“What do you mean you didn’t get it?!”
Alex groaned in frustration as she slumped down on a cold metal bench, her breath fogging in the morning air. The park was empty, tucked behind a warehouse in the quiet part of town. Concrete, trees, and failure wrapped around her like smoke.
David exhaled, the cigarette between his fingers glowing faintly as he leaned against the fence. He didn’t flinch at her outburst, just watched her through half-lidded eyes. Arthur, sitting beside her, had the decency to look guilty.
“Calm down, kid,” David muttered. “We didn’t get caught. We didn’t lose anything. You still have a job. That’s a win.”
“Yeah?” she snapped. “It doesn’t feel like one.”
Arthur leaned back, arms resting on his knees. “Come on, it’s not that bad. So you got close. That’s better than most people ever get with the Hales.” He grinned slightly. “It’s not like you kissed the man to distract him or something.”
Alex didn’t answer.
The silence stretched.
Arthur’s grin faded slowly. “Oh great heavens,” he whispered, eyes widening. “You actually did kiss the man to distract him.”
David groaned. “Cut it out, both of you.” He flicked the ash to the ground, voice suddenly sharp. “We’re not here to gossip like schoolchildren. Focus.”
Arthur cleared his throat. “Right. Sorry.”
David turned to Alex, his tone softening. “It was risky. It almost worked. But we don’t go twice in a row like amateurs. If we move now, they’ll see us coming. They’ll triple security, check the logs, dig through everything.”
She didn’t respond, but her clenched fists said enough.
David lowered his voice. “We wait. That’s the next move. We wait until they let their guard down again. Until it’s safer.”
Alex closed her eyes and nodded once.
David patted her shoulder and walked away.
Arthur stood up next. “For the record, that kiss thing? Bold move.” He winked and jogged after David.
Alex stayed seated, shoulders hunched forward, fingers tapping against her knees.
So close. She’d felt it in her bones yesterday—that strange, fleeting sense of control, like she’d finally gotten ahead of Zade Hale. But it had all been an illusion.
Now he knew.
And he hadn’t said anything.
She pulled out her phone and stared at it. A single notification flashed on the screen—Zade Hale is calling.
Her heart skipped.
For one second, she considered rejecting it. But then she answered, voice quieter than she expected.
“Alex.”
His voice. Calm. Controlled. Like always.
“I want to talk. In person.”
Her throat dried. “Where?”
“I’ll wait outside your company building. Give me half an hour.”
He hung up before she could answer.
***
Zade was already waiting by the time she arrived.
He leaned against the black stone wall of the building like he had all the time in the world, dressed in a dark coat, hair slightly tousled from the wind, hands in his pockets. He didn’t speak as she approached, and neither did she.
They walked in silence into the inner courtyard, where a small garden split the concrete walls into something vaguely peaceful. A bench sat under the shade of a leafless tree. Alex sat there. Zade remained standing, leaning his shoulder to the wall again like he hadn’t moved an inch.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, Zade’s lips curled into a faint smirk. “Are we gonna keep playing this cat and mouse game?”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
He huffed out a quiet laugh, but there was no amusement in it. “I know it was you. Or someone you trust. You broke into my archive last night.”
Alex’s stomach dropped.
Her face remained neutral, but her throat closed up in panic. How did he know? How much did he know?
“I’m guessing it wasn’t your dainty hands rummaging through my family’s dirty laundry,” he added casually. “But I know a distraction when I see one. Clever.”
Alex said nothing.
Zade tilted his head. “Relax. I’m not here to hand you over to the cops.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Then why are you here?”
He took a beat before answering, voice low and serious. “Because you should stop. Before it ends in something worse.”
She blinked.
He continued, stepping slightly away from the wall. “You’re lucky it was me who noticed. If it had been anyone else—my father, my brother—they would’ve eaten you alive.”
Alex’s jaw tightened. “Why didn’t you?”
Zade didn’t answer that.
The silence buzzed between them again.
Then he turned, as if to leave.
Alex stood up quickly. “You know I can’t stop. You know that. Not until one of us wins.”
Zade stopped mid-step. He looked at her over his shoulder.
“Yeah, I know.” He sounded tired. “I was just hoping you’d grow a little common sense.”
Alex didn’t reply.
He held her gaze for a moment longer, then walked away.
And still—nothing.
No mention of last night.
No mention of the kiss, of the blanket, of her grabbing his hand like it meant something.
Was he pretending it didn’t happen?
Or worse—was she?
She sat back down on the bench after he left, mind spinning, heart unsteady.
Was this going to be their new reality now?
Pretending?
Because if it was—she didn’t know how long she could keep doing it.