Chapter 234 - Flirting With A Sparks

"Of course I trust you. I just need to know what time the text message was sent so I'd know who used my phone."

Ximena was perplexed. "You didn't send me the text?"

Zaria shook her head and she was worried. If Zaria's phone had been hacked into, then the text would have been deleted already to erase the evidence. If this happened, would Zaria still trust her?

She took her phone out and unlocked it with trembling hands, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw the conversation was still intact.

"Here. You told me to pick you up at the office because you were feeling tired and needed rest. Well, at least that's what the phone thief typed.

Zaria read the conversation over and over. Ximena had responded with a gazillion questions asking if she was okay, if she needed anything and if she wanted to be brought food. All the questions had gone unanswered, and the sender had insisted that they wouldn't be waiting for too long.

"I didn't see any of these." Zaria frowned as she tried to remember what she was doing at around the time when the messages were sent.

"This should be the time when I was in the library, reading. I had left my phone in my room to charge."

"That's it. Someone used it and deleted the conversation afterwards." Ximena concluded.

"I'll deal with this. I'm sorry I involved you in my mess. This is all because Nathaniel Su is trying to strike me down and you were implicated for merely existing."

"That's not your fault." Ximena took her phone back. "But doesn't Nathaniel like you? He seemed to like you a lot after your first meeting in Luxenville."

"That's before he found out that I'm his granddaughter by the man he hates most."

Ximena's jaw went slack. "Okay, that's hats down the most shocking thing I've heard all month. Seriously, your life has more shocking twists than soap operas."

"Tell me about it." She smiled sadly. If only she could have a normal family. In the past, she had always wished to have a normal family with both parents in it but only after growing up did she realize how lucky she was. At least she had a father who loved her, unlike many families where the parents were either always fighting or didn't have time for their kids. Besides, Lucy loved her as well and so did Zeus. The only downside was that they didn't live together, but that didn't make her adore them any less.

Ximena watched her friend's expression change and made a mental note. If she ever crossed paths with that old fart, she would teach him a lesson he would never forget.

When Zaria got back home, the first thing she did was summon a maid. "Hey, do you know who cleaned my room yesterday?" She asked.

"Yesterday was my turn but Tiffany did it for me. Miss, is something wrong?"

"No. I just wanted to know." She went to the kitchen where the maid called Tiffany was doing the dishes. She looked scared as though she had seen a ghost. It was definitely her guilty conscience striking her.

"Miss, are you hungry? I'll warm up some food for you." She hurriedly dried her hands.

"No, it's okay." Zaria leaned against the kitchen island. "When you cleaned my room yesterday, did you dust all the surfaces and furniture?"

The maid's face tensed up but she covered up with a smile. "Yes. I made sure to disinfect everything. Was the room dusty?"

"It was spotless. However, did you see my phone and earplugs?"

"No, Miss. I'll look around the house to find them for you." She offered, making Zaria's lips twitch.

So, she had cleaned every nook and cranny but somehow didn't see her phone that was charging on the nightstand? Concluding that the culprit must be Tiffany, she resorted to trapping her.

"My phone went missing. Did you steal it?"

Tiffany panicked. "No, miss. I would never do such a thing to you! Your phone was still on the nightstand when I left your room."

It took her a few seconds after blurting out to realize what she had just done. She looked at Zaria in panic. "Miss…"

"It's good to know." Zaria walked out feeling furious. She had always treated them well. To think that one of them would betray her. But then again, kindness didn't guarantee loyalty and perhaps the allure of money was just too much for her to take.

She didn't want to fire Tiffany too soon. She would eventually, but she wanted to see if the girl would contact her backer. If she did, she would probably be asked to do something else before leaving. That would be her chance to catch her in the act with sufficient evidence to hand her over to the police.

Stealing company documents was not a trivial matter and since the maid took part in it in an attempt to frame Ximena, she should enjoy the consequences when they caught up with her.

"You okay there, Princess?" Theodore asked his daughter who had almost bumped into him on her way upstairs.

She looked up and hugged him. "Yeah. I'm just exhausted. I need to rest."

"Go ahead. Good night." He kissed her forehead and watched her as she took the turn that led to her room. If Desmond was stressing his daughter out, he would have a word with him.

___

The following day, Natalie went to Preston and Fort Group following Lucy's call. Alas, the latter had to rush to a quick meeting so Natalie had to wait.

She considered finding Zaria for a chat but didn't want to distract her from work, so she sat in the lounge and used the chance to continue with her own work. She was reading a report from the marketing director when a man invaded her line of sight. She glanced at his pants that were before her and looked up, growing when she saw Zeus smiling down at her. This was Lucy's son if her assumption was right, and she was disappointed that it was him for reasons she couldn't explain.

"Are you disappointed that it's me? Were you expecting someone else?" He grinned with a hint of mischief.

"Not that it's any of your business." She got back to work and ignored him. That was his cue to sit on the couch next to her.

"At least I'm handsome enough to be worth your disappointment. Are you sure you don't want to give me a second glance?"

Was this man being serious? She shot him a sidelong glance. "First of all, you should be at work right now instead of evading your responsibilities and leaving everything to Zaria. Second, I don't flirt with men younger than me so knock it off."

"Not even if they're handsome?" He inched closer. Clearly, he had missed everything she said except the part about him being younger.

Her brows knitted. The man probably had no limits. However, there was no way she would flirt with her new partner's son! It was awkward on so many levels. Besides, she was not in the mood to flirt with anyone.

"Is Ms. Roatta back?" She changed the subject.

"She is finally speaking to me without being snarky." He winked and feigned seriousness when he read the impatience in her eyes. "She is. She just asked me to let you in. I'll walk you to Her office."

"Thanks, but I know my way." She walked away fast, and Zeus pressed a hand against his chest. "They are just as feisty as they are beautiful."

Natalie discussed with Lucy and when she was done, she was about to leave when Zeus walked in after walking once. "Mr. Fort would like to discuss something with you in his office." He reported to Lucy, then turned to Natalie with a starstruck expression. "Ah, beauty, you are here too. Are you sure you really don't want to have a meal with me?"

"No." Natalie was flabbergasted. Who would flirt in the presence of their mother? This young man was quite a piece of work. "Ms. Roatta, I'll give you a call this evening." She promised and made herself scarce.

Lucy locked the door as soon as Natalie left and glared at her son. "What was that?"

"What was what?" He feigned innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me. Are you trying to hit on Natalie?" She interrogated.

He looked lovestruck. "Why not? She's beautiful and smart and...basically every man's dream."

"Then take your ridiculous dreams to the grave. You cannot flirt with her, do you understand?" She warned.

"Why not? Is it because she is from the Sparks family?" Zeus was stubborn. "But you are close to her too. This means you don't hate her just because you hate her family. Why should I stay away from her?"

Lucy wanted to knock some sense into him. "Because a Roatta cannot get close to a Sparks. Even if it's a fly from the Sparks family you have to stay away from it."

____

AN

Zeus X Natalie… ship or no ship?

What about Natalie X Devonte?

Note: This is just a random poll and it will not change the course of the story.

PS. I promised to send coins to the first commenter on around first (I guess? My brain is a jumbled mess). I only remembered it today and I can't find the chapter I said this on.. If you qualified, send me your user ID in the comment section or on discord/Instagram dm.