After a busy morning of work, Larissa remained in her office while others from the department headed to the cafeteria for lunch. She was organizing the reports that Lotus hadn't had the chance to hand over to her yet.

Someone knocked on the office door twice, and she looked up to see Edmund standing at the doorway with a smile on his face.

"Still busy?" he asked.

She immediately set aside the mouse and stood up, exclaiming, "Mr. Rogers!"

"No need to be so formal," he said while his smile deepened. "I'm about the same age as you. You can call me Edmund."

His casualness caught her off guard, and she suddenly remembered what Kevan had said.

"Well, you're my superior, so I'll stick with 'Mr. Rogers'," she said, trying to maintain her distance, even though that title might confuse him with Kevan. Regardless, she was making an effort to create some space between them.

Edmund didn't insist. "As you wish."

There was always a hint of indulgence in his tone, which made Larissa uncomfortable. She