Chapter 3

　　Joann's Pov

　　I woke up to the softest pillow my head had ever touched, sunlight slipping through expensive looking curtains, and a calm silence that made me smile before I even opened my eyes.

　　I felt so good, and even if my whole body ached so bad I wanted to sleep in the warm soft bed for the rest of the day, I didn't know where I was.

　　I stood up, in shock. My eyes scanned the whole room, everything was perfectly in place.

　　No hangover, no nausea, just a strange warmth that wrapped around me like silk.

　　I rolled over and stretched, letting out a lazy yawn… then sat up quickly.

　　I got flashes. The bar, the man and his perfect strong arms.

　　"Did I really have sex with a stranger?"

　　Oh…

　　I glanced down at myself. My dress was off, right beside the bed and slightly wrinkled, my heels neatly placed at the foot of the bed. I hadn't done anything crazy, right?

　　It was my best chance to leave the house. I tried getting out of bed but the door opened.

　　And there he was, looking like a damn billboard model. He had a grey t-shirt on and his hot looking sharp jawline.

　　I pulled back, he held a tray with pancakes, fruits, and coffee like he had done it a thousand times.

　　"Good morning," he said with a half smile, his voice low and calm.

　　"You made me breakfast?" I asked, blinking.

　　"Figured you'd need it. Had a rough night last night"

　　"I know…. I needed it." I cleared my throat, sitting up straighter. "I should leave now though. Thank you."

　　I hurriedly grabbed the sheets around my body and took my dress.

　　"You can't leave now." He walked over, placed the tray gently beside me.

　　I stopped in my tracks, "Why?"

　　He sighed. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

　　"I don't have an idea. But I'm sure I want to leave now." I urged.

　　"If you can find your way around this big house, sure."

　　"What do you mean?"

　　"It means, I'd drive you if you listen to what I have to say."

　　There it was. The catch.

　　I narrowed my eyes. "Look, if this is one of those sugar baby things, I'm not—"

　　He raised a brow and cut me off. "Sugar baby? You're very funny."

　　I picked up my purse from the floor, stood up fast. "Yeah, I've seen enough movies to know where this goes. You're a random, hot man and I'm a sad, drunk girl. And you gave me the best night of my life, and you want it to continue?"

　　He laughed.

　　I was not in the mood.

　　"Let me go," I muttered, trying to step past him.

　　He didn't move. Instead, he reached for my wrist—not harshly, just enough to make me stop.

　　I looked up at him, and for the first time, really looked into his eyes. They were dark, not just in color but in depth. There was something unreadable in them.

　　"You're not going to be my sugar baby, Joann," he said slowly.

　　The way he said my name made goosebumps rise on my skin.

　　"How did you know my name?"

　　"I think that should be less of your concern right now."

　　"What do you want?" I whispered.

　　He tilted his head slightly. "If you stay…"

　　"I'm not staying."

　　"Just for a few hours and you can leave. Well, after you listen to what I have to say. But right now, you're overwhelmed. Do you want to go back to your cheating boyfriend?"

　　Never! How could he even say that?

　　"Just because I ran a mouth to you doesn't mean you should talk to me like that."

　　"Stay calm. Have breakfast, then you can leave."

　　But I couldn't stay.

　　"I need to go," I said again, yanking my wrist gently from his grip.

　　He stepped aside without a fight.

　　I grabbed my shoes, phone, and the last dignity I had left, and ran out of the house like it was on fire.

　　I ran around for minutes, more minutes until I finally found the main exit. He was right, I'd have gotten lost if it wasn't for the security I found by chance.

　　Now, a taxi. But there was none. I walked down to the last side of the gate, led by the security and finally got out to the main street.

　　I got a taxi, my heart pounded the entire drive home.

　　I felt so good, sleeping with another man. And one I'd never have to meet again in my life.

　　It was like he swept the pain off my feet and I was fine. My eyes were still swollen, but I had to take a shower.

　　I took off the messy dress I had on, that still smelled of the man… I didn't even catch his name and he knew mine.

　　After the shower, I slumped onto my bed, barely able to breathe. Just two days ago, I was in love with a man who was going to propose to me, introduce me to his family, and start a life together. Now I was the laughingstock of my own damn life.

　　My sister had him now. Or used him to get to me.

　　And what did I have?

　　A one-night escape….

　　I have my job now. One thing to keep me on my toes.

　　I closed my eyes and told myself to forget it. Everything. Just focus on the one thing I had left, my job.

　　'You got the design manager role, Jo. You got it fair and square.'

　　That was what mattered now.

　　I pulled a blanket over myself and let sleep drown the ache in my chest.

　　★

　　I hadn't slept for long hours when the loud ringing of my phone made me jump from my sleep. My eyes flew open. I grabbed my phone and it was an unknown number.

　　I hesitated before picking, "Hello?"

　　"Hi, is this Joann Fisher?"

　　"Yes?"

　　"This is Clara from Sanchez Group. We just wanted to confirm—your start date has been moved. You'll now be resuming tomorrow morning at 8AM sharp."

　　I sat upright. "Wait—tomorrow?"

　　"Yes, the change was made this morning. You'll get an email confirmation shortly. Congratulations again!"

　　The call ended.

　　I stared at my phone like it had insulted me.

　　Tomorrow?

　　I wasn't ready! I had zero outfits picked. No mental prep. I had just had the worst 24 hours of my life and now I was about to walk into the city's biggest design company like I had my life together?

　　No….no…no. I didn't want to mess up my first day.