JENNIFER'S POV
The moment Nathaniel Holmes walked away from my desk, I fell into my chair like my bones had forgotten how to exist.
I pressed my palm against my forehead.
"Okay… breathe. You're fine. Totally fine."
I was not fine.
How could I be?
The man who carried me out of an alleyway… the man whose house I accidentally woke up in… the man I argued with like we were contestants in a debate show..
He was Nathaniel Holmes.
One of those Holmes.
The Holmes family was one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the country. They owned fragrance and cosmetic companies, held shares in major clothing lines, and operated various hotels. One of them is this.
If there was ever a time for the ground to open up and swallow me whole, it was now.
I grabbed the nearest glass of water under the desk and gulped it like my life depended on it.
Veronica, my coworker, popped her head over the counter. "Jen? You okay?"
"Hm? Me? Absolutely. I'm great. Fantastic."
My voice cracked so badly that she blinked twice.
"What happened? Did a guest shout at you?"
"No. Just… life. Life shouted at me."
Her expression changed. "We need to get you more sleep."
"Sleep huh" Like it was going to fix the fact that I yelled at the billionaire heir of the hotel chain and accused him of kidnapping me.
God.
I covered my face.
–-––-–-–
Later that day:
As soon as I stepped into my apartment, Alexa's scream filled the air.
"Jenny!"
Before I could blink, she dashed herself at me like an excited little puppy. Katherine followed with a more measured hug.
"You're alive," Alex breathed dramatically. "We thought you got kidnapped again."
"I wasn't kidnapped the first time."
Alex arched a brow. "Were you not unconscious in an unknown man's house?"
"How did you know? I never told you that."
"Are you sure?" Alex murmured, fixing her gaze on Katherine.
My brain rambled till I remembered I had told Kathy later that night.
"You see, this is the reason I told Kathy the truth and not you."
"What-ev-er"
"Now, you have to tell me because some of the things Katherine said sounded unbelievable." Alex dragged my hand and motioned me to sit on the couch.
So I explained — slowly, carefully — everything that had happened except the part where Nate lived in a mansion big enough to host the Olympics.
She did not need that mental image.
"He came to your job?" Alex gasped, bouncing on the cushion like a toddler. "Why? For you?"
"No," I said quickly. "He said he just needed a room."
"Rich men don't do anything 'just,' Jenny."
I rolled my eyes. "He's not interested."
"Oh, please." Alex scoffed. "Is he cute?"
I hesitated. Big mistake. Both their heads snapped toward me like I'd confessed to murder.
"He's… fine."
"Fine?" Katherine repeated. "So he's gorgeous."
"No."
"Yes," they said in unison.
I groaned. "He's rich, rude, and emotionally weird. Let's stop talking about him."
Katherine leaned back. "You're right. We shouldn't obsess over your mysterious billionaire saviour."
Alex jumped in. "Whose name you conveniently refused to mention in detail until now."
I rolled my eyes so hard I practically saw my forehead.
----
My phone buzzed.
Steve.
I stared at his name on the screen — the same Steve I had found between another man's legs.
Alex grabbed the phone before I could react. "No."
"It could be important," I muttered.
"It's not," Katherine said firmly. "Let him talk to the man he cheated with."
I laughed. "You two are so dramatic."
"We're right," Alex said. "You don't owe him conversation."
I placed the phone face down and leaned back against the couch.
They were right.
Talking to Steve would drag me back to a place I was fighting to leave.
---
Later that night, after they both left my room to grab snacks, I finally let myself collapse into bed.
But instead of Steve… instead of anger… instead of the mess of yesterday…
All I could think about was the way Nate had said my name at the desk.
Soft.
Controlled.
Almost warm.
I squeezed my pillow.
"No. No. No," I whispered into the fabric. "We are not doing this."
He was intimidating.
A little complicated.
Possibly emotionally malfunctioned.
And yet my heartbeat refused to behave like a rational adult heart.
I turned and buried my face deeper into the pillow.
"This is ridiculous."
But my chest still fluttered in a way that annoyed me more than anything.