Chapter 414 - Detective Zoey

"Oh!" As soon as Zoey stopped in front of his office, she snapped her fingers as she suddenly turned around. "The date!" She raised her finger, her expression aghast as she recalled something terrible.

"Date?" His brows furrowed, cocking his head a little to the side.

"I forgot the food!" Zoey exclaimed, but her action wasn't that as surprised. "Oh no, it's fine. I will get it back and return, okay?" Before he could respond, Zoey already acted as if he was worried about it. Thus, as a person who was at fault, Zoey proposed.

She tapped his shoulder lightly. "I'll get it or if I can't find it, I'll buy another one, okay?" She said, before taking a few steps away from him.

However, just before she could take her fourth step, Matthew grabbed her back collar. 'Damn it!' She cursed internally, her face winced as she clenched her teeth.

"You're not going anywhere." He affirmed, shaking his head as he dragged her inside. Unlike how he dragged her earlier, this time, Matthew didn't use force. After all, Zoey willingly walked backward and he only clipped his fingers on her back collar.

When they were inside, Matthew willingly let her go. He then marched towards the long couch inside. He plopped on the corner of the sofa, his arm resting on the armrest while his leg moved over the other. 

"Be at ease." He uttered, his other hand shoved inside his pocket suit before taking out a phone. "Find the bag of food Miss Zhou brought for me." After a second, just as Matthew placed the phone in front of his ear, he ordered. With that being said, Matthew ended the call and placed his phone back inside his suit pocket.

Meanwhile, during this brief action of his, Zoey watched him in silence. 'Damn it…' She cursed internally once again. 

For some reason, Zoey felt that she was in danger being with him alone. She somehow realized the foreshadowing. Alas, it was a little late. Matthew was too sharp and she didn't get the chance to ghost him on their date.

"Why don't you sit, Miss Darling?" He inquired, patting the space beside him. Zoey had been standing, staring at him as if she was wondering and judging his existence. Not that she couldn't do it from a closer distance.

"Uh," Zoey snapped, realizing how obvious she was. She glanced at his hand that was patting the space beside him. "Not there, Z." Unknowingly, Zoey spoke her mind aloud before trudging towards the head seat.

"Huh," An amused exhale escaped his lips, pursing his lips as he nodded approvingly. "That seat fits you." He humored, propping his chin on the back of his hand.

"I know." Zoey shrugged, not finding his remarks as sarcasm. " I give off the radiance of hardwork and success." She humored as her defense mechanism to focus and not worry about what he planned to do -- if he ever had one. 

Zoey would hate to resort to the last course in her list if he became aggressive. She didn't want to knock him out. She might find herself behind bars once his people knew that she knocked him out.

"I agree." Matthew just nodded his head lightly, his eyes never leaving hers. She didn't respond anymore and pursed her lips into a thin line.

The entire office fell into nothing but silence. Neither of them made the slightest noise with Matthew just staring at her while Zoey constantly glanced at him. The longer the silence enveloped them, the faster her fingers tapped on the armrest.

"What?" Out of annoyance by his intent gaze and this silence in the air, Zoey decided to break the silence. Her fingers that were tapping on the armrest stopped as she slammed the bottom of her fist against it.

"Hmm?" Matthew raised his brows, casting her a baffled look.

"I know you want to ask something, just ask!" Without further ado, Zoey exclaimed in frustration.

Upon hearing her last remarks, Matthew stopped in amusement. He was certain she would think he was just staring at her, studying her slightest changes of her facial movements. Still, there were questions that were hovering inside his mind.

It was amusing how she figured that out. In retrospect, no one ever got closer to his head like her. Most people, including those whom he grew up with, wondered what was going on inside his head. But Zoey, she could read him so easily.

Now, he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. After all, she was like invading his privacy. At the same time, he found it amusing and interesting that someone could read him without asking him too much.

"How did you know where my office is?" Since she gave him permission to ask, Matthew didn't beat around the bush and spoke his mind.

"Uh…" Upon hearing his inquiry, Zoey's shoulder stiffened as her mind went blank for a second. "It's ob— obvious…" She lied, clearing her throat to sound natural.

"Is it?" His eyelashes fluttered slowly, unconvinced with her answer. After all, there was another door facing his office. That was his room. 

Yes, Matthew had his own hotel-like room that was outside his office. Although he rarely used the space to sleep, at the very least, there was space for his own clothes and stuff so he wouldn't need to drive home if he ever needed to change his clothes. Moreover, it was convenient.

Thus, her answer wasn't that believable. There were two doors, but she didn't even ask which was leading towards the office.

"You mean because there's another door opposite this one?" Zoey had the urge to slam her head against the wall or against any concrete surface if she could. She was so cautious about his 'immoral' plan that she forgot to take caution on other things.

"Mhmm," Once again, a low and soft hum was what she heard from him.

"It's simple." As Zoey stopped herself from criticising herself internally, she cleared her throat. Slowly, she laid her back against the backrest as she sat languidly. "You don't wear accessories on your finger." In a matter-of-fact tone, Zoey shrugged her shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Puzzled at her vague answer, Matthew furrowed his brows.

Getting comfortable with her nonchalant act to avoid suspicion, Zoey rolled her eyes and answered. "The dents, duh?" 

"I mean, the door handle, alright? There were a few dents on the office handle while the other one had none. It is the one not being used, or it is off-limits. So, in conclusion, I assumed that it's a room that you only have access to while this one, there were surely people constantly going in and out — if they have a ring or accessories, it will surely leave dents on the door handle." Zoey explained, sounding like Sherlock Holmes. She couldn't even believe that she came up with such a lie that made her sound so smart.

'Heh, I think I have a knack in cracking mysterious cases..' Zoey snickered internally, feeling proud of how she cooked up her lie.