Inside a luxurious club in Blaiseleek, a perfectly built man stood shirtless in the middle of a boxing ring surrounded by ropes.
Wearing only fiery red boxing gloves, the man’s swift and ferocious attacks left his opponent defenseless. With a beautiful one-two punch, the opponent’s helmet hit the ground, and the tall strong body fell onto the ropes.
Under the boxing ring, a few guys grumbled, “Has he gone mad?”
“You, come up here!” Sweat flowed down Dylan’s forehead as he pointed to someone below the ring, his gaze fierce, as if he was about to swallow the person whole.
“Mr. Martinez, let’s call it a night. It’s too late now,” a man laughed, knowing going up to the ring tonight would be like courting death.
“No more talking, get up here when I tell you to,” said Dylan.
The others exchanged glances, knowing they would eventually have to face Dylan in the ring if they don’t do something. One of them suggested, “It’s too late for this, and… Playing with women would be more fun.”
“Yes, yes!” They all agreed, quickly retreating without waiting for Dylan to come down, heading for the exit.
“Mr. Martinez, how about tomorrow?” The man acting as a referee approached, but Dylan spun around and struck him right in the face. The referee hit the ground without even having a chance to dodge.
“Hmph!” Dylan threw down his gloves and leaped down from the ring, heading for the lounge. “Next time, I’ll beat the crap out of them.”
“Ouch!” The referee lay on the floor, his face swollen and bruised. “For Christ’s sake! Not my face!”
Late at night, Flora sat on her bed with only a small lamp lit beside her. She hugged her knees and looked at a photo album. On the last page was a picture of Justin, the only one she had kept. Her slender fingers gently stroked his face, finally pausing on his eyes. “No matter how you changed, you’re still my Justin.”
Meanwhile, in front of a high-end apartment, a woman wearing sexy lingerie and a long coat stood outside. Her curly hair lay casually over her shoulders, and her makeup was still on, showing how hurriedly she had come downstairs.
A familiar BMW entered her view, and she eagerly approached it. Justin was driving, and as soon as he parked and turned around, the woman embraced him.
“Justin, I’ve been waiting for your call. It’s so cold out here,” she pouted, looking so pitiful that anyone would feel sorry for her.
Justin pulled her into his broad embrace and said, “Let’s go upstairs.”
“Okay,” the woman clung to him, her hand resting on Justin’s lower back, her fingers lightly tracing circles as they walked.
The elevator went straight up to the fifteenth floor, and as the door opened, the room was pitch black. Before the lights could be turned on, the woman already had her arms around Justin. “Justin, I missed you so much.”
“They’re all gone,” Lilian said, her voice cold and disappointed. “The virus destroyed everything.”
A wave of panic and frustration swept through the room as everyone realized the gravity of the situation. Months of hard work had vanished in an instant.
“Lilian, what should we do now?” Julie asked, her voice trembling.
Lilian clenched her fists, taking a deep breath to suppress her anger. “We’ll have to start over. There’s no other choice.”
As everyone tried to process the situation, Flora couldn’t help but feel guilty. She knew that she hadn’t done anything wrong, but the fact that she was the last one to leave the office made her feel responsible for the loss.
“Flora,” Lilian turned to her, her eyes full of accusation. “I don’t know what happened, but you were the last one here. This is on you.”
Flora bit her lip, her eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t do anything. I swear.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Lilian snapped. “What’s done is done. We have to move forward.”
The team had no choice but to start from scratch, working day and night to make up for the lost progress. Flora tried her best to contribute, but the weight of her perceived guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders.
Days later, Flora met with Justin for dinner as they had planned. She arrived early, waiting for him at the entrance of the restaurant. When he arrived, he immediately noticed her haggard appearance.
“Flora, are you okay?” He asked with concern, pulling her into his embrace.
“Something terrible happened at work,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
As they sat down for dinner, Flora told him the whole story. Justin listened intently, his expression darkening.
“It’s not your fault, Flora. Someone must have set you up.”
“But who would do that?” Flora asked, tears streaming down her face.
“I don’t know, but I promise you, I’ll help you find out who’s responsible for this.” Justin vowed, his eyes filled with determination.
With Justin’s support, Flora found the strength to continue working despite the setbacks. Together, they would uncover the truth behind the mysterious virus and bring the culprit to justice.
