"What are you up to?" I asked, taking a sip from the steaming mug of coffee.

"Right now?" Sawyer plopped down on the living room couch beside me, blowing his own steaming mug. "I'm contemplating whether to call the cops for trespassing my private property or listen to your voice."

My cheeks had no business feeling warm and yet they did. Stupid hormones!

"You can definitely call the cops but I think it's in your best interest to hear me out." I took a long of coffee, hoping it'd buy me enough time to cool my flaming face.

Sawyer hummed and turned to face me. "Very well. Spill your guts."

I glared at him. "I don't wanna die, Sir."

His lips twitched into a smirk, knowing well what he did exactly.

I put down the mug and pulled my legs up in a criss-cross position. My hands grabbed a plush silk cushion and placed it on my lap while my mind was busy thinking of where to start.

"Well, any day now?" Sawyer eyed me while slurping down his coffee.

I sighed. "I've been busy after you went to jail. I joined Devon's office again, not as his PA, though."

"Thought he was promoting you."

I snorted. "Yeah, promoting me to his PA's PA position."

"Sick bastard," he grumbled under his breath, taking an angry sip from his mug.

"Tell me about it. Anyhoo, a couple days later, Detective Olive reached out to me one evening to discuss your case in private."

"You missed the part where you must have sacrificed some holy blood to bail me out." he raised his brow.

I stilled.

How the hell did he know?

"Your face just proved my suspicion right, Doll." Sawyer smirked, putting down his red mug beside my white one.

They had the calligraphy of the words 'Devil' and 'Angel' written in them respectively. It felt kind of symbolic but I didn't delve further into that.

"So what did Devon make you do? Wash his underpants or clean his toilet in exchange of getting me out?"

I cringed just at the mental image. "Ew. No! I agreed to give him one dirty secret on the shareholders per day."

Sawyer stiffened. "What? He really asked you for that! That fucker!"

I shrugged. "Well, I offered first."

His head snapped in my direction. "Why! You know how sensitive the information is! Devon could be using them to manipulate all the shareholders now. We could lose the game not to mention risk lives—"

"He won't."

"And how do you know that?" He glared red at me.

I met his burning eyes with cold calm in mine. "Because that's where the detective comes next."

His eyes narrowed. "How? Didn't he pester you to spill info about me?"

I leaned back against the couch. "Quite the contrary. He suspects there is more than what meets the eye and wants my help the uncover the truth. He wants to help you, Sawyer."

A stunned silence greeted me from the other side.

Then he gulped. "He- You guys teamed up to help me?"

"Yes."

"Are you stupid!" Sawyer yelled, making me flinch. "Do you realize how dangerous it is for you to be going behind Devon's back and expose him? We tried and failed miserably while he was unaware. Now, he's a hell lot more alert and could be spying on your shit. What have you done, woman! Don't you ever care for your life? Yuvan's, at the very least? You could be—"

"Breathe, Sawyer," I grabbed his arm. "It's okay. We're fine."

"The fuck you are!" He jerked his arm away and gripped my shoulders to pull me closer instead. Pure panic flashed in his eyes. "You have no idea how he could ruin you, Mirasol. You just signed a death sentence."

He left me with a mild jerk and buried his head low behind his hands.

I only watched him as his shoulders shook as he let out shaky breaths.

"You shouldn't have come here, Hayes," his voice was shaky and muffled as he spoke.

I gave him another few minutes to settle before a sigh escaped my lips.

"Are you done?"

He snapped his head so fast, I thought he'd twist his neck for real.

"Is this a joke to you?" He let out a seething growl.

If only looks could kill...

"No. This is no joke. That's why I need you to shut up for the time I'll speak. No questions. No outbursts. Complete silence."

"But—"

"Sawyer Ronnes," He clamped his mouth shut, clenching his jaw. "Do we have a deal?"

His only response was to lean back, cross his arms, and glare at the fireplace ahead of us.

I let out a silent breath of relief before clearing my throat. "So, where were we? Right. Detective and I teamed up to work together. My job is to collect evidence, his is to keep them safe. We already suspected he'd be spying on me so whenever we met, Detective Olive used disguises and busy places to seem less suspicious."

