The evening in the apartment was a stark contrast to the tactical tension of the office. Eva leaned her back against Gabriel’s shoulder, the steady rhythm of his breathing a comforting anchor. Gabriel was peeling and slicing an apple, carefully feeding her the pieces as if it were the most important project on his desk.

Eva chewed slowly, her mind still looping back to the afternoon's revelations. "So, Mr. Beckett is also against Delilah?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yes," Gabriel replied, handing her another slice. "He doesn't want to drain the project budget unnecessarily on someone who isn't delivering. He’s looking at the bottom line, and Delilah is a very expensive line item."

"Did you tell him that you’ve already assigned her a task just to gather the documents needed to fire her?" Eva prodded.

Gabriel shook his head. "I told him I gave her a specific project, but I didn't give him any updates on our backstory or my past relationship with her. I want to keep the professional side of this strictly about her lack of performance."

Eva nodded, satisfied. "Hmm, okay. So, since we are travelling next week..." she trailed off, a playful light in her eyes. "I need to go shopping."

Gabriel chuckled, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "Okay. We can go shopping then."

As they stepped out of the apartment, the door across the hall opened, and Isaac stepped out, adjusting his jacket. He paused, looking at the pair. "Seems like you two are heading out. Hot date?"

"We’re going shopping for the trip to the Eastern land," Eva said with a grin. "Want to join us?"

Isaac looked at Gabriel, a mischievous spark in his eyes. "I’d love to, but what about my boss? Am I disturbing your romance, Sir?"

Gabriel smiled, stepping forward to wrap an arm around Isaac’s shoulder and jokingly pushing him toward the elevator. "Come on, man. The more the merrier—especially if you can help carry the bags."

The trio eventually landed in an upscale, expensive clothing store. The air smelled of expensive leather and designer perfume. While Eva browsed through a rack of silk blouses, Isaac leaned in toward Gabriel.

"Do you know, Eva? Gabriel was supposed to be on a dinner date with Delilah tonight," Isaac teased loudly.

Eva laughed, pulling a hanger from the rack. "Really? Gabriel, how did you escape that one?"

"Thanks to Beckett," Gabriel said, laughing as he remembered the timing of the intercom chime. "He called me for the meeting at the perfect moment. She just wanted to have a 'personal talk' with me."

Isaac shook his head, looking genuinely puzzled. "Why hasn't she moved on? What did you actually do to her, Gabriel? Did you cast a spell?"

Gabriel leaned against a display table, his expression turning thoughtful. "I've known her since my school days. She’s always been like this. She goes after people who are popular or successful—it’s like she wants to collect them. In school and college, she dated almost every high-profile person. I’m her only 'failure project.' I suspect if she actually dated me, she’d lose interest within a month."

"Then the solution is very easy," Isaac said, his face deadpan. "You just have to date her. Everything will be over, she'll get bored, and she'll leave the team and the office for good. Problem solved."

Eva reached out and gave Isaac a tight slap on his arm. "Your idea sucks, Isaac!"

"I'm just saying, kill the curiosity!" Isaac laughed. Then, his face suddenly went pale. He whispered, "Speak of the devil. It’s Delilah."

Gabriel and Eva turned. Sure enough, Delilah was at the far end of the store, curiously inspecting a display of high-end accessories.

"Eva, she shouldn't see Gab—" before Isaac could finish his sentence, he and Eva turned around to find that Gabriel was gone.

Isaac blinked, looking at the empty space where his boss had been standing a second ago. "Is our boss a magician? He vanished just like that!"

"He's a pro at escaping her," Eva whispered, suppressing a giggle. "Quick, we have to pretend we're on a date."

As Delilah began walking toward them, Isaac and Eva turned toward a display of incredibly expensive jewelry. Isaac grabbed a diamond-encrusted bracelet. "Eva, honey, you’ll look so beautiful in this!"

"Oh no, darling," Eva said, putting on her best 'doting girlfriend' voice. "This is far too expensive."

"I don't care about the price for you," Isaac said in a cheesy, dramatic tone.

"I am so happy to meet my teammates in such an expensive shop!" Delilah’s voice cut through the air, dripping with artificial sweetness as she reached them.

Eva offered a cool, silent stare. Isaac, however, put on a bright smile. "Hey, Delilah!"

Delilah looked between them, her eyes narrowing. "So, Eva... did you tell your cute boyfriend about your history with Gabriel? Did you know, Isaac?"

"Yeah, I know," Isaac said, his voice casual.

Delilah leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't you feel bad, Isaac? Working for her ex? What if an old spark ignites and Eva cheats on you?"

Isaac didn't miss a beat. "Why would Eva cheat on me for a married man?"

Delilah froze. "What? Married man?"

Eva felt a jolt of shock, but knowing Isaac's penchant for chaos, she kept her face perfectly neutral.

"Yeah, Gabriel is married," Isaac said, his face remarkably solemn. "He has two kids. Didn't you know? I’ve met them—his kids are wonderful, just like him."

Delilah’s face went white. She looked like the floor was tilting beneath her feet. "Kids? How?"

"Well, you should ask Gabriel about the 'how,'" Isaac said, suppressing a grin. "That's not my place to say."

Delilah looked completely disoriented, her world revolving. Isaac watched her for a beat before letting out a loud laugh. "I got you! I was just kidding. I know my Eva would never cheat. Anyway, we should go—even if this stuff is expensive, the quality is actually quite cheap, indirectly pointing at Delilah."

He wrapped his arm around Eva and led her away. Both of them were vibrating with suppressed laughter until they reached the exit, leaving an irritated and humiliated Delilah standing amongst the silk scarves.

They found Gabriel already waiting in the car, looking perfectly composed. As they climbed in, Eva slapped his hand. "You left us just like that!"

"I told you, I'm a pro at slipping away from her," Gabriel said with a grin. "So, what happened?"

"We irritated her," Eva said, finally letting her laughter out.

Gabriel looked intrigued. "Oh really? What did you tell her?"

"I told her you got married and have two kids," Isaac piped up from the back seat.

Gabriel suddenly slammed on the brakes, the car jerking to a halt. He turned around to look at Isaac with a look of fake anger. "Isaac!"

Isaac and Eva burst into uncontrollable laughter. "You should have seen her face, Gabriel!" Eva wheezed. "She was completely shocked. But then Isaac told her the truth—he should have just left her thinking you were a father of two!"

Gabriel began to laugh, despite himself, and restarted the car. "How could I do that to someone who called me 'cute'?" Isaac joked.

Eva turned around in her seat. "Okay, that’s it. I’m calling Mia right now. I think she’d love to have a 'cute' conversation with you."

Isaac’s eyes went wide with fake horror. "No! No, no! I’m zipping my mouth! Total silence!"

The car filled with the sound of their shared laughter as they drove back to the apartment, the weight of the office and the shadow of Delilah feeling lighter than it had in weeks.