𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 || ᴊᴇɴʟɪsᴀ

𝐟 𝐨 𝐮 𝐫

The next morning I was up and in the office by six thirty, having only thought about Lisa Manoban four times while being driven in. Not bad. Certainly down from the seven times while I was showering and getting ready. I had a problem.

Technically, the office didn’t open until seven thirty but I loved being in before everyone else, and made it my daily routine. There was something about the absolute silence that appealed, being able to work with nobody around needing me.

The lights were already on, and the coffee machine humming quietly, thanks to building staff who slipped in like magic elves before me each morning. I gave the machine a loving pat. It perhaps worked harder than anyone else at Kim and Tuan.

The offshore markets had shifted downward quite a bit overnight. I jotted notes and had my day planned by the time I’d poured my second coffee and eaten breakfast at my desk. People started to come in around seven fifteen, and Mark barged into my office as I was cleaning my teeth in my bathroom. I spat toothpaste. “Morning.”

“Trying to disguise your pussy breath, Jen?”

“Don’t be gross.” I eyed him in the mirror. His lighthearted joke annoyed me because no, I wasn’t but I wished I was.

“You’re calling Tom and seeing HR today, right?”

I nodded, wiped my mouth and pushed past him. “Fear not, friend. The piece of paper will protect me.”

Mark followed me. “Stop being so flippant. What if you do it again?”

“Well, I haven’t thought about that.” All eleven of my earlier fantasies came rushing back to make a liar out of me. I tugged on slingbacks and my voice suddenly grew wistful. “But if it did, does it really matter? Don’t I deserve to enjoy myself?”

He couldn’t argue. “There’re other options, Jen and besides, if she agrees then she’s unprofessional too.”

“No. Don’t even start with that shit. You’re getting ahead of everything, as usual. I slept with her once. Well, one night. We’re not dating, we won’t be dating. If anything happens it’d only be sex.” Hot, erotic and extremely satisfying sex. I couldn’t help smiling at the memory.

His cheeks puffed for a moment before he let the air out in a noisy sigh. “All I’m saying is be careful. Not just with that poor sensitive heart of yours, but for all we’ve built here.”

Hypocrite. It was all right when he’d done it. I pushed my irritation aside and dismissed him with a wave. “If you’re done acting like a broken record, I have work to do.”

My morning was spent on the phone trying to put out the usual forest fires. The moment markets moved down, people panicked. I was tempted to make a recording of myself and leave it playing on loop. Ladies and gentlemen, everything is fine, your money is fine, we’re all fine.

Jimin arrived after lunch with the two gowns I’d chosen, and boxes of shoes on a cart that he wheeled into my office. He kissed my cheek, handed me a gown and shooed me into my bathroom to change, muttering at my dishevelment. I studied myself while climbing into the dress. He was right.

It took me ten seconds to realize this was not to be the gown, and it took my stylist even less time. He held up his hand, shielding his eyes as though the very sight of me caused him physical pain. “Ugh, take it off and put the other one on.”

I swapped dresses and came back out to an approving nod. “Better. Pop your feet into these.”

Jimin steadied me as I slipped into a pair of Manolos, then offered his hand to help me climb up onto the low box to be pinned. He ran a tape measure over my body, checking nothing had changed since last time he’d fitted me. It hadn’t.