"Ni-ni left early," said Jisu. "She needed to stop by somewhere."Jia paced up and down the living room, her anxiety split in so many different directions that she didn't know which one was tormenting her the worst. There was the matter of having to look Atlas in the face when she got to the office after the idiotic performance she had put on last night. Drunk and blushing and falling all over herself - the only reason she didn't bury her hands in her face at the mere thought of it was because she didn't want Jisu asking unnecessary questions about why she was so agitated.But there was also the problem of finding Jini missing this morning. Jia had run around the kitchen after waking up ten minutes late to get breakfast ready, but upon knocking on their bedroom doors, only Jisu had come out."Did she say where? Is she with anyone?"He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. She's going straight to school after, I'll meet her before first period. Oh, and do

Jia couldn't pinpoint exactly when she had become this way. Only a few weeks ago, she had been swinging a wine bottle at Richard's head for trying to grope her, and now she was falling all over herself with a single burning look from Atlas Grayson, the man she would have sworn she hated not so long ago.Since when had his cold, piercing blue eyes become captivating instead of intimidating? No, that wasn't right: they were still intimidating, too, only now in a way that made her whole body tingle with nervous thrills instead of making her recoil in dread.She locked the glass doors with a swipe of her ID on the scanner, and then did her best to pretend unflappable composure as she turned to walk toward Atlas. He was still leaning against the door frame, looking languid and sure with a subtle slouch curving his tall frame. Broad in the shoulders, tapering at the hips; by no account was he excessively bulky and hulking. And yet he seemed to fill the room more and more wit

The metallic clink of his belt buckle piercing the air felt like an arctic wash over her skin, cripplingly cold and thrilling. She tried to control the sharp, breathy sounds trickling from her throat, but when his right hand freed the clasp of her bra and exposed her breasts to the cool air of the office, she sucked in a  loud gasp and felt her shoulders curling up of their own accord.

Atlas kept his promise. He never sent her out of the office and made sure that Lydia never saw much more than Jia’s head above the back of the sofa while the latter kept busy with her work tablet. Any papers she needed to handle were arranged in neat stacks on the coffee table, and she answered any calls that came into her bluetooth in a measured, mellow voice that wouldn’t distract Atlas on the other side of the office while he tended to his own duties.

 “You can sit there,” the boy said after letting Atlas into the apartment. He pointed at the worn, beige-colored three-seater couch against the wall with a folded blanket left on its rightmost cushion.Atlas took off his shoes upon seeing the boy do so, and then proceeded to where he had been directed. He could hear the sounds of water running somewhere past the narrow hallway toward the back; no doubt Jia had rushed in to take a shower as soon as she entered. He wondered how she would react when she came out to find a surprise waiting for her.“My sister’s coming back in a second. She said she was taking the trash out so that we aren’t overflowing in it when you come in.”Atlas reacted only with a gracious nod, and he was gifted with a grin and disarming shrug.“She still doesn’t like you.”This wasn’t one of his business meetings, negotiating with someone almost half his age in jean