Sawyer twitched in his seat but didn't speak nor look in my way.

Did I mention he looked adorable with that slight pout on his lips?

My lips twitched before I schooled my features blank. "We started out by keeping tabs on Devon himself. Anything to prove he's the culprit. But we got nothing on that end. He kept a busy profile and followed a clean route, never even getting a traffic ticket once. Not that he ever did before but that's beside the point. The main thing is, he's playing clean at the moment. So, we changed our tactic. We looked into his relatives and close friends. And here we got something. Jones Harrington."

I looked down, scratching the edge of the silk cushion, not daring to meet a prying pair of honey-gold eyes.

"He had an affair with Devon's mother and they had a photo of a fair date back in the darkest alley of the archive room to prove it. I followed Jones after that and almost hit him on run one day. Don't worry, he had mild injuries but enough to trap him in the hospital at least for a few hours. I used that time to blackmail him and force his hands to release me of my obligations to follow his command."

Sawyer opened his mouth to speak.

"And before you ask, he had been blackmailing me with fake cheats caught in the final exams. He needed a topper servant to serve his good-for-nothing nephew and he saw my poor ass and googly eyes for that said nephew and grabbed the chance to bind me in an unbreakable contract."

"To work in Devon's office till that poor, stunning ass shriveled," Sawyer grumbled.

Wow. Poor, stunning ass, huh?

I smirked. "Thought we had a deal?"

Sawyer rolled his eyes but didn't say anything more.

I sighed, playing with a loose thread. "Long story short, now I can quit that God-forsaken company any time I want. No offense."

He shrugged, still honoring my words and keeping his lips zipped.

I smiled, patting his head. "Good boy."

He glared at me and I snickered.

Sawyer looked away, making me shake my head.

"Anyways, after that, I met Detective again and we planned to trap Devon in his own game. We will use a shareholder to lure him in and catch him in the act of blackmailing them with the information I provided. That's the only way to prove how shady he is and make the judge reconsider your case from a new angle."

Sawyer sighed. "Alright. I get it. You want a shareholder to trap him. But who will help us? Most of them are furious over our deception tricks and the only useful name I could think of is Winters. But they may not help us and we can't even ask them to risk their neck for us either. That's a lose project, not to mention selfish."

I nodded. "You are right. That's why we won't even ask Winters. We are taking the Goodwill's help."

Sawyer stilled. "Who?"

"Trevor Goodwill. The top shareholder of Trexon Empire and your father's friend."

"But- How? Does he even know?"

I smirked. "You don't think only you possess the skill of persuasion in this world, do you, Sawyer the Sales King?"

Sawyer's mouth hung agape. "He agreed with your crazy idea?"

I frowned. "It's not crazy and he also agreed to take care of your other case."

Sawyer's jaw clenched shut. "Well, I don't need his help."

I shrugged. "Well, too bad. We already scheduled a date for our trap."

"When is it?"

My lips twitched into a smirk at his frantic, panicked voice. "And let you ruin our game? No, sir. Not happening."

"Hayes..." He warned.

"And besides, I'll be busy with the upcoming ball too so I may not get a chance to see you again before the big showdown."

Sawyer frowned. "Ball? What ball? And what showdown? What are you guys planning exactly?"

"Patience, dear Sawyer. Patience," I tapped his chin with a smirk. "All will be revealed soon. You just sit back and relax."

He gripped my finger between his thumb and forefinger and bit the tip, making me gasp. His piercing golden eyes drank in the disbelief in my wide gray ones.

"Not if I can help it, darling Mirasol. I'm coming to this showdown of yours. And before you open that pretty mouth of yours..." He tugged at my finger with a jerk, making me lean forward, close enough to get a whiff of his musky cologne. "The deal is non-negotiable."

❤️ Who's excited for the final showdown?? This is going to be real exciting!

Well, then see you in the next week's Devon-down session. Till then, take care of your mind, body, and soul, my folks.

Love,
Sabrina ❤️