Chapter 4

When I got back to my office from the black room, I spotted my phone lying on the floor, and Edward's face was staring back at me from the screen.

I looked down at the slick mess glistening on my fingers, and my mind flashed back to the image of him standing there with those red-rimmed eyes, lips wet and shiny, smiling at me as he said goodbye.

"What am I even thinking?" I muttered to myself.

I snapped out of it, scowled at my shiny fingers, and rushed to the bathroom to scrub them clean. God, this was so disgusting.

I figured the whole ordeal was behind me, but the very next day, Edward called. "Jamie, we need to talk in person," he said.

Hearing the firmness in his voice over the phone, I shut him down cold.

But as I was about to hang up, I heard his voice tighten with urgency. "Jamie, the black room game sent me a notification. There's going to be another round."

I agreed to meet Edward at a café so we could hash things out and then go our separate ways without having to suffer through an entire meal together.

Now that we were out of that claustrophobic black room, I could take a proper look at Edward across the table.

He wore a light blue knit sweater layered over a crisp white button-down, paired with white trousers and spotless white sneakers.

He looked impossibly young, like some fresh-faced college kid who hadn't yet set foot in the real world.

Edward propped his chin in his hand, his playful eyes sparkling as he grinned at me. "Jamie, why don't we get a little more comfortable with each other?"

I practically launched myself backward, landing at what felt like a safe distance. "What are you getting at?"

Edward's grin only widened. "Jamie, the black room could pull us in at any moment. If we're already comfortable with each other, we can breeze through whatever it throws at us next time.

"But if we vanish for too long in the middle of some critical company decision, that's going to be a real nightmare," he said.

A sly glint flickered in his smile. "Jamie, you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to the company you've worked your ass off for, would you?"

I met his earnest gaze, stayed silent for a beat, and then nodded.

*****

Since we were both high-profile figures, even the smallest move we made could rattle the business world and send stock prices into a tailspin. So we agreed to keep everything between us strictly private.

In the dead of night, I showed up at the hotel he had booked, decked out head to toe in full incognito mode.

"Are you serious? You booked a hotel under my name?" I said, exasperated, tossing my scarf and sunglasses onto the couch.

The way the front desk clerk had side-eyed him when he checked in, I was positive they knew exactly who I was.

Edward looked genuinely sheepish. "I only got back to the country and I don't really know how things work here.

"I picked the highest-rated hotel in the city and didn't think through the details. I guess I can be kind of clueless sometimes."

"Whatever, let's get this over with," I said, rolling my eyes. By now, I knew this was one of his quirks, so I didn't bother arguing.

"Alright, Jamie, go take a shower. I'm all cleaned up and waiting for you in bed," he said, throwing me a playful wink.

I whipped my head away. He looked so ridiculous that I couldn't even stand to look at him.

"Seriously, do we really need to shower just to be close to each other? This is so creepy," I said, thoroughly weirded out.

Edward sat on the king-sized bed and gave the blanket a pat. "I get it, Jamie. Maybe this feels like a lot. But last time we were practically glued together.

"Next time, it's probably going to get even more hands-on. We're following the mission here, so don't overthink it."

Something about the whole setup felt off, but he did have a point. Still, I couldn't shake the unease.

"Jamie, don't tell me you're scared." Edward tilted his head and smirked at me.

That ticked me off. "Who's scared? I'm going to shower right now!"

The moment I turned on the water, an icy blast hit my face and snapped me back to my senses.

Was Edward seriously messing with me right now?

I kept dragging my feet in the bathroom, stalling as long as I could. I couldn't bring myself to step out.

"Jamie, it's been two hours. Are you still alive in there? You didn't pass out in the tub, did you?" Edward knocked on the bathroom door, his voice laced with genuine concern.

I let out a long sigh. Well, whether I faced it head-on or kept hiding, it was all the same now. I'd already come this far. There was no point backing out now.

I wrapped myself tightly in the bathrobe, swung open the door, and marched out like a man walking to his own execution. "Alright, bring it on."