.


    Matthew just chuckled and plopped himself down in the chair opposite her desk,pletely unfazed. Leaning forward, his eyes gleamed with excitement. "Tell me."


    ire blinked, confused. "Tell you what?"


    Matthew rolled his eyes dramatically, making it clear he wasn''t in the mood for her games. "Oh,e on. Don''t y dumb with me. Tell me about your date! Last night!"


    An "oh" slipped out of ire''s lips as a teasing smile slowly spread across her face. "Why are you so eager?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, clearly enjoying Matthew''s enthusiasm.


    "Of course I''m eager!" Matthew eximed, throwing his hands up in the air. "This is the first time I''ve seen you dating anyone since, like... ever!"


    ireughed softly, feeling her cheeks warm as memories ofst night came flooding back-Adrian''s confession, her own shy admission, and of course, that sweet, passionate kiss. A blush crept up her face, and it didn''t go unnoticed.


    "Oh, look at that blush!" Matthew teased, leaning even closer. "Something juicy happened, didn''t it?"


    ire rolled her eyes but couldn''t help the smile tugging at her lips. "Fine," she relented. "We had dinner, and it was... nice. Really nice."


    Matthew''s eyebrows shot up. "That''s it? ''Nice''? C''mon, ire. You''re killing me here."


    ire bit her lip, a yful glint in her eye. "Well... when we left the restaurant, I kinda just... told him how I felt."


    Matthew''s grin widened. "Go on."


    "And then," ire continued, twirling a pen between her fingers, "the next thing I know, Adrian kissed me."


    Matthew nearly jumped out of his chair, his excitement almostical. "He kissed you?! Like a real kiss? How was it? Tell me everything!"


    ire''s blush deepened, but sheughed. "Yes, a real kiss. And it was... amazing. I didn''t think it would happen so quickly, but it felt right. He told me not to overthink it, to just take my time."


    Matthew pped his hands together, beaming. "I''m so happy for you, ire. Seriously. It''s good to see you smile like this."


    Before ire could respond, the door to her office flew open again, and Sandra, her ever-efficient secretary, walked in with a determined look on her face.


    "ire," Sandra said, making her way to the desk, "you''re trending on social media."


    ire blinked, her smile fading into confusion. "I''m what?"


    Sandra handed her an iPad, her expression unreadable. ire''s eyes scanned the screen, and sure enough, there it was-photos and news articles about her and Adrian from the night before. There was a shot of the two of them kissing, another of Adrian twirling her around, and the headlines were all buzzing about their "new romance."


    ire frowned, her finger hovering over the screen. "Wait... is this really the talk of social media right now?"


    Sandra nodded. "Yes. It''s everywhere at the moment. Everyone''s talking about you and Mr. Saint Laurent."


    ire sighed, leaning back in her chair, feeling the weight of the situation settle over her. "Great," she muttered under her breath. "Just what I needed."


    "Do you want me to take care of it?" Sandra asked, her voice calm and professional. "I can have it removed from the news cycle if you want."


    ire thought for a moment, biting


    her lip. The photos, the news-it was all out in the open now. Deleting it


    would only stir up more attenti


    And besides, it wasn''t like she could keep her rtionship with Adrian a secret forever.


    "No," ire said finally, shaking her head. "Let it be. People are going to find out sooner orter anyway. I''ll just... I''ll need to talk to Adrian about this, though." Sandra nodded, tucking the iPad under her arm. "As you wish. I''ll leave it alone." She turned on her heel and exited the office, her heels clicking softly on the floor. Matthew, who had been watching the whole thing, gave ire a questioning look. "You sure about this? I mean, once it''s out there, there''s no going back."


    ire nodded, though she looked a little tired. "Yeah. It''s fine. I''m not going to hide it, and honestly, it''s probably better if we don''t make a big deal out of it. It''ll blow over."


    Matthew leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I guess you''ve got a point. But man, that''s gotta be a lot to handle on top of everything else."


    ire gave him a small smile. "It is, but what else is new?" Just as she finished speaking, her phone rang, the sharp sound cutting through the room. She nced at the caller ID and sighed. "It''s David." Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Yourwyer? Uh-oh. Sounds serious."


    ire nodded, lifting the phone to her ear. "Yes, David?"


    David''s voice was calm but direct, as


    always. "ire, I just wanted to inform you that the trial continuation is scheduled for Friday. You''ll need to be there by 9 AM. I''ll send over the updated paperworkter today."


    ire sighed, rubbing her temples. "Thanks for the heads-up, David. I appreciate it. Do you have any updates regarding Lisa? Is she still ying her games?"


    "In the meantime, I heard that Lisa


    was being put in her cell again after she was being discharged. And she also went back and forth to the


    hospital to get a daily check-upi


    regarding her condition. However, I feel like there is something more to it David says as he expresses his curiosity.


    ire let out a deep sigh. "Please let me know if you found any information about Lisa."


    "Of course, Ms. Peterson. I will try my best."


    "Thank you, David, for your help."


    "Of course, Ms. Peterson," David added before hanging up.


    ire dropped the phone on her desk and slumped back in her chair. Matthew watched her with a sympathetic expression.


    "Trial stuff?" he asked, already knowing the answer.


    ire nodded, her energy suddenly drained. "Yeah. It''s never-ending, honestly. However, is not about the trial it''s more like Lisa ying her games so she didn''t get sentenced to jail."


    Matthew gave her a supportive smile. "Well, it''s Lisa. What do you expect? But I know you''ll get through it. You always do."


    ire smiled back, though it was a bit more strained this time. "Yeah, I know. I''m just... tired."


    Matthew stood up, moving around the desk to give her a quick pat on the shoulder. "Hey, take it easy, okay? You''ve got enough on your te. Don''t let all this social media stuff or the trial wear you down." ire gave a weak chuckle. "I''ll try. Thanks, Matthew."


    "No problem. And hey," he added with a cheeky grin, "you''ve got Adrian now. I''m sure he''ll make all this a little more bearable."


    ire''s blush returned at the mention of Adrian, and she shook her head with a smallugh. "Yeah, we''ll see about that."