Chapter 3

(Jane)

I walked into our usual spot for Wednesday nights and immediately spotted two empty seats at the bar. I took the one closest to the wall, and Neil took the one on my left. He ordered a beer and some fries while I asked for my usual gin cocktail. I know, it’s Wednesday at a bar, but it’s date night, and we always make sure to head out before midnight so we can get at least five hours of sleep.

Our drinks arrived along with the fries.

"I love this place. This gin cocktail is delicious, no matter how many times I order it," I said, taking a sip.

"And that's a lot of times," Neil teased.

Then, a strange sensation hit me—like a sharp, cold prickling running through my entire body, almost like a needle poking at my skin. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before.

"Baby, are you okay?" Neil asked, his hand gently landing on my shoulder.

But my attention was drawn to something else. I looked up and locked eyes with a man across the bar. His blue eyes were intense, and suddenly I felt the prickling sensation on the spot where Neil’s hand had been. Without thinking, I shrugged Neil's hand off my shoulder.

"Yeah, I think I got a brain freeze from drinking too fast," I muttered.

"You need to be careful, babe," Neil said, his attention now on the bartender as they got into a conversation.

I tried to focus on their conversation, but my eyes kept drifting back to the man I’d just made eye contact with. He was massive—like a professional American football player, but with muscles and no excess fat. His caramel skin glowed under the dim lights, and his black hair was neatly combed, falling just enough to cover his left eye in a slightly hipster style. His button-up shirt clung to his muscular arms, and his navy blue pants completed the look.

Then I noticed a woman beside him, holding his arm. She was stunning—her dark, almost glowing skin contrasted beautifully with her rose-blonde bob cut, and her jade-green eyes sparkled. Another wave of that strange sensation hit me, but this time it was more intense. I realized I was staring directly into the ice-blue eyes of the man.

Time seemed to slow as we locked eyes, and I quickly shifted my gaze back to the bartender and Neil, who were deep in a conversation about football, mercifully oblivious to the new tension I was feeling.

I took another sip of my drink, trying to focus on the conversation with Neil, but after a couple of minutes, I found myself distracted by the two strangers again. The voice inside my head wouldn’t stop nagging me. "He’s going to get mad if he asks questions and gets nothing out of you." And, "It’s date night, and you’re trying to spy on two strangers instead of listening to your boyfriend." But honestly, it was Neil’s fault for bringing up football—if he wasn’t so boring, I wouldn’t have been looking for a distraction.

"A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to survive, right?" I muttered to myself, looking for a way to get closer to the strangers to hear what they were saying.

"Neil, I need to make a quick call," I said, suddenly feeling the need to escape.

"Want me to join you?" he asked, barely looking up from his conversation.

"No, it’ll only take a minute. I’ll be right back," I replied, standing up and walking away from the bar, trying to figure out how to get closer to those two without being obvious.

"No, actually, I’m trying to get away from you so I can hear what those two are talking about over there," I said, wishing I could say it out loud.

"No, don’t worry, it’s just my brother. It’s a quick call, I’ll be back."

"As soon as I finish my spy job," I muttered under my breath.

I grabbed my phone off the table and walked as slowly as I could without looking obvious, heading toward the table. The girl was staring at her phone, screen locked. The guy was scanning the papers on the table, so I quickly snapped a picture as I kept walking, pretending to make my call.

Once outside, I checked the photo, only to find it blurry.

"Great shot, Picasso." I zoomed in, but it was still unclear. "What’s that thing in the corner?"

I blew the image up as much as I could and recognized something familiar, but couldn’t quite place it. Just as I was about to keep analyzing, a message from Neil popped up on my screen.

"Time to go."

I walked back inside and found Neil waiting for me. He looked me in the eyes, held out his hand, and led me a couple of steps forward, which I gladly took. He spun me around and kissed my forehead.

"Sorry for the long talk about football, I know you’re not a fan."

"Don’t worry, babe. I know you love it."

I smiled and took a sip of my gin cocktail, watching him pull out his phone.

"I found some good questions for our date night. Ready to play ‘Answer or Drink’?"

"Ready."

He grinned and asked the first question, "What’s the last person you’d want to see naked?"

"Don’t know, and don’t want to think about it," I answered, quickly reaching for my drink.

I took a big sip of my gin, then without thinking, my eyes drifted to the table in the back. It was empty now, the waiter picking up the check.

"Okay, my turn…" he said, as he came up with his answer. "I think my mom or my grandma are the last people I’d want to see naked."

The rest of the night played out like usual: laughter, awkward questions, and finally, a coin toss to see who would drive. I’d had two glasses, and he’d had three beers, plus we shared fries and a chicken quesadilla.

"I swear, you’re cheating. It’s impossible that you always win at this game."

"You know, luck is a lady."

But we both knew it didn’t matter what side of the coin landed—he always caved, and I ended up driving us home.

We arrived and went straight to bed. The morning flew by with breakfast, a shower, a kiss goodbye, and then we each headed off to our respective jobs.

When I got to work, I noticed a bit of a commotion. My dad was there, which was unusual—he usually only showed up on Mondays and some Saturdays.

