After several rounds of rescheduling and back-and-forth messages, Jayden finally agreed to meet him.
Not because she wanted to.
Because dragging it any further was already starting to irritate him and strangely enough, that amused her.
Still, she made one thing clear to herself:
This was only a meeting.
Nothing more.
No promises. No wedding plans. No emotional commitment.
If she didn't like what she saw or sensed she would walk away before things went any further.
To avoid distractions, she chose a time after work, when her mind would be clear enough to deal with whatever came.
The location was intentional too.
A quiet upscale restaurant not too far from her office private enough for conversation, elegant enough to avoid gossip.
Jayden arrived ten minutes early.
The moment she stepped into the private dining section, she paused slightly.
Soft music drifted through the room. Candlelight flickered gently against polished glass, and a bouquet of roses rested neatly at the center of the table prepared for them.
So he planned this carefully.
She slowly took her seat, trying to find fault in the setup.
Something pretentious. Something arrogant.
Anything she could use against him later.
But annoyingly enough
Everything looked… perfect.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
Great.
Now she couldn't even complain properly.
Her fingers tapped lightly against the table as different scenarios played through her mind.
What if he was arrogant?
Controlling?
Boring?
Or worse
What if he was actually decent?
That thought unsettled her more than the others.
Then she looked up.
And froze.
A man was walking toward her table.
Tall.
Easily over six feet.
His dark hair was neatly pushed back, revealing sharp features and a strong jawline. But it was his eyes that caught her attention cold grey, calm and unreadable, carrying an intensity that made her chest tighten unexpectedly.
He moved with quiet confidence, every step measured.
For a second, Jayden forgot the speech she had prepared in her head.
So this is Almond Jones.
And annoyingly
He was breathtaking.
Almond stopped in front of the table.
"Hello," he said smoothly. "You must be Miss Cole."
His voice was calm, deep.
"Apologies for keeping you waiting. Something urgent came up at work."
But Almond barely registered his own words.
Because now that he was closer
He understood immediately why people spoke about Jayden Cole the way they did.
Beautiful wasn't enough.
There was something striking about her. Not just her appearance, but the way she carried herself composed, sharp-eyed, quietly guarded.
And those green eyes
Dangerous.
For the briefest moment, Almond found himself staring longer than intended.
Jayden noticed.
Of course she did.
"You're right," she said finally, leaning back slightly. "I'm Jayden Cole."
Her tone remained polite.
Barely.
"And you must be Almond Jones."
Then her lips curved faintly not warmly, but knowingly.
"I'll be honest, Mr. Jones. You already failed the first test."
Almond raised a brow slightly.
"Oh?"
"You arrived late." She folded her arms lightly. "Maybe you have a good excuse. Or maybe you're one of those men who believe women should naturally wait for them."
Interesting.
Most people softened around him.
She sharpened instead.
Jayden continued before he could respond.
"To save both of us time, I don't think this arrangement will work." She gestured lazily between them. "So perhaps we should just survive dinner, smile enough for our parents' spies to feel accomplished, and go our separate ways peacefully."
A faint pause.
Then she added casually,
"I'm almost certain someone is watching us right now, by the way."
For the first time that evening
Almond smiled.
Slightly.
Not because she was trying to dismiss him.
But because she was nothing like he expected.
And somehow…
That made him even more interested.