CHAPTER FIFTY ONE – COMPANY POLITICS

As they walked towards their offices, Sarah chatted about the various executives she'd met at the gala, but Karina found it hard to focus on her words. Her eyes kept darting around, The morning after the gala, Karina arrived at the office earlier than usual, her mind still reeling from the events of the previous night. As she stepped out of the elevator, she nearly collided with Sarah, who was juggling a stack of files and a large coffee. "Whoa! Sorry, Karina," Sarah exclaimed, narrowly avoiding a spill. "You're here early." Karina managed a weak smile. "Yeah, couldn't sleep. Thought I'd get a head start on some work." Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You okay? You look a bit... off." "I'm fine," Karina assured her, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Just a long night, you know?" Sarah nodded sympathetically. "Tell me about it. I'm still recovering from all that schmoozing. But hey, at least it was a success, right?" "Right," Karina agreed, her mind drifting back to the kiss with Miguel. "A su