Urban Romance

During lunch, Lilian plopped into the seat across from Jessica after setting her plate down. 

"Hey, have you checked the group chat?" she asked. 

"Nope," Jessica replied. "I couldn't care less."

"If only I could be as calm as you if I were in trouble," Lilian said, marveling at the way Jessica was completely unbothered. 

As she stuffed her face, she continued, "I heard Julia accidentally misplaced the drafts on your desk. She was on leave that day. She's still an intern, so she probably made that mistake because she was clueless."

"Yeah."

Jessica could tell that people had stopped staring at her, but they still didn't dare get close to her. They were afraid of her sharp tongue. 

"By the way, did Mr. Jones scold you today? You looked distracted when you came out of his office," Lilian said. 

"Isn't that normal?" Jessica muttered. "I mean, he looks like he doesn't give a damn about

It had taken all of Jessica's effort to get through that dinner. By the time she and Derrick finished eating, she was full to the brim and had several extra glasses of the 1982 Lafite.

When they reached the underground parking lot, Derrick insisted on driving her home. However, she refused. 

"No need. I'm going on a business trip tomorrow, and I have another appointment later. Remember—keep my car clean!"

The way she said it was loaded, yet the words landed like a jab to her own chest. She bit back the sharper retorts on the tip of her tongue. She had drunk more than usual, but not enough to lose control. She still knew exactly why she was there that night.

Derrick obediently took her car keys and got into the car.

"Jess, I love you!" he yelled, peeking out of the window.

The sincerity in his voice was so palpable that Jessica almost believed him. She pressed her lips together in a

After debating with herself all night, Jessica finally decided to go straight to Zachary. 

After all, this involved his business, and she didn't want to embarrass anyone at work openly. 

When she returned to the office the next day, people were still gossiping. She tuned it out—as she always did—and called Joshua from her desk.

It took him a long time to answer. 

"Could you check if Mr. Jones has time today? I'd like to book an appointment."

"Just come up."

She could tell that Joshua hadn't even thought about the question before saying it.

As Jessica stepped into the elevator, Joshua pressed the call button from upstairs, letting her ride smoothly to the 30th floor.

Instead of going straight into the CEO's office, she turned to Joshua and asked, "Was Mr. Jones with you when I called you earlier?"

"Good grief, you're quick."

She sighed. She figured that if Joshua had called her up without hesitation, then Zachary must have overheard their call. She hated feeling as if he thought he had some claim over her just because they had slept together. It felt as though she was being pushed into an intimate relationship she hadn't agreed to.

With a pounding heart, she knocked on Zachary's office door. 

"Come in."

Zachary was dressed in black again. It seemed as though he only owned one suit.

"What is it?" he asked, staring at her intently.

Jessica explained everything to him from start to finish. 

"I'll handle it," he said at last. 

"I want her to apologize to me in person," she said. "Without harming the company, of course."

Jessica might seem reasonable, but sometimes her stubbornness would get the better of her.

Zachary hummed in acknowledgement. Leaning back in his chair, he said, "Whatever you decide here won't affect the company. Are you sure you don't want to go public?"

"The logistics department works closely with Jonest. It'll cause waves, no matter what," she said. She preferred to keep the peace.

"Are you worried about me?"

They were supposed to be discussing work, but Zachary's question made her blush again. 

"No!" she squeaked. 

Silence stretched on between them until she spoke again. "Riley is also a woman. She must have had her reasons, so let's not make things harder for her."

"As you say."

The way Zachary said it sounded more like a partner than a boss. Jessica inwardly cursed herself for coming up here at all. 

Later, Joshua walked into the office with Riley, while Jessica stayed seated on the couch.

Riley, however, looked uneasy when she saw Jessica. She asked, "Zach, you wanted to see me?"

The overloading sweetness in her voice made Jessica's skin crawl.

"What did you just call me?" Zachary hadn't looked in her direction at all since she set foot in his office. But now, he was staring at her coldly. 

Riley had expected her connection to him to earn her some favor, but things had gone south.

"Mr. Jones," she said, quickly correcting herself. 

He turned back to his paperwork, his jaw set. "She's the one who asked for you, not me."

Riley's eyes flicked nervously to Jessica.

"Hello, Ms. Wagner," Jessica said brightly, waving her hand. 

