All Chapters of When I Stopped Running : Chapter 41 - Chapter 45

Jessica's POV By the time my shift ended, I was exhausted mentally.Roman had somehow managed to occupy an entire corner of my mind without even being present.Every time I looked at the folder in my locker, questions followed.I couldn't stop wondering why now and how much he knew.I locked the locker and headed toward the employee exit.The hotel was quieter now.Most of the evening guests had already checked in and the lobby no longer carried the frantic energy of earlier.I started walking toward the bus stop.The air felt cooler than usual.It was comfortable and for once, my thoughts weren't focused on Jake.That alone felt like a small victory.I was halfway down the block when I noticed the man.At first, I didn't think much of it.He stood near a newspaper stand scrolling through his phone.It was erfectly normal and I kept walking.A minute later, I glanced back again.He was walking too.I decided to wave off the uneasiness stirring within me. It was actually nothing.The

Roman's POV "Your candidate performed better than we expected."The statement greeted me the moment I stepped into the conference room.I looked up from the tablet in my hand.Across the table sat three members of the recruitment panel.The oldest among them pushed a file toward me.I didn't sit immediately, Instead, I glanced at the name printed on the folder.Jessica Wilson.A small smile threatened to appear, but I quickly buried it."She's not my candidate," I said.The woman nearest to me laughed."Could've fooled us," she added quietly.I finally sat down.The file remained untouched before me."You're giving me too much credit," I uttered, my eyes scanning the room."No," another man replied. "We're giving you exactly the amount of credit you deserve."I already knew where this conversation was heading.And I didn't like it.The first mistake people made about me was assuming I enjoyed explaining myself.Because I clearly didn't.The second mistake was assuming I spent my time

Jessica's POV "Miss Wilson, please have a seat."The moment Mr. Bernard said those words, I knew something was wrong.People didn't usually get summoned into management offices before ten in the morning unless there was a problem.My first thought was that I had made a mistake.Maybe a guest had complained, or there was an issue with a reservation.I also wondered if I had forgotten something important during yesterday's shift.I sat down carefully and waited.Across the desk, Mr. Bernard looked unusually pleased with himself.That only made me more nervous."Am I in trouble?" I asked.Mr.Bernard blinked before laughing."In trouble?"His amusement did nothing to calm me."Then why do I feel like I'm about to be fired?" I asked again."You aren't being fired." He said calmly. I released a breath in relief."Then what's going on?" I enquired calmly.Instead of answering immediately, he slid a cream-colored envelope across the desk.The hotel logo wasn't on it and neither was my name.