Her skin was like silk, and she clung to him like a second skin. This kind of closeness could knock the socks off any man.
But her heavy breathing was short-lived, as Justin kept his cool, easing her off and firing up a smoke.
“Justin, what’s the deal?” she asked.
The dim glow from the cigarette revealed the weight in Justin’s eyes. Stubbing it out, Justin finally let it out, “This is the last time I’ll swing by.”
“Why?” She didn’t see that coming.
“No reason. Starting now, you got to scram from my life.”
“Did you find some other dame?”
“Gloria, don’t stick your nose in my business.” Justin sparked another smoke and got on his feet.
“Justin!” Without a second thought, she latched onto his arm. “I know I can’t call the shots,” she said as she stood, “I’ll see you out.”
Their thing had kicked off without any real feels other than physical pleasures. With that, she was now the one who’d crossed the line.
At the door, she watched him split and said, “Justin, I’ll always leave a place here for you.”
Across town, Flora pressed the photo album to her chest. She grinned, her heart bursting with happiness.
Next day, she rose with the sun to a bright and shiny morning, the gloom long gone.
Rocking up to La Comte, Flora ditched her usual fancy duds for laid-back jeans and a long, slouchy coat.
As she neared the design department’s door, she clocked her coworkers huddled outside.
She strolled up and asked Julie, “What’s the scoop?”
“Something’s gone haywire!”
Inside, Lilian and a bunch of bigwigs looked freaked as a technician shook his head, making them even more uptight.
“Who was the last to take off yesterday?” Lilian gripped a file as she strode to the door.
Flora’s heart skipped a beat, and Julie shot her a worried glance.
“That’d be me,” Flora confessed up.
“What time did you split?” Lilian’s voice was harsh.
Flora racked her brain and answered truthfully, “Round nine-ish.”
“The computer virus barged in between nine and ten,” the tech stepped up, “Lilian, the files are all toast.”
Flora’s heart went icy, while her coworkers stampeded into the office, yammering, “Lilian, what about the cases we cooked up earlier?”
Lilian’s impeccable makeup couldn’t hide her ugly scowl as she hurled the documents at Flora. “Do you have any idea how long our design team worked on this project?” she snapped. “Today’s the negotiation, and now I’ve got nothing to discuss with them. If this falls through, we stand to lose at least one million dollars. I just don’t get it. How on earth did a dolt like you end up in this company?”
The papers scattered across the floor, drawing sharp glances from their colleagues.
Flora gestured towards the office computers. “I finished my work and left last night. Besides, the maintenance guy only said it happened within a certain timeframe. What makes you so sure it was all my fault?”
Then she spoke calmly. “And please, don’t be so insulting.”
“Oh, really?” Lilian stepped closer to Flora. “Our competitor is Farnection. Are you going to deny any connection with Justin Norris?”
“What’s going on here?” A deep male voice suddenly interrupted.
“Mr. Martinez is here…”
Dylan surveyed the disarray in the design department. Lilian, too frantic to care about appearances, blurted out, “The Wonda project is ruined, and today’s the day we’re supposed to finalize everything.”
Someone nearby quickly filled Dylan in on the entire situation.
He scanned the room, his gaze landing on each anxious face. “It’s just a project. We’ll be fine.”
Flora was taken aback, looking up to see Dylan’s sly smile.
Beneath his warm demeanor, a more sinister side was apparent. Turning away, he spoke in an all-business tone, “You, come to my office.”
Not just the colleagues, but even Lilian looked shocked.
Dylan’s office was on the top floor. Through the crystal-clear windows, it seemed one was only a step away from the clouds.
“Have a seat,” said Dylan.
Flora remained on her guard, standing in front of the couch. “This has nothing to do with me. If someone wants to plant it on me, I won’t swallow it without a fight.”
Dylan sat at his grand desk, elegantly twirling a gold pen. Leaning back in his chair, he tossed the pen onto the desk with a clap. “That’s some bold words. So tell me, how do you plan to fight back?”
“Is the company really going to pin this on me without any solid evidence?”
Dylan chuckled, as if amused by a joke. “Oh, you’re such a girl.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Flora’s tone was indignant.
“You must be very, very well-protected.” Dylan’s squinted eyes suddenly lost all the smile. He stood up, his tall figure looming over the office. “A good girl like you must’ve never seen true dark side of the world, huh?”