In the face of such circumstances, she was impressed by her own mentality. Despite herself, her fake smile actually seemed genuine.

"Jessica, what is it? Why did you drag Zach into this? Couldn't you have settled it in private?" Riley snapped, her tone changing drastically.

She was still betting that Jessica didn't know the truth. 

Hearing Riley address him affectionately made Zachary uneasy. Just as he was about to say something, Jessica beat him to it.

"I didn't want to bother him either. But if your behavior disrupts the design team, you won't be able to handle the fallout," she said, showing Riley the video on her phone.

Riley's face went pale instantly. Her legs nearly gave out, and her hands balled into fists.

Zachary let out a quiet sigh and didn't interfere. 

"You…" Riley couldn't believe that Jessica had managed to uncover the truth in just one day. 

"Don't you care about your reputation when you do things like this?" Jessica asked evenly. "If Zach hadn't stopped me, I would have shut down the design department already."

Zachary frowned, eyeing Jessica from behind his desk. "Riley, just apologize and leave."

"Zach!" Riley whined like a petulant child.

"It's Mr. Jones to you."

"But she just called you Zach. So, why can't I?"

"You can't call me that either," Zachary warned, his voice rising as he pointed at Jessica.

She said nothing and pursed her lips instead. 

Riley, however, felt utterly wronged. But given Zachary's orders, she had no choice but to apologize to Jessica.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lockman. I shouldn't have framed you. It won't happen again."

"Got it," Jessica said, relieved.

Zachary waved them out, his head buzzing from the quarrel. 

Just as Riley was about to storm out of his office, he stopped her.

"Wait," he called after her, as if he had just remembered something. 

He looked up at her and asked tentatively, "When you were on your way out that night, did you see anyone else?"

Jessica clenched her fists, realizing that he had also seen her car that night. Apparently, he was even more concerned about her safety than she was.

"No," Riley replied, glaring at Jessica.

Zachary gave a slight nod. "Close the door behind you when you leave. Jessica, stay back."

Riley shot Jessica another glare before storming off.

Jessica's heart skipped a beat. "Mr. Jones, what is it?"

"Come here."

She obliged and went up to his desk. He leaned back in his chair, his hands spread languidly on the armrests.

"You're awfully sure I won't scold you, huh?"

"Mr. Jones, I don't understand what you mean," she said, feigning ignorance.

Jessica knew that a clever man like him must have seen through her, but she still wanted to test him. She wanted to see if that offhand marriage proposal had meant anything or was just guilt pricking at his conscience after they slept together.

"Oh, now it's 'Mr. Jones'. A minute ago, you were calling me 'Zach'. Did you enjoy calling me that?" 

Zachary saw how hard she was trying to stifle a laugh. He wanted to be upset at her, but he couldn't.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Jessica said, struggling to keep her voice even.

She looked everywhere but at him, her gaze eventually drifting to his collar. She remembered tearing his shirt the night before.

He followed her gaze and glanced at his shirt. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jessica quickly shook her head.

However, his interest was piqued. He leaned back languorously, watching her. 

"What's wrong? Are you tempted by me?"

"No! That's not…" She blushed furiously. "Mr. Jones, if there's nothing else, I'll get going."

Before he could answer, she slipped out of his office and fled.

He chuckled under his breath, finding her to be more interesting by the day.


During lunch, Lilian plopped into the seat across from Jessica after setting her plate down. 

"Hey, have you checked the group chat?" she asked. 

"Nope," Jessica replied. "I couldn't care less."

"If only I could be as calm as you if I were in trouble," Lilian said, marveling at the way Jessica was completely unbothered. 

As she stuffed her face, she continued, "I heard Julia accidentally misplaced the drafts on your desk. She was on leave that day. She's still an intern, so she probably made that mistake because she was clueless."

"Yeah."

Jessica could tell that people had stopped staring at her, but they still didn't dare get close to her. They were afraid of her sharp tongue. 

"By the way, did Mr. Jones scold you today? You looked distracted when you came out of his office," Lilian said. 

"Isn't that normal?" Jessica muttered. "I mean, he looks like he doesn't give a damn about who made the mistake."

"But he never scolds anyone," Lilian whispered. 

"Really? I bet you're jus

Chapter 9