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"Anya." A voice called out to her, pulling her from her thoughts.
She looked up to see Eric, his blonde hair falling messily over his forehead, approaching her with a smug smile, folding his arms across his chest.
"Where were you for so many hours?" Eric asked, his tone playful but filled with knowing. "I went to your desk an hour ago, and now you're coming out of Dante’s office."
Anya took a deep breath, her heart still racing. "I had... work," she replied, trying to play it off.
Eric raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "Don’t lie. I know exactly what you were doing in there."
Anya’s eyes snapped to his face, shocked. “What?!”
He pointed at her, snickering. “Your face is all red and flushed. It’s obvious. You cried, didn’t you? Did he scold you so badly that you started crying in front of him?”
She exhaled slowly, trying to calm the chaos in her chest. Then straightened and gave a small smile. “No, Eric. He didn’t scold me.”
“Lies,” he said again with a knowing shake of his head. “Be honest. Were you having an affair with him in that office or what?”
Anya raised a brow, folded her arms, and gave him the exact smug look he was wearing. “Yeah. I was having an affair,” she said flatly. “And it was great. Didn’t expect it to last that long either.”
Eric’s smug expression faltered. “You shouldn’t joke about your career,” he said seriously. “There’s no use seducing him. He’s clearly not interested in being with a woman. Look at his track record.”
Anya had to stifle a laugh, her amusement barely contained. ‘Not interested in women?’ she thought. ‘That man doesn’t let me out of his grasp unless I threaten to never be alone with him again.
Chapter 12 Danny Carter
"And besides," Eric continued, unaware of the thoughts running through Anya’s mind, "he’s not going to marry you."
Anya smirked, leaning in a little closer to him. "Really? He won’t marry me?" she asked, her tone playful.
"Obviously," Eric answered with a dismissive shake of his head. "He will only marry Annie Carter. Do you even know who she is?"
Anya gave a small nod. “Yes.”
Then she leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing. “What if I am Annie Carter?”
Eric blinked.
Then burst into laughter—unhinged and howling. “Have youlostyour mind? You? The daughter of Mr. Carter? Maybe in thenext life! Beg the heavens for it!”
Anya just grinned. “But what if I am?”
“Well, in that case,” Eric said with dramatic flair, “I must be their long-lost son!”
They both laughed at that, Anya covering her mouth to keep from snorting too loud.
Eric continued, "By the way, do you know about the new town project that the company has been working on lately? Yeah, the person in charge of that project is Mr. Charles' younger brother—Danny Carter."
Anya’s eyes widened at the mention of the name. She didn’t even know her father had a brother. "How do you know about this?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Mr. Kingsley is meeting him this weekend. And you will be going along with him. If you can help him get this deal from Mr. Carter, then—"
“You’ll consider me your boss?” Anya teased, a playful grin tugging at her lips.
Eric looked a bit startled and squirmed, then glared at her. "You’re way too confident, aren’t you? Focus on your job. I'm afraid you won’t be able to say even a word when you stand in front of him."
Anya smiled, walking past him and patting his shoulder a few times, enjoying the look on his face.
***