The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Oh, no need to see her off," Kent quickly responded, "Ms. Yearwood's already..."

Before he could finish, Brandon cut him off in a flat tone. "Already headed to the airport, huh? Well, let her be."

Kent was speechless.

Brandon didn't bother with him anymore, clutching his mug as he entered his office, his face a mask of calm and detachment.

Kent was suddenly feeling like he couldn't quite get a read on Brandon. It seemed like he genuinely didn't give a hoot about

Sophia's comings and goings anymore.

In the past, even though Brandon would say one thing and mean another, he was all bark and no bite. Despite brushing off

concerns about Sophia, he'd be daydreaming during work. But now, Brandon seemed like a different person.

Kent couldn't help but sneak a peek at Brandon, whose full attention was back on his computer, his expression serene, focused, as

if Sophia's situation was no skin off his back.

Kent was suddenly regretting his decision to keep Sophia around on purpose, unsure whether it was the right move and too chicken

to bring up to Brandon the fact that he'd overstepped and kept her.

In the end, Kent decided to play it cool and not stir the pot, planning to brush it off as project necessity if the two crossed paths.

The project really did still need Sophia. If the designer walked away, any hiccups during construction would be a nightmare to deal

with.

As the current project lead, Kent felt his rationale for keeping her was rock solid and could stand up to any grilling from Brandon.

So, even though he'd played both ends against the middle, Kent felt it was for the good of the company and the project, not a

mistake.

Sophia had barely stepped into the office when she bumped into Don, who was also coming to work.

"I thought you were taking a few days off. How cyou're here already?" Don asked, eyebrows raised, giving her the once-over,

"Feeling better? If you're not up to snuff, take a few more days, no rush."

"I'm fine, all better now," Sophia replied with a smile, "Thanks, Mr. Dempsey."

Don shot back a smile. "What's there to thankfor?"

"Eh? Sophia?"

A puzzled greeting from Marian cfrom behind at that moment.

Sophia turned around in confusion and saw Marian approaching, her brow furrowed involuntarily.

Don, with a smile, waved at Marian. "Marian?"

Then he explained to Sophia. "Marian has been job hunting recently, and since the company was short on designers, we snatched

her up."

Sophia's smile stiffened a tad, but she still managed a cordial greeting. "Welcome."

Marian approached with a big beaming smile. "We must be fated, from the sclass to the scompany."

Sophia chuckled. "Seems like it."

Don continued with a smile. "Fate indeed."

Then, introducing Marian, he said. "Sophia, the head designer of the design department."

Marian let out a "Wow," her eyes sizing up Sophia. "Ah, you're the head designer now? That's impressive."

She jokingly nudged Don. "Mr. Dempsey, how about makingan associate head?"

The comment had a hint of an edge to it.

Even Don, who was no stranger to office banter, struggled to keep his smile from slipping, but quickly recovered, laughing. "Sure,

once you show us skiller designs. Here, we climb the ladder on merit."

Marian huffed playfully. "Look down on me, will you? Just you wait, I'll definitely make you take your hat off to me."

Turning back to Sophia, she grinned. "I'll be learning from you."

"Let's learn from each other," Sophia responded politely.

Don wrapped up the introductions. "Alright, let's say hi to the new gal."

With that, he clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention.

"Letintroduce our new colleague, Marian, the latest designer to join the department, fresh from a world-renowned university.

Let's give her a warm welcome."

"Welcto the team!"

Cheers and applause filled the room, quite enthusiastically.

Marian bowed deeply to everyone with a giggle. "I'm new here, so I'm counting on all your support."

Her voice was sweet and coy, and her cute looks instantly snagged the male colleagues’ applause.

Once the clapping died down, Don continued. "And there's another heavyweight joining us today, a familiar face to sof you."

Before he could finish, the elevator dinged behind him, and out walked Ivan.

Sophia turned just in tto see Ivan approaching, her eyes widening in surprise.

Ivan spotted Sophia too and flashed her a smile.

The rest of the room caught sight of Ivan as well, quickly piecing together that he was the designer Don was introducing. He had

shown up at the first team-building, but hadn't been formally introduced then.

The arrival of a handsguy stirred excitement among the female staff, and a round of applause started up.

Don, following the crowd's gaze, turned to see lvan approaching, put an arm around his shoulder with a couple of friendly pats,

then announced to everyone. "Alright, let's give a big welcto the design department's new associate head, Designer Ivan."

The office erupted in applause again.

"Welcome, Designer Ivan."

"If you've got any questions, you can hit up the head or associate head," Don said. "Of course, you can always cto me

directly."

After that, he turned to Sophia and Ivan. "The design department is in your hands now. Work out any issues between you."

Sophia nodded lightly. "Sure."

Ivan gave a brief nod. "Yeah."

Marian chimed in with a smile. "Mr. Dempsey, that's not fair. We're from the sclass, and they get to be head and associate

head, while I'm just a designer. How can your conscience be okay with that?"

Her voice was playful and coquettish, not really sounding concerned, more like she was just livening up the mood.

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