Chapter 2

Whether I faced Jacob or not, I was doomed either way. The worst he could do was fire me. After all, Tacoba wasn't short on law firms.

I marched into Jacob's office as if I were walking to my own execution. Instead of the lecture I had been expecting, he simply stared at me in silence.

I saw his Adam's apple bob several times, but no words came out. Finally, his gaze fell on my skirt. His gaze darkened, and he frowned.

I quickly looked down at my skirt. Was my nitpicky boss about to pick on my outfit right now? I quickly smoothed out a few wrinkles.

"Mr. Carter, is there something wrong with my skirt?"

Jacob looked away and cleared his throat a couple of times, a little too deliberately. "Not at all. Stay back tonight. You'll be working overtime."

Oh?

It was almost time to get off work, and now Jacob was telling me I had to work overtime? I wished I could punch him for that.

Still, I kept up my facade as a corporate slave. "Will do, Mr. Carter. What would you like me to work on during overtime?"

Jacob was clearly taken aback, as if he hadn't considered that earlier.

"About that…" Jacob started frantically rummaging through the documents. Finally, he pulled a file from the bottom of the stack.

"Work on this. I want you to redo it."

Once I was back at my desk, I realized I had submitted this case file for archiving last month. Was he really making me redo it after a month?

If Jacob wasn't singling me out, what else could it be? That damn capitalist boss! I couldn't believe I had ever looked up to him.

I worked so late that I was the only one left in the office.

Thunder and lightning raged outside. The storm was so bad that it felt like something out of a drama.

Of course, bad luck kept coming in waves.

I gave up. I turned on my laptop and started typing away.

In my story, there was a scene just like this. It happened on a rainy night in an empty office.

The male protagonist had the female protagonist work overtime. Later, he pulled her into the break room and had his way with her. Aside from the pouring rain, the only sound in the office was soft, broken moans from inside the break room.

My writing was flowing really well tonight. Perhaps it was because I was fully immersed in the scene.

I held my cup as I admired the new chapter I had just written. I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"This is perfect. What a masterpiece!" I couldn't help but murmur in admiration.

"You think this is perfect?"

The case file I had just stapled landed on my desk with a thud. When I saw Jacob standing right behind me, I was startled. I slammed my laptop shut and shot to my feet.

"Mr. Carter, I thought you already got off work."

"What makes you think that?" Jacob placed the takeout on my table.

"I ordered an extra beef burger. You can have it."

The truth was, I wasn't a fan of beef. I ate the buns and lettuce, leaving the beef patty aside.

Jacob stared at me, looking slightly confused, and asked, "You don't like burgers?"

"I just don't like beef."

Jacob paused for a moment. "Oh. I'll get you something else next time."

Next time?

Oh, Jacob. I really didn't want to work overtime again.

Jacob failed to notice my miserable expression. He rolled up his sleeves and started guiding me through archiving case files.

"Go by the checklist and arrange all the documents for each case in order."

We were the only two people in the spacious office. He leaned over in front of me, his dress shirt hanging loose, the sleeves rolled up to the forearms.

I punched the holes, threaded the binding thread through them, and tied the file together.

Jacob had long, elegant fingers with well-defined knuckles. I stared at his hands, thinking about all the inappropriate things I had made them do in my web novel.

Heat crept into my cheeks.

"Why don't you give it a go?" Jacob handed me another case file.

My mind was a haze as I followed his instructions, step by step. I reached for the hole punch and was about to punch holes when he stopped me.

"If you do it like that, you'll only hurt yourself."

Jacob took my hand and adjusted my grip. With a click, the hole punch came down.

My heart skipped a beat—I was so screwed. All I could think about was the scene I had written in my novel.

The man held my hand in place as he took me from behind, slamming me hard into the office desk. By the time I could barely stand, he pulled me into his arms.

"Harder."

"Huh? Harder?" My mind was full of inappropriate thoughts, and my face burned.

"I'm talking about the hole punch. Press it harder." Jacob's hand covered mine, pressing it down with his.

We were far too close, and the air between us seemed to sizzle. Still, he looked completely unbothered.

"Well done." Jacob turned to me and asked, "Angeline, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing at all!" I scrambled to defend myself.

Jacob's chuckle echoed in my ears, and I could feel his warm breath against my ear. It made my skin tingle.

"Are you really getting distracted at a time like this?" Jacob's voice was low and calm.

I almost screamed. I had written that line for him in my novel. Even the scene was almost identical.

I started freaking out. If Jacob had read my novel and seen all the dirty scenes I had written, I might actually just die on the spot.

But Jacob was one of the best lawyers in the field. Why would he even read mindless, over-the-top CEO romance novels?

That was about as unlikely as me, an underachiever, getting into one of the best schools in the world—impossible.

Just as I was spiraling in my thoughts, thunder rumbled across the sky, and the office was plunged into total darkness. The power was out.

Damn it! I had night blindness.

"I… Mr. Carter, is the power out?" My voice was slightly shaky.

Since I had night blindness, I tended to panic easily in the dark. Even when I was in bed at home, I would keep my desk lamp on.

"Yes. The thunder must've hit a power line. The power's out for now."

"Will it be long?"

Jacob seemed to pick up on something off in my voice. "Are you scared of the dark?"

"Yes…" I kept taking deep breaths. "I have night blindness, so I…"

"What if I do this? Will it help?"

A faint light slowly flickered into view, and my vision started to adjust.

In the dim light, Jacob was staring at my laptop screen. It displayed the break room scene I had been working on earlier.