Chapter 2
Jamie Capulet arrived at the office thirty minutes early, holding an iced matcha latte he hated and pretending he’d slept more than four hours.
He hadn’t.
Not after that plane ride.
He’d replayed it a hundred times – every cringe-inducing confession, every desperate overshare, the way he’d practically sobbed over oat milk and the tragedy of never being kissed properly.
He wanted to crawl into a hole lined with his own Instagram filters and disappear forever.
Preferably one with Wi-Fi. So he could still post.
But today was too important to freeze from shame. The new COO was arriving. The office had been buzzing about it all weekend.
“Golden boy,” his coworker Priya had whispered on Friday. “Blake Sterling. British. Brilliant. Scary smart. No one’s ever seen him, but the execs talk about him like he’s a genius.”
Jamie took a deep breath as he passed the glossy glass entrance of Sterling + Marks. He gave the receptionist his best yes I sleep eight hours and love cardio smile and strutted inside like someone whose life wasn’t secretly built on lies, caffeine, and emotional breakdowns at high altitude.
Ryan was already at his desk, legs kicked up, scrolling through something smugly.
“Morning, sweetheart,” Ryan drawled without looking up. “You look like you dry-shampooed your soul.”
“I might have,” Jamie muttered. “What’s the dress code for running into someone you emotionally strip-teased in a metal tube 30,000 feet above sea level?”
Ryan finally looked up. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, no – what does that mean?”
Before Jamie could answer, the office suddenly went very, very quiet.
Shona appeared beside Ryan, tugging him by the sleeve. “He’s here. The COO. He’s doing a walk-through. I just saw him get off the executive elevator.”
Jamie froze.
A murmur rippled through the staff like a school of fish spotting a shark.
Then footsteps echoed across the sleek hardwood.
Slow. Measured. Unhurried.
Jamie’s stomach dropped clean through the floor.
No.
No no no…
There he was.
The man from the plane.
Wearing a fitted dark blue suit, open collar, no tie. Confident. Tall. Cool as hell.
Of course he was hot.
Of course he was real.
Of course he was…
“Good morning,” the man said in a crisp British accent, cutting across the open floor with effortless authority. “I’m Blake Sterling, your new COO.”
Jamie nearly dropped his matcha.
This is a nightmare. This is a corporate nightmare.
“Let’s have some fun, shall we?”
No. No no no no no. Universe, you sick, twisted pervert.
Ryan leaned in. “You okay, Capulet? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Jamie muttered, “Worse. I’ve seen my emotional undressing come to life in Tom Ford.”
Blake’s eyes swept the room like a radar…
and landed on Jamie.
A flicker of recognition.
And then – oh god – a smile.
A slow, deliberate smile like he was enjoying an inside joke that would ruin your life.
Jamie straightened.
Smiled back.
Professional. Polished.
Absolutely not spiraling inside like a man who confessed to résumé fraud and dreams of shirtless mornings and big dogs.
Blake didn’t say anything.
He didn’t have to.
He just…
winked.
Jamie made a strangled sound.
Ryan stared. “What just happened?”
“Nothing,” Jamie said too fast.
“That wasn’t nothing.”
“Shut up.”
Jamie turned, ducked his head, and practically speed-walked toward the elevator. Maybe he could hide in the supply closet for the rest of his life. Or fake a work injury and flee to Bali.
Or fake amnesia. That felt more on brand.
Behind him, Blake’s voice carried easily across the floor.
“I’ll be doing some one-on-ones later this week. Let’s get to know each other properly.”
Jamie whimpered.
Ryan smirked. “Guess he’s starting with you.”