"Dad, is everything okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Good morning, Jane. Yes, everything’s fine, but we have some visitors and news. Could you join us in the meeting room?"

I followed my dad into the room and noticed a young man in a grey suit. His chocolate-brown hair fell to his shoulders, and his tanned skin matched the hue of his eyes. As I passed him, I couldn’t help but notice how tall he was. If I was 5'2", then he had to be at least 6'1".

Inside the meeting room, another guy with long black hair, neatly combed into a down ponytail, stood with clear skin and brown eyes. He was also around 6'3". "Great, another reminder of my smurf height." Well, they were men, so of course, they were taller, right?

"Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Sam Mendoza," the woman greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi, I’m Jane Peterson, and this is my father, Gavin Peterson..."

Wait—oh my god, it’s the girl from the bar! And she’s in a stunning white palazzo. "Forget that. And forget the theory about men being taller—she looks like a model."

"Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Peterson. Our companies have been working together for years. It’s great to put a face to the name. Shall we sit and discuss the email we sent you?"

She was about the same height as my dad, but her heels made her even taller. She entered the room, and my dad followed behind her. And then, my stomach twisted. There, standing in the corner, was the owner of the ice-blue eyes.

My dad went up to introduce himself, but I couldn’t help but think, "If he looks like a smurf at 5'7", what does that make me? I’m barely 5'2"!" I could feel my face flush. My dad glanced at me, probably introducing me at that point. I walked as quickly as I could to join them.

"Hi, my name’s Jane Peterson."

I extended my hand to greet him, but he didn’t move.

"Shall we begin the meeting?"

The woman spoke up, "Mr. Peterson, please take a seat, and Jane, you can sit right next to him."

The guy—William—walked away without acknowledging me, not even a word or a handshake. I couldn’t tell how much time had passed—seconds, minutes? Walking away from him felt strange, like the air shifted. I took my seat, noticing that there were only four chairs. The guy with long hair took one, and Sam took the other. I quickly stood up.

"I’ll just move to another chair."

"No worries," the woman said. "William is just going to watch from the back."

"Sam Mendoza," I whispered to myself, remembering her name. Then it hit me—William.

I saw Sam stand and start presenting. She displayed pictures of our company, followed by the logo. Wait... that logo...

I quickly pulled out my phone and started browsing until I found it. "Yes, I was right!"

So that’s why they were here—they worked for that company. The question was, did they recognize me from last night?

"Jane, it’s your choice. I can’t make this decision for you. What do you think? Do you agree with taking the job?"

"Yes, Dad. I’ll handle it."

"Don’t worry, you can trust me."

"But it’s going to take up a lot of your time," my dad said, his voice full of concern. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what I had just agreed to.

I heard a chuckle behind me and turned to find William, covering his mouth with a smirk.

“Is he laughing?” I thought, a bit annoyed.

Sam was smiling at me, clearly amused, as she began gathering all the papers on the table.

"When did we go over all of this?" I wondered. She locked eyes with me and then walked over to give me a hug.

"Perfect! We’ll email you the arrangements. I recommend you head home and pack."

"Pack for what?"

"Don’t tell me, Miss Peterson, that you’ve been playing on your phone instead of paying attention to my colleague, the branch manager for one of your most important partners?"

I turned to see William, clearly enjoying himself with that smug smile. My eyes flicked to my dad, who was visibly annoyed—his forehead vein was about to pop. Think fast!

"Of course not. I was just asking what kind of climate and meetings I should pack for," I said quickly.

My dad’s expression softened, and Sam’s smile grew wider. As for William, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t just coughing.

Everyone left the room except me. I was still trying to piece together what kind of job I had just taken.

"Something to do with their branch, obviously, and something that’s going to take up a lot of my time..." As I thought it through, I heard another cough and saw William standing in the corner, still smiling.

"What, did I nail my last comment?" he teased, still with that annoying grin.

I walked toward him, feeling irritated. "He’s doing this on purpose."

"I know what you’re doing, and honestly, I don’t like you."

"Really? Why?"

"You think I wouldn’t be able to do the job. I may look young, but I’m more than capable."

"And in what area of this job are you capable?" I shot back, staring him down.

He just locked eyes with me, his icy blue gaze cutting through me. It took everything in me not to... "Kill him?" Yes, kill him. I grabbed my purse from the chair and walked out of the room. I needed to talk to my dad.

As I walked through the parking lot, I saw his car drive away.

"Jane!"

I turned to see Sam jogging toward me, arms wide open.

"Hey..."

She hugged me again. "She’s definitely a hugger."

"I’m so glad we have another girl on the team. Just give me an hour, and I’ll send you all the details, alright?"

I glanced over and saw William and the other two guys entering the parking lot.

"Clumsy me, let me introduce you to the rest of the team: Kyle Crammer, Mark Henson, and your new boss, William Parks."

“Did she say, new boss?” Great, I just threatened my new boss.

"We’ll be expecting big things from you, Miss Peterson. At least, that’s what I heard."

His face twisted into a sarcastic grin before he turned and walked away, followed by the other two guys. "I hate him!"

"This is great! He already likes you!" Sam called out to me with a huge grin.

"That’s an... interesting way to look at it."