After my unexpected reunion with Lucas, we had met for coffee as planned, and the easy rapport we'd established during our impromptu dinner had continued. We'd spent hours chatting, laughing, and reminiscing about old times while also sharing our hopes for the future.
As I sat at my desk in my home office on Friday afternoon, wrapping up some freelance work, I couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment. My life seemed to be falling into a pleasant rhythm - my friendship with Sam was strong, my budding connection with Lucas was exciting, and my freelance career was starting to take off.
Just as I was about to log off for the day, my phone buzzed with an incoming message. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the name on the screen: Zoe Deveraux, my former boss at Omni-Tech.
For weeks, I'
