Of course there wasn’t.
It had been a painfully dry summer.The city needed this.Just notnow.Not when she was running toward a confrontation she’d spent a year trying to avoid.
By the time she shoved through the glass doors of Saif Enterprises, she was dripping wet and trembling from the cold.Her tote bag weighed twice as much now, every thread of her blazer clinging to her skin.But she’d made it.
She was here.
“Jemma?”
She turned toward the voice.
Jim.
A familiar face behind the reception desk—except this desk wasn’t really reception.It was security.And Jim wasn’t just the guy who buzzed people in.He was a gatekeeper.He knew what passed through this building.And who.
“Hey, Jim,” she said, pushing wet hair out of her eyes and forcing a smile.
Her heart pounded, not from the run, but from what would come next.
Because upstairs, Saif was waiting.
The man who had once held her together—and then shattered her.The man she had walked away from.The man who didn’t bluff.
Memories rushed in like the rain—his touch, his voice, the weight of wanting him and the ache of knowing she couldn’t stay.She shut them down.
This wasn’t about the past.
This was about Jasper.And survival.Again.
“Did you get caught in the rain?”Jim asked, giving her a once-over with raised brows.
Jemma grimaced and nodded.“I have a meeting with Saif.”
Jim’s eyebrows shot up like she’d just announced a royal engagement.“You two are back together?”
She let out a short laugh, but it sounded brittle in her own ears.“No.This is just...a business meeting.”
At least, she hoped it was.
The desperate call from Jasper said otherwise.
Jim’s hopeful grin vanished.“Damn,” he muttered, already typing.A few keystrokes later, he slid a security badge across the marble counter.The wordVisitorstared up at her in bold, unforgiving letters.
“He’s been an absolute beast since you left,” Jim added in a low, confidential voice.
It was the kindest thing anyone had said to her all day.
She managed a genuine smile and nodded her thanks.Clipping the badge to the collar of her blouse, she glanced down—and froze.
Her blouse, soaked through from the rain, had turned translucent.Her lacy white bra was now front and center.
Of course.
She gasped and tried to tug the fabric away from her skin, shielding herself as best she could.No luck.
“Perfect,” she muttered under her breath.A cherry on top of a disaster sundae.
Still, she straightened her spine.There wasn’t time to dwell or dry off.
