Dreaming /#FebruaryJamFestival/

3. Just Reach the Finish

"Ms. Lancaster, your fiance has arrived," Nila's voice sounded over the intercom between their desks. Jin stopped reading the file in front of her and frowned. He was early. Robert could be so inconsiderate that way. Two months ago, Jin would have been over the moon to see Robert, but things had changed after she had accidentally run into him locking lips with his ex-girlfriend at a coffee shop.

Lisa had shielded her from view, so Robert still didn't know Jin had discovered his duplicity. After Jin stopped crying and blaming herself, she began counting the days until she could end their engagement. Just one more merger, and her father would be happy to let her sever the ties, or so he said. Michael Lancaster could be a hard taskmaster, but he didn't like the idea of anyone cheating him. And cheating on his daughter was the same as cheating in a business deal to the titan.

"Fine, show him in." Jin closed the file she was working on and walked towards the window in her office. Though she wasn't on the top floor yet, she was getting closer. Her father had promoted her to area manager not too long ago, and her view was much better here than it had been in her old office. Jin appreciated her father's making her earn her way through the company; it made each promotion a victory.

Robert walked into her office ahead of Nila, whose scrunched face spoke of her distaste for the charming man she escorted. Nila didn't even know he was unfaithful; she just never liked him. Though Nila had never mentioned her reasons to Jin, it wasn't her place. Jin trusted the woman's judgment even more than before. This is why Jin insisted Nila move with her with every promotion and awarded her a handsome salary and benefits package. Loyalty was such a rare commodity in her world that Nila was a precious jewel. Now that she was the personal assistant to the area manager, she deserved more than the typical secretary salary. Nila had taken everything in stride, and Jin wondered if she even understood why she had become so indispensable.

"Robert, we said four o'clock. It's barely one," Jin quipped as soon as Robert settled into the chair nearest the window she stood by.

"I thought we could have a long lunch before meeting with our parents," Robert's sly grin told her that he wanted more than lunch, but she wasn't feeling in the mood. Sometimes, she would still sleep with Robert, he wasn't bad in bed, and she couldn't have sex with anyone else for now. But, she had felt the urge less and less as she saw more of his true nature.

"Well, I have a meeting in twenty minutes, so I will have to take a raincheck."

"You've been taking a lot of rainchecks lately," Robert opined. "I feel like I'm a monk."

"Well," Jin sighed and collected herself, "Robert, I have been very busy with the merger our fathers agreed to. My new job comes with new responsibilities."

"Jin, your father owns the company. Take it easy. You don't have to work this hard." Had she once found his laid-back attitude refreshing?

"It is my father's company, not mine. I don't have a free pass." Jin put her hand to her head and tried to figure out how to hide her distaste for her handsome fiance. His father was one of Michael Lancaster's oldest rivals; the merger of two of their smaller companies had been made possible only by Jin and Robert's romance.

Likely, this is why Robert had approached her. They had run in the same social circles for years, but before last year, he had never indicated any interest in her. He tended to date the tall supermodel type, but somehow Jin had let herself believe he thought she was special.

Their romance had been a whirlwind. Robert had approached her just at the right moment. Her last relationship had ended months before, and her father had been riding her to meet someone new. Lisa had been out of town for summer training, so Jin had been frustrated and lonely when Robert approached her at a cocktail party a mutual friend was throwing. Robert had showered her with attention just when she needed it and took her away from all the stress building up in her life. Her father had been wary at first but took the opportunity immediately to grow his business empire even more.