Chapter 3

Noon the next day. An upscale omakase restaurant in Downtown Seattle.

Jason arrived right on time, wearing a crisp new suit clearly meant to impress, his hair perfectly styled. He reeked of calculated effort.

When he saw the designer bag sitting next to me, his pupils actually dilated. The awe in his eyes deepened, and his tone grew even more deferential.

"Bennett, you're far too modest. With your elegance and style, there's no way you just run a small business."

He pulled out my chair, then spoke to the waiter before I could open my mouth. "Still water for the lady, please. Thank you."

Then, right on cue, he took a shot at Emily.

"If Emily had even half your maturity, taste, and understanding of the world, my life would be so much easier. I wouldn't have to worry about her all the time."

There it was again. Stepping on my daughter to elevate himself.

I watched him, my expression unreadable. "Does Emily know you asked me out to lunch?"

I set down my silverware and met his gaze.

Jason paused. A flicker of panic crossed his face before he smoothed it over with a casual smile. "I didn't tell her. I wanted to get a sense of her family background first. If we're going to be together long-term, I can't go in blind."

"Get a sense of what, exactly?" I pressed.

"What does Emily's family actually do?" He leaned forward, his probing so obvious it was almost insulting. "She doesn't act like she grew up in an average household. She's way too comfortable with high-end restaurants, investments, and the rules of these circles."

I knew exactly what this was. It wasn't curiosity. He was placing a bet.

Until he figured out the bottom line, he was keeping Emily as an insurance policy and eyeing me as a potential upgrade. Taking whatever he could get while thinking he was the smartest guy in the room.

"Are you interested in Emily, Jason, or just the tax bracket she might belong to?" I raised my eyes, my gaze sharp.

Panic flashed in his eyes again, but then he simply ripped off the last shred of decency.

"Honestly, I didn't just ask you out today because of Emily. I'm interested in everything about you."

"From the second I saw you yesterday, I knew you were the kind of woman a man wants to figure out completely. The kind he wants to keep by his side."

I looked at him, enunciating every word. "Jason Reed. You tell Emily you love her to her face, and then you turn around and ask her friend out behind her back. How do you think she'd feel if she knew?"

The color drained from his face.

I picked up my phone and gestured toward the screen. "Text me exactly what you just said."

Jason froze, suddenly wary. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you say I was so attractive you couldn't control yourself?" I kept my voice dead level. "If you have the guts to say it, put it in writing."

He stared at me for a few seconds, clearly betting that I wouldn't actually blow up his spot. Finally, he looked down and started typing.

A moment later, a new text popped up.

Emily is too complacent. She doesn't know how to plan for the future. She's leagues behind you. You're the one I'm really interested in. I want to get to know you one-on-one, and I want you by my side.

I saved the message, then looked up at him. "I have a habit of documenting my correspondence."

Jason's face went visibly pale. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"You saved that?" He gripped his water glass, his voice trembling, anger flaring in his eyes.

"You like calculating, don't you?" I said coldly. "Calculating family wealth, calculating leverage, calculating risk. Today, I'm going to calculate every last detail with you."

He forced himself to calm down, even having the audacity to argue back. "I just have feelings for you. It doesn't mean I don't like Emily. It's completely normal to have feelings for two people at once. You're just too attractive. I couldn't help myself."

I let out a harsh laugh.

"You don't like her. You like the resources she might bring you, and you like that she's naive and easy to fool." My tone dropped to freezing. "You use Emily as insurance, and you want to use me as a stepping stone. And you actually think you're smart?"

"Enough!" Jason slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his eyes turning vicious. "What do those texts prove? Go ahead, show Emily. Let's see who she believes—you or me. She's so crazy about me, she'll just think you're trying to drive a wedge between us."

He was betting that Emily was too blinded by love to see straight, and betting that I wouldn't dare tear the whole thing down.

Unfortunately for him, he bet wrong.

My phone buzzed. A message from my assistant:

[Ms. Bennett, the preliminary background check on Jason Reed is complete. We found material misrepresentations and exaggerated experience in his onboarding documents.]

[He falsified his degree status and related credentials, and failed to disclose a familial relationship with the employee who referred him. HR is currently verifying this against the original hiring records, degree verification services, and statements from the project leads.]

[On Project Oceanic, he only handled data maintenance and entry, yet claimed to have led the core module. His so-called management experience consisted entirely of supervising two interns.]

I watched Jason storm out of the restaurant and typed my reply:

Execute standard verification protocols. Base all conclusions strictly on original company records and facts confirmed by the project leads.