Claire wasn't exactly a "people person" before 10 a.m., but that didn't stop her from being added to the new office group chat called Marketing Mayhem. The name alone made her cringe, but she had to admit—it brought some unexpected entertainment. Mostly because Jake had just replied to a company memo with a GIF of a raccoon aggressively typing.
Okay, so he was funny.
The chat spiraled into chaos—memes, passive-aggressive lunch orders, someone suggesting "team karaoke" (which Claire prayed would die quietly), and Jake randomly suggesting a weekend "team building hike." Nobody expected Karen from HR to actually approve it.
But she did. And now they were all going to Lake Geneva for the weekend.
Claire wasn't sure if this was a professional nightmare or the best thing that had happened to her since she accidentally got upgraded to business class last summer.
At the gas station stop, Claire stood near the coffee machine, pretending to compare energy drinks. Jake walked up beside her, clearly ignoring the rows of beverages.
"You don't actually drink that sugar-free rocket fuel, do you?" he asked, nodding toward the neon green can in her hand.
Claire smirked. "Only when I'm trying to black out the sound of forced bonding."
Jake laughed. It wasn't loud—it was soft and genuine. The kind of laugh you don't fake. The kind that lingers.
"You know," he said, "you're different than I expected."
"Better or worse?"
"Definitely not worse."
She didn't know what to say to that, so she sipped her coffee, which had long gone cold, and they stood there for a moment too long.
Back in the van, Claire sat beside her best friend from the office—Sophie. Sophie was bright, blonde, and chronically online. She was also single and ready to flirt with literally anyone, including the married IT guy and possibly the gas station clerk.
"Jake's into you," Sophie whispered.
Claire gave her a look. "How can you possibly know that?"
"He leaned. Leaning is the first sign. Right after offering gum."
"I swear to God, Sophie—"
"I'm just saying. There's chemistry. And not just the coffee kind."
Claire tried not to smile. She failed.
She didn't know it yet, but this trip would spark more than a few hangovers. It would change everything. For her, for Jake, for Sophie—and for that one intern who forgot his tent and ended up sleeping in the van.