I Married My Enemy

JESSICA MILLS Jessica Mills was already late, and she did not care. She burst through the apartment door into the hallway with her lucky polka dot blazer half on, her folder tucked under her arm, and a piece of toast in her mouth. Her dark hair was pinned up in a bun she had fixed four times already. Her block heels clicked fast on the stairs as she took them two at a time. She was not nervous. She had been preparing for this interview since she found the Cole Luxe listing online. She had answers ready for every question they could possibly ask. Cole Luxe was one of the biggest luxury brands in the country. A job there meant real money. Money for rent. Money to send home to her parents. Money to finally stop holding her breath every time her phone rang. She was ready. She hit the ground floor at full speed and pushed through the building door into the morning air and walked directly into Mr. Henley. Her landlord filled the doorway with his arms crossed, and his face set in the expression he wore when he had decided to enjoy himself. "Miss Mills." His eyes moved over her slowly. The toast still in her hand. "Six hundred dollars. Today. Or I start eviction proceedings tonight." Jessica pulled the toast from her mouth. "Mr. Henley. I have a job interview this morning. A real one. I will have the money by the end of the week." "You said that last week." "This week is different." She kept her voice calm and her chin up. "I promise.” He looked at her outfit one more time. His expression said everything he didn't bother to say out loud. He stepped aside just enough to let her pass. She hurriedly went. Today was the day. She could feel it in her bones. She believed this all the way down the street, around the corner, and halfway to Meridian Street. Then she heard the crash. The black sports car had swerved to avoid an elderly woman crossing the road and hit a fire hydrant hard enough to crumple the entire front end. The woman was on the wet asphalt with her grocery bag split open and oranges rolling into the gutter. The driver had stumbled out of the smoking car, coughing, one hand pressed onto the hood. The crowd that gathered did not go to the woman, instead they went to the driver. "You almost killed her!" "Pay for the damage!" "Someone call the police. These rich people think they own everything!" Not one person moved toward the elderly woman. She sat on the wet ground, alone and trembling, while the crowd circled the expensive car and the man beside it. Jessica dropped her bag and moved. She reached the woman first. Dropped to one knee on the wet asphalt without hesitating, her skirt making contact with the dirty ground. She ran her hands carefully along Ruth’s arms and shoulders. Nothing broken. Pulse steady. Jessica exhaled slowly. "Can you feel your legs? What's your name?" The woman blinked. "Ruth. I think.. I think I'm okay. Just frightened." "You're safe. I've got you. Don't try to stand yet." She stood up and found a man in the crowd with his fist raised at the driver's face. She was already moving before she decided to. She stepped in close, caught his wrist, and twisted his arm up behind his back in one smooth movement. He was twice her size. He pitched forward with a sharp gasp. "Back off," she said. Her voice came out low and completely steady. "He swerved to save her. Back off now." The man froze along with the whole crowd. She held the grip for two seconds. Then she let go and stepped back. And just like that, it was gone. Whatever had taken over released her. Her hands felt shaky at her sides. The crowd was staring at her, and she became suddenly, painfully aware of what she must look like right now. "Someone call an ambulance for her," she said, her voice small again. "Please." A man near the back already had his phone out. She turned to the driver. He had straightened up from the hood, catching his breath. When his eyes found hers in the dispersing crowd, she felt the heat of them before she looked away. "Are you hurt?" she asked. "No." His voice was low. "I'm…no." He stepped toward her. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with warm dark eyes. He was staring at her like she was something he had never seen before. "You just saved me from an ugly situation." "There's an ambulance coming." Jessica was already picking up her bag. She checked her watch and felt her stomach sink. "Stay with her until they arrive." "Wait." His hand caught her wrist carefully. "Please. Let me do something to repay you.” "You don't owe me anything." She pulled free gently. "I'm late." She hurriedly walked away without looking back. If she had, she would have seen him watching her go with an expression that had nothing to do with gratitude anymore. And his phone already in his hand. COLE LUXE The Cole Luxe building rose out of Sterling City's financial district like a crown. Glass and steel and clean lines that cost more than most people made in a lifetime. The lobby was white marble and soft lighting and women in perfectly tailored suits moving with the quiet efficiency of people who belonged there. Jessica walked through the revolving doors with her chin up and her folder pressed to her chest. She belonged here too. She just hadn't proven it yet. She gave her name at reception. Smoothed her bun and straightened her yellow blazer. The receptionist looked up. Her eyes moved over Jessica slowly. All the way down and all the way back up. The receptionist's smile stayed in place. But something behind it changed completely. "The interviews are closed for the morning," she said. Jessica blinked. "I'm sorry?" "The interviews are closed." "My confirmation email says nine o'clock." Jessica checked her watch. "It is nine o'clock." "I'm sorry, Miss—" "Mills. Jessica Mills." She kept her voice even. "I have a full portfolio right here. I just need five minutes.." "Look at yourself." The voice came sharp from behind the desk. A woman in a severe grey suit stepped out from the inner