She stepped out of the venue, a fleeting thought darting through her mind.

She felt as if she'd forgotten something.

Oh, right—Tristan Davis had mentioned he'd drop by tonight. She'd almost let it slip her mind.

Emily Blair pulled out her phone; the moment she unlocked the screen, she saw a message from Tristan.

Tristan Davis: [Caught up with work. I'll be home late.]

Emily Blair: [Alright.]

By ten that evening, Emily was still sitting on the living room sofa, waiting for Tristan.

After a long stretch of silence, she gave up and decided to call him.

The call was about to go to voicemail when he finally picked up. "Busy?" Emily asked.

Tristan rubbed his brow, sounding weary. “Yeah, just wrapped up a meeting. I've still got things to handle."

Emily stared blankly at the TV, her thoughts elsewhere. “Oh. So... are you still coming home tonight?"

Tristan glanced at the clock and let out a quiet sigh. "Looks like I have to bail on you."

Emily smiled softly. "Alright. Don't worry about it. I'll let you get back to work." “Wait,” Tristan said suddenly. "I wanted to ask you something."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

He hesitated for a few seconds, then lowered his voice. "Is someone... interested in you?"

Emily hadn't expected that question. Her mind froze for a second. After a brief pause, she replied, "Um... yeah.”

Ever since Elizabeth Wilson brought it up, Tristan hadn't been able to shake the thought. It lingered in the back of his mind, nagging at him. He was probably making too much of it-he knew Elizabeth's tendency to exaggerate, and things were rarely as dramatic as she made them sound.

Besides, he knew Emily. Blind dates weren't really her thing. If anything, Emma George must have pushed her into it.

Tristan pressed further. "This admirer—was it someone you met on that date?"

Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Elizabeth Wilson told you, didn't she?"

Tristan made a noncommittal sound.

Emily asked, "So you called just to ask me about this?"

His voice dropped, a touch more serious. "I want to know."

After a moment, he added, "Could you tell me?"

Emily felt a strange flutter in her chest. She lowered her eyes, lips pressed together in thought.

Logic told her she didn't owe him an explanation. Tristan was just a friend; he had no real right to pry into her personal life. She could just brush him off—he didn't need to know. But...

She didn't want him sitting there, jumping to conclusions.

So Emily said, "My mom set me up with him. We met a couple of times-he said he wanted to date me, but I turned him down. Don't listen to Elizabeth Wilson's wild stories."

Tristan felt the tension in his chest ease. "Alright. Got it."

On the TV, the guests on a talk show burst into laughter. Emily felt lighter herself, smiling as she said, "Well, get back to work. I'm heading to bed."

"Goodnight," Tristan replied.

"Goodnight."

When Hilaria Vargas arrived at the office the next morning, she immediately noticed the company's resident "princess" was nowhere to be seen. Not even after an entire Tristan Davis had she shown up-that was saying something.

Irritated, Hilaria marched straight to Tristan's office.

"Mr. Davis, Cynthia isn't here."

Tristan looked up at her, a slight crease forming between his brows. "She's not in?"

Hilaria nodded. “She's already missed a full morning. I messaged her earlier, but she didn't reply."

Tristan said, “Alright. Go back to work—I'll get in touch with her."

Hilaria nodded, watching as Tristan pulled out his phone, presumably to call Cynthia Rivera.

Whether for personal reasons or professional ones, she sincerely hoped Cynthia wouldn't come back.