She jumped up, her mind immediately alert.
Yesterday, she had just set the alarm shortly after leaving Stars Vision, as a firm reminder of the orientation she had to attend today. So there was no time to be late.
She tapped her fingers on her throbbing temples, trying to recall the faint memory of what had happened, how she had managed to sleep in her room last night.
However, there was no time to linger. Hurriedly, she rushed to the bathroom, enjoying a quick warm shower, before running downstairs for breakfast.
When she arrived at the dining room, she saw Rainer already sitting at the table.
"Rain, when did you come home last night?" she asked, sitting down and taking a piece of bread. She bit into it, unaware of the change in Rainer's expression as she asked. He furrowed his brows, asking with a cold expression. "You really don't remember anything that happened last night?"
Rainer asked, his voice sounding slightly annoyed as he realized what had happened.
This startled Willow; she paused for a moment, the bread halfway to her mouth, and looked into his eyes, her eyes slightly teary with confusion—clearly, she didn't remember anything that had happened the night before.
"Tell me what really happened last night?" she asked, her voice sounding confused.
Her headache throbbed incessantly, erasing all fragments of memory from the previous night.
It seemed that ever since she returned to the villa, her memory had become blurred.
Rainer hadn't expected her memory to disappear completely, so his frustration grew.
This was the first time in years he had been played by a woman.
Seeing the deepening frown on Rainer's forehead, she slowed her chewing, hesitating mid-bite.
"What happened last night? Did I sleep too long? I feel like I missed something," she said, a note of discomfort beginning to creep into her voice.
Rainer took a deep breath, forcing himself to hold back the frustration in his heart.
Flashbacks of last night's memories flashed through his mind—how he had nearly lost control of himself because of her—only making his anger peak even more.
Without another glance, he turned his wheelchair and silently glided toward the office.
"Forget it, I have to go to work," he muttered sharply.
Willow blinked, looking confused at his sudden departure.
What had actually happened last night? Had she done something to upset him? he's clearly didn't look happy.
But there wasn't much time to think about it. She checked the time on her phone, quickly finished her breakfast, grabbed her bag, and headed to Stars Vision.
If Rainer was upset, maybe she could buy him a small gift after work to cheer him up.
Soon after, she arrived at the Stars Vision Company headquarters.
After the onboarding process was complete, she headed to the Fashion Design Department.
When her supervisor, Gery Dunn, saw her, he approached and gestured for her to follow him.
"Come on, I'll show you your workspace," he said, leading the way.
"You're Willow, right? I heard about you after yesterday's interview. Your designs received a lot of praise from the panel — quite impressive," Gery said with a casual smile. "Well, that's your desk."
"Mr. Dunn," a familiar voice broke the silence in the office.
She's froze, her eyes widening slightly. Why was she here?
Sophia, the woman she had just met yesterday, stepped forward toward her and Gery, her high heels clicking sharply on the floor.
Dunn's smile widened as he saw her. "Sophia! Finally, you're here. Come on over. I was just about to introduce you to the team."
He turned, looked around the room, and clapped his hands lightly. "Attention, please. Let's pause for a moment. Today, we have a new colleague joining us—Sophia Warren. I'm sure many of you have heard about her before. Starting today, she'll be working with us."
Sophia smiled gracefully and calmly. "Hello everyone, I'm Sophia. I'm happy to be part of this team. I know you all work very hard, so I brought a 'little' gift for each of you—not much, just as a token of my gratitude."
At her signal, several assistants entered carrying neatly arranged boxes. They moved around the office, distributing the gifts.
However, as soon as people opened them, they realized that Sophia's definition of "a little token" was anything but small. The women received trendy diamond necklaces, while the men found luxurious mechanical watches in their boxes.
"Wow, this is truly generous! Thank you, Sophia."
"Sophia, if you need anything, just ask me."
"Just as expected from the Warren family's daughter—so luxurious!"
Sophia listened to the compliments with a proud yet friendly smile. Then, holding a large gift box, she walked toward Gery and handed it to him with both hands.
"Mr. Dunn, I remember you're a fan of this coffee brand, so I brought a few boxes for you," she said smoothly.
Gery's eyes widened as he opened the lid of the box. Beneath the neatly arranged coffee beans lay two gleaming bars of pure gold.
"Sophia, you're truly very thoughtful. Thank you," he said, closing the box with a satisfied smile.
All this time, Willow had remained by his side, watching Sophia's performance with a slight smile.
This was just a job, but Sophia had already spent so much money even before she received her first paycheck.
What confused her, the most was Sophia's presence here. It made no sense to her, starting with the fact that she was working on the same day as her.
She still remembered clearly that during yesterday's interview, the panel had clearly stated that only one candidate would be selected. Since she was the only one who got the job, how did Sophia manage to get in?
Sophia caught Willow's gaze out of the corner of her eye and responded with her arrogant smile.
With a forced friendly demeanor, she said, "Willow, I'm sorry. Since we started together on the same day, I never even thought to bring you a gift. I hope that in the future, we can work together well and productively."
Gery suddenly remembered Willow standing nearby. But with Sophia's strong influence there, why should he bother with her, a designer who had no connections at all?
Casually, he said, "Oh, this is Willow Stuart. Attention, everyone, please gather for a moment. We will have a meeting in half an hour. Please get ready immediately."
After the brief introduction, Gery walked back to his office with a cheerful expression, holding the luxurious gift box in his arms.
Willow walked to her desk with Sophia following closely behind and sat down next to her.