Chapter 849

Rachel returned to the hotel and immediately plugged the flash drive Mark had given her into her laptop. When she saw what was inside, she felt both surprised and relieved.

The relief was that, with this leverage, Hannah probably wouldn’t push her too hard. After all, before Hannah took her current position, she had dug plenty of traps for Rachel. Rachel had given up more than a few projects to her, and Hannah should know that perfectly well. There was also that huge scandal years ago when one of the projects nearly collapsed. If Rachel hadn’t stepped in at the last minute, she would’ve been in serious trouble. All of it had been Hannah’s fault, but instead of taking responsibility, Hannah shoved the blame onto her. Rachel hadn’t pressed the issue back then, partly because Hannah had helped her quite a bit when she first joined the company.

She shut down the laptop, went into the bathroom, and slipped into the bathtub. The moment the warm water touched her skin, she felt an immense relief throughout her body. Afterward, she lay down on the bed. The exhaustion slowly melted away as sleep crept in.

That was when Tyler’s video call came in. Rachel propped herself up on the bed. She only had a bathrobe on, and her freshly dried hair was loose around her shoulders. Without makeup, her skin looked fair and luminous. She looked genuinely beautiful. Her figure was slender. Her pale legs swung lazily off the side of the bed. Resting her chin in her hands, she looked into the screen. She was surprised to see Tyler still working.

“It’s so late. Why are you still at it?”

“Didn’t you tell me to work hard?”

Tyler had only a white dress shirt on. His sleeves were rolled back to reveal strong forearms. With a pen in hand, he scribbled notes across a sheet of paper. Rachel smiled. She hadn’t expected Tyler to take such a casual comment from her so seriously. Tyler had always been the kind of man who lived on his own terms. He did things because he wanted to, never because someone else told him to.

Hearing him say this, though, caught her off guard.

“Well, you really are obedient. When I get back, maybe I should reward you with a little treat. I hear Ray and Sunny’s freeze–dried snacks taste pretty good.”

At that, Tyler froze mid–motion, as though stifling a laugh.

“Rachel, in your eyes, am I really only on the same level as Sunny and Ray?”

Rachel sat up straighter. Her expression suddenly turned serious.

“What, you think Sunny and Ray don’t mean much to me?” Her voice sharpened as she added, “They mean a lot to me, okay?”

Tyler played along by nodding.

“You’re right. According to you, I should feel lucky. Sunny and Ray’s place in your heart is untouchable.”

“Exactly! Don’t you think that’s already a big deal? Sunny and Ray are irreplaceable to me.”

She said it with absolute sincerity. Tyler’s gaze softened, and he was more than happy to indulge her.

“So, if I’m supposed to be as important as Ray and Sunny, shouldn’t there be some kind of ranking? I can’t be the last after the two of them, can I?”

Rachel rubbed her chin.

“Fine, I’ll give you a ranking. You’re number one. Sunny’s number two. Ray’s number three.”

“Mr. Hunt, about this file-”

Rowan had just stepped inside when he froze at the sound of a clear, melodic female voice. It was obvious that Tyler was on a video call. Rowan hesitated at the door, debating whether to interrupt, and figured the call was nearly over. Just as he stepped in, he heard the woman on the other end ranking Tyler alongside two dogs.

Chapter 850