Melissa nodded and waited until the older woman had left.

With the sole light coming from her desk lamp, she propped her chin on her hand and browsed through the pile of paper. Before she knew it, the clock registered one o'clock.

Melissa stretched her arms and was just about to head to bed when she received a message.

It was from Marcus. "How is Matthew today?"

Melissa typed out her reply. “He is doing all right. He was in good spirits the whole day."

A minute passed, but she received no other message.

Melissa put her phone aside and took a shower. When she came out, there was a new message. "I can help you finance the Watson Group."

Why would she ask for his help?

If it hadn't been for Marcus, the Watson Group wouldn't be in such a tight spot to begin with.

But she didn't want to offend him, so after careful consideration, she only sent him two words. "Thank you."

In another part of the city, Marcus stared at his phone screen and pondered the meaning of those words. He thought long and hard about it, but couldn't quite figure out what she meant. Was it a yes or a no?

His musings were interrupted when Waylen pushed through the door.

"Staying up so late?" he said with a scoff as he plopped down on the seat across from Marcus. "It is said that single men are prone to have problems sleeping. Seems true enough to me."

Marcus didn't bother to look up from his phone. "You have a wife, Dad, why are you up so late?"

Waylen chortled. "Well, I'm way too happy to fall asleep! And your mother likes to indulge me from time to time. You would do well to learn a thing or two from us!"

Marcus finally looked up, only to raise a sardonic brow.

"I heard you played golf with a female celebrity yesterday," Waylen plowed on. "As you may know, golf is actually a lovely chapter of the love story of your mom and me. However... The Fowler family shall not have a starlet with a vulgar mouth as a daughter-in-law."

Marcus couldn't care less about his father's issue, and dismissed it by saying, "The vice-president was the one who invited her. They are eyeing her to be the next brand ambassador, but if you dislike her that much, I'll tell them not pursue a contract with her."

Waylen scoffed and rolled her eyes. He knew what his son was thinking.

"So, you don't like her, either, but you don't want to reject her outright for fear of offending the shareholders. I see how it is.