Chapter 137  Evelina’s smile froze on her face, thinking they had come for her. Turned out, it’s all about that witch!  Evelina forced a smile, “She left right after her shift.*  “Didn’t you invite her?”  “Of course, I invited Lemmy, but she didn’t want to have dinner with me. And she’s not exactly Ms. Congeniality with our colleagues.”  Evelina explained with a hint of grievance, ‘I really tried my best.”  Alaric felt a pang of sympathy, “I know Lemira can be a tough cookie, but I didn’t expect her to actually go to the branch office to tackle that issue. Wondered how long she would last.”  Lucian chuckled bitterly, “It was me who convinced her to go. Right now, she’s the only one who can sort out the firewall mess.”  ucian, Lemira’s just being stubborn on purpose. Why force her to go? We might as well drop that project if it’s causing so much trouble.”  “We’ve invested too much money in this project to just drop it like it’s hot. This is business, not some playground where you can just stomp your foot and call it quits. Your streaming company is bleeding cash too. You better think about how you’re gonna explain the loss in the finals to Asher.”  Disappointed, Lucian left.  Without Lemira there, he saw no point in staying for dinner.  A flicker of discomfort crossed Evelina’s eyes. Was Lemira really that important?  Alaric was visibly annoyed, “Lucian’s playing favorites with Lemira now.”  Evelina clenched her teeth, “Well, Lemira is his blood, after all. It’s natural he’d be softer on her.”  “Blood or not, Lemira shouldn’t be above the rules. I don’t buy that she’s capable of pulling off the issue.”  Alaric always doubted Lemira’s involvement in the project, suspecting it was all Lucian’s doing.  In the end, Evelina and Alaric went out to dinner with some colleagues, where she managed to steal the spotlight.  After Lucian drove off, he pulled out his phone and texted Lemira. [How’s your day at the office? If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know right away!]  Lemira had just gotten back to her apartment. She saw Lucian’s message but felt no urge to reply. After eating something, she lay down to rest and thought about chatting with Orion.  After much deliberation, she texted him.[Hey, what’re you doing?]  Staring anxiously at her phone screen after sending the message, she felt a bit weird.  Áfter showering and still no reply from Orion, Lemira sighed and reckoned her intention was a bit obvious, regretting her impulsive  message.  She hardly slept that night, waking up with bags under her eyes.  Finding no message from Orion, she got dressed and went to the branch office, feeling down.  Upon arrival, Lemira dived into coding, having personally tested the software yesterday to identify the problem. Though she had tackled this issue in her previous life, it had been a long time, and she needed to test again to be sure.  “The newbie’s early today. Feeling regret for missing yesterday’s dinner and trying to make up for it?”  Lemira ignored him completely.  Ethan slammed his desk in irritation, “Newbie, I’m talking to you. What’s with the attitude?”  “Your attitude dictates my attitude! Attendance at dinner isn’t mandatory. If I don’t wanna go, I won’t!” Lemira’s response was bold and unyielding.  The colleagues who had arrived at the office heard her response, giving Lemira silent nods of admiration.