"Consider it at the very least. And don't let me catch you staring at me like a horndog again, you hear me?"

I gave him a rushed nod. "Yes, Sir." As soon as he loosened his grip, I was out in no time. I exited the gym and shivered my way toward my cheap car in the vast parking lot of the shopping plaza. My teeth chattered, and I couldn't wait to get home.

I revved the engine until the car wouldn't start. I tried again and again and again, and I slammed my fist on the steering wheel at the fear of my cheap-ass car dying on me again like last winter. "Fuck, not this shit again! Arghhh!" I rested my forehead against the wheel and blew a hard, visible breath. So much for trying my hardest to be independent. Why this all of a sudden? And why now? I just wanted to get home and go about my day as usual.

As soon as raindrops fell in thuds against the slightly cracked windshield, I knew now that my life grew a middle finger and waved it at me. Freezing rain. Of course this was happening. Of course, of course, of fucking course --

A hard knock on the driver's window startled me.

I turned my head and was taken aback by Nicholas standing there with a large black umbrella over his head. He gestured for me to roll down my window, and I did. I let out a breath and tried to smile, but I wasn't in the mood to give a detailed explanation. "My car just died again."

"I see that. I take it you need a ride?"

I sniffled. "Please?" I didn't care how tacky it was to take advantage of his offer so quickly. There was no way I was walking so many blocks home while the bus system wasn't always reliable.

"Come on, Jacques." He led the way.

I got out of my car and followed him without minding that I was getting rained on. Jacques, though? How had he known that? "Hey, how did you know my French name?"

"You made a big stink about it months ago at the front desk without realizing how loud you were being."

Oh. That. It'd been the last time I'd made the request and had given up ever since. To be fair, my snobby coworkers had mocked me over it and assumed I was being pretentious. I might have gotten a bit defensive.

I sniffled and formed a stronger smile at Nicholas while hopping inside his warm luxury sedan, also in black. He called me Jacques, though. He called me that when he could've ignored it and called me Jack, instead. I'd never forget it for the rest of my life.

Nicholas revved the engine and remained sat. He gave me his usual serious look. "Now, before I drive to where you live, would you like to see the job offer, or would you rather me take you straight home?"

"So ... this job ... you said it pays more?" I was intrigued and wondered if it was actually a good idea to check it out. I had nothing better to do than to hang out at home. Theresa would probably go out with her friends at some point.

"Much more."

"But, like, how much?" I closed my legs just a tad to avoid showing my growing bulge from his proximity. He drove me nuts so fast that it was unreal.

"What you make in a year, you could easily earn in a few paychecks."

My eyebrows flew up, and I suddenly realized that there was no way it could've involved cleaning or cooking. Yet he was still being rather obscure about this. "What's the actual job, though?"

"You'll know when you're there, hence my question. I'm a very private person, so you'll have to see for yourself."

Nicholas was a regular at the gym and had even been offended by my treating him like a hot piece of meat. I imagined he was far safer and tamer than the jerks I'd met before.

I drew in a deep breath and blew gently. The idea of no longer having to work in cleaning for what could be a big chunk of my life was the most appealing part of the offer. I looked at him with a small smile, always the type to let intrigue take control of my decisions, and I gave him a nod. "Let's see the job, then."