‘Watch and learn’. I grew up listening to that phrase. From the day my uncle had taken me in, I had become his prized possession. The person who would inherit his company. And once it became my burden to carry forward his legacy, I did just that—watched and learned.

Numbers became my best friend. People became my real-life puzzles. I taught myself to play with numbers when others my age played video games. And I taught myself to pick up cues from body language to see things words didn’t tell me.

That was the key to being a good CEO, after all.

And once I became accustomed to numbers and people, there was nothing at work that surprised me anymore.

But Isla Rose became that exception.

Every day, she was the first person I saw in the company. Always smiling, greeting, and helping. She was as good an employee as any boss could have.

So, it never even crossed my mind that she was moonlighting her receptionist job.

And not even for high-paying work. But to be a swim instructor. It was so utterly foolish that I almost admired her courage to take the risk.

Under normal circumstances, I would have fired her. But I understood the choice she made. That day Isla knew she was risking her career to save me. I remembered the fear in her eyes. The guilty look.

And yet, she hadn’t thought about it twice. I almost waited for her to strike a deal for saving me. I would have been generous in my compensation. But there was nothing. No demands and no begging. She was ready to accept her fate. Ready to be fired because she broke my rules.

That somehow became the anchor for my trust in her. I knew Isla would risk it all to save me. To bring me back to the surface. To let me breathe again.

That’s why I couldn’t let her go. 

So I made sure she couldn’t say no to my offer. I wasn’t proud of myself for that. But I was desperate—had been for years.

I sighed and shifted on the couch. A stack of files remained unopened on the table, and I flipped through the one in my hands. But once more, my mind drifted to Isla.

She had rattled me again today. I’ve only ever heard her say ‘yes sir, no sir.’ But then she snapped at me, called me Noah. That had been unexpected. I couldn’t recall anyone in the company having the guts to do that. Oddly enough, it didn’t anger me. It was rather refreshing. I finally knew that there was more to her; I had barely scratched the surface.

That brief glimpse of the real Isla had broken my walls. I wanted to know about her, test her limits, see what else lay behind her strikingly blue eyes.

But then she talked about that.

Those seemingly innocent questions had pierced me like arrows. I was familiar with that pain. The wound would have slowly bled me to death. I knew I had to escape. Away from her words. Away from her.

Even now, a strange heaviness settled in my chest. I swallowed the bitter taste at the back of my tongue and took deep breaths. I’m safe. I’m home. I repeated until the painful flashes receded into a locked safe.

A gentle breeze blew through the open windows, and I gazed at the moon outside. I remembered Isla’s face when I left the pool. She looked so worried and confused. I was never bothered by what others thought before. 

So why was her reaction making me uncomfortable now?

Out of nowhere, a dart whizzed by my ear. It struck the center of the dartboard on the wall in front of me. I rolled my eyes and muttered, "How many times have I told you not to play when I’m working?”

I turned to see Jake. He leaned against the wall and grinned. “Working? You were spacing out when I walked in.”

“Working.” I raised the files as evidence.

“Can’t you pay attention to me when I come over?”

“You come over every day.” I deadpanned. “Just move in if you can’t live without me.”

Jake snorted and plopped down on the couch next to me. “Do you know how boring you are?”

“Let me work.”

Jake huffed out. I read a few lines, but then grew suspicious of the silence. I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. He sported a mischievous grin as he tapped away on his phone.

“Now what?” I asked.

Jake chuckled and presented his phone. Bare-chested bodies filled the screen. I straightened up when I realized it was us. He had posted our swimsuit photos on his Instagram account—the ones he had forced me to take on a photo shoot with him. He scrolled and showed me the trail of thirsty comments under it. 

“We agreed to keep those private,” I said.

“And we agreed to not work at home.” Jake teased. “Live a little, huh? Look, even my fans want to date you.”

I shrugged. Not able to get a reaction out of me, his face fell, and he slumped back on the couch. And just when he least expected it, I shot out my hand and snatched the phone from him.

“Hey! Give it back!”

“Nope!” I laughed and hurried to delete the photos. 

Jake was quicker and lunged at me. I didn’t give up easily. Our arms locked, and we butted our heads together to gain the upper hand. The file flew from my lap, and papers scattered all over the living room. Jake dragged us to the floor and kicked my leg. I returned the kick with twice the strength.

Our tiff continued. I was getting out of breath, but this was my only chance to delete them before they reached the tabloids. 

“Mr. Jung, I’m leaving for the day.” The housemaid knocked on the door and stepped inside. “The dinner is—” She gasped.

The two of us looked at her. The old woman’s cheeks flushed bright red, and she avoided my eyes. “Sorry, sir,” she stuttered and backed away.

Jake and I shared a confused look. Then our gaze traveled from our heaving chests to our tangled limbs. Tousled hair, unkempt clothes… we had left nothing for her imagination. Jake cursed and shot up straight. “No! You saw it wrong! Miss! I have a girlfriend!”

But the housemaid was already scuttling away. I pressed my lips together and picked up his phone. While Jake was busy explaining our relationship to the air, I deleted the photos from his account. He cursed again and turned towards me. I dropped his phone nonchalantly and met his accusatory glare.

“Explain to her, Noah!” Jake said in an exasperated tone. “She thinks we… we’re… more than friends.”

“You mean lovers.”

Jake choked, and I laughed. 

Pretending that we hadn’t been fighting like dogs, I stood up and asked, “So...a girlfriend, huh? When did this happen?”

“You know her,” Jake said. “We met at the pool that day.”

My eyebrows shot up. Someone from the pool… Isla?