office. HR Director. Her eyes moved over Jessica once and that was enough. "Cole Luxe is one of the most prestigious luxury brands in the world," she said. Her voice was pleasant. Her eyes were not. "Our staff represent that standard every single day. Your presentation.." she paused, taking in her appearance, "…clearly does not fit the standard we require. I am sorry you made the trip." Jessica felt heat rise in her face. She pressed her thumbnail hard into her palm and breathed through it. "Five minutes," she said. "Just give me five minutes and my portfolio. I can show you things your current team has missed—" "Security." The HR director had already turned away. "Please show Miss Mills out." Two guards stepped forward. Jessica turned before they could touch her. Months of applying, crushed in five seconds because of how she looked. She walked toward the revolving doors with her vision blurring, already rehearsing what she'd tell Mr. Henley. "Ma'am." A mountain of a bodyguard in a black suit stood between her and the exit. "Mr. Adrian Cole would like to see you in his office. Please follow me." "I'm sorry…who?" "The Chief Operating Officer, ma'am." Bewildered, she followed him into a private glass elevator. The city dropped away beneath her, and her stomach went with it. **** The man behind the glass desk looked up the moment she stepped through the door. It was the driver from the street. Jessica stopped walking. Perfect dark suit now, tie straight, composed as if the smoking wreck on Meridian Street had happened to somebody else. His dark brown eyes moved over the damp curls at her neck, the smear on her skirt, and she became acutely conscious of every wrong thing about how she looked. She resisted the urge to cover the ripped seam. "Ah." The corner of his mouth lifted into a dimpled smirk. "My savior. I was wondering if I would see you again." "You're the driver," Jessica said. "Guilty. And you look downcast." His gaze dropped to the folder clutched against her ribs. "Let me guess. You had an interview this morning, and my HR department turned you away before you even sat down." "They said I didn't fit the standard." Her eyes went to the floor. "Because of how I look." "Forgive me, we haven’t been introduced." He rose and extended his hand. "Adrian Cole. COO of Cole Tech." He held her hand a second longer than a normal handshake. "And you are?" She shook it automatically. “Jessica. Jessica Mills" "Nice to meet you. Well, Jessica Mills." He rounded the desk and gestured to the door. "Come with me." **** The HR panel scrambled to their feet the moment Adrian walked into the interview room. "Mr. Adrian — we weren't expecting—" "I know." He pulled out the chair across the table and looked at Jessica. "Sit." She sat. Her heart was hammering so hard she was certain they could hear it. "Ignore the clothes," Adrian said. His voice was warm and easy and left no room for argument. "Show them what you can do." Jessica opened her bag. Her hands trembled slightly. Then her fingers found the tablet, connected it to the projector, and the trembling stopped. For the next twelve minutes she dismantled Cole Luxe's public market intelligence piece by piece. Three blind spots in their competitor analysis that had cost them market share in the last two quarters. And then presented the fix, clean and complete, to a room that had stopped breathing. The interviewers stared at the flashing data, mouths open. Adrian watched her with a widening smile and something sharper growing behind it. This woman is a weapon. His phone buzzed. He glanced at it — an urgent call from the top floor and stood, smoothing his jacket. "I have to go. You did brilliantly, Miss Mills." "Thank you, sir," she whispered, but the glass door had already clicked shut behind him. **** The message arrived at 7:43 PM while Jessica was on the subway home. *Dear Miss Mills. Following your interview today, we are pleased to offer you the position of Corporate Intelligence Analyst within the Strategic Division of Cole Luxe. Please report to the 39th floor on Monday at 8:00 AM sharp.* She read it once. Twice. A third time with her thumb pressed hard against the edge of her phone. The 39th floor. Everyone in Sterling City knew what lived on the 39th floor of the Cole Luxe building. Damon Cole. CEO of Cole Dynamics. Cold and ruthless. Completely indifferent to every person in his orbit. His executives rearranged their mornings to avoid crossing his path before noon. Six executives had reportedly quit rather than face another Monday on his floor. The most feared man in the city. And on Monday morning, Jessica Mills was going to walk into his building and work directly under him. She typed “I accept” and hit send. The subway doors opened. She couldn't wait just to get home and sleep, she turned to the corner of her street. All of her things were outside. Two boxes. Her duffle bag. Her small stack of books. Everything she owned piled on the wet pavement in the rain with a note taped to the top box in Mr. Henley's handwriting. Find somewhere else. Jessica stood in the rain and looked at her life sitting on the pavement getting wet. Her clothes were soaked through in thirty seconds. She pulled out her phone and called one of her best friends, Maya. "Hey." Maya picked up on the second ring. "How did it go?" "I got the job," Jessica said. Maya screamed so loudly Jessica had to hold the phone away from her ear. "Can I stay with you for a while?" Jessica asked when the screaming stopped. Maya’s voice dropped. "Jess. What happened?" "The landlord threw my things out." "WHAT—" "Can I stay?" "Get here RIGHT NOW," Maya said. "Debby is already cooking. Get here immediately." Jessica picked up the duffle bag. Then the boxes. She stacked them against her body in the rain and walked back to the subway. She had the job. She had the offer letter. Everything else could be fixed. She believed this completely, even standing in the rain with everything she owned in her arms.