Isabelle walked into the kitchen to the sight of Jacob standing over an overturned recycling bin, with several shattered beer bottles at his feet. He had a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, still as he looked at the mess he had made.When Isabelle appeared, he looked from the mess to her and then back again. “I…uh…” he began, then went to rub the back of his neck, but realised that was impossible with the dustpan in his hand. So he dropped his hand and shrugged.Isabelle was relieved that he didn’t seem to have hurt himself. But she couldn’t help but be amused at how he looked standing there looking at the mess he had made as if not sure how it had happened.He cleared his throat and looked at her. “I was sweeping and then…I hit the bin.”Yeah, she had guessed as much. Stepping forward, she reached for his broom. “Let me clean it up.”“No,” he said, stepping back. “Careful,” he added, looking down at the shattered glass. “Don’t step on them.”Isabelle stepped back from the

When Ann was asked to see the vice president first thing in the morning, she never could have imagined it would be concerning Isabelle’s interview and subsequent rejection. After having the panel reject her the previous day, she had slept like a baby, happy that she had finally executed her revenge.Keeping Isabelle out of the company almost made up for that time in college when she lost the scholarship to her. And, not only had she managed to cost her a job at the prestigious Larson Group, but also tarnished her reputation at the same time. She had been certain that once the word spread in the industry, Isabelle would have a hard time finding a job elsewhere.So, she hadn’t foreseen what was currently happening–sitting opposite a righteous-looking Isabelle, under the strict scrutiny of the Larson Group’s vice president.Why was Jason paying so much attention to Isabelle’s case, anyway? The man rejected hundreds of applicants daily and forgot about it. If he was acting as he usually d

Finally, Isabelle completed the third round of the interview at the Larson Group and was officially hired.After the debacle with Ann was out of the way, the rest of the process had been smooth, and she completed her interviews confidently knowing that she would be judged fairly. Eventually, she passed all three rounds and signed an employment contract with the company.On the morning of her first day at work, she went by the flower shop to buy herself congratulatory flowers. She was so excited to begin her career at the company she had always wanted to work at, and getting herself a bunch of flowers seemed well in order. They were the perfect way to symbolise the new beginning in her career. And hopefully bring more luck her way, she hoped.She had just started looking around the shop when an attendant in a bright orange apron approached her. “Welcome to our shop, Miss. Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for?”She wished she could spend more time admiring the beautif

Jacob scoffed as Isabelle narrated how she thought Seth was the one who helped her with the interview. Had he gone through all this trouble to give her a fair shot at the job only for her to think it was another man who helped her? She must think really highly of the guy.“Did he tell you that?” he asked, crossing his arms across his chest. At that point, they were just standing in the middle of the alley, immersed in their argument.“No,” she replied, blowing away stray strands of hair from her face. “But it makes sense. Nobody else at the company knows me personally, so he’s the only one who could have spoken for me against Ann. He’s a head designer, so I think he’s close to the vice president. Plus, he comes from a powerful family. He probably has some influence around here.”The more she talked about the guy, the more Jacob’s irritation grew. Did she say he was her senior? Did she have a crush on him or something? Just because he was not her lover didn’t mean she wasn’t interested

“What is going on?” Isabelle asked when Jacob didn’t offer any explanation about the sudden change in their means of transport. “Whose car is this?”Jacob shifted in his seat to look at her. “Since it’s your first day at work, I wanted to do something special for you. So I hired this car to pick you up.”Isabelle didn’t know what to say at first. Of course, the only way he could pick her up with such an expensive car was if he rented one. But why would he go to such an extent? They weren’t a real couple. Still, it warmed her heart that he wanted to do something special for her on her first day at work.“Thanks,” she told him. “It’s a nice ride.”It was better than nice. It was the kind of car only the very wealthy drove—and she knew that meant the renting fee had to be quite high. While it was nice that he thought to do this for her, she couldn’t ignore the financial implication. She was out of cash and he was making money on a part-time job.They couldn’t afford to splurge on unneces