Ron was so chill that he didn’t feel like my boss at all–more like a friend.


    I smiled at him, then turned to Hayden. “You and Mr. Shane seem pretty tight. I’ve never seen


    anyone grab lunch with the boss right after an interview.”


    I mentioned it because Steve had told me that the person supporting Ron had thest name Hart.


    My suspicion red up again.


    “Mr. Shane just wanted to get to know me better,” Hayden said, taking a pause for dramatic effect. “I


    mean, a $1.5 million sry isn’t exactly pocket change.


    I gaped. That much?


    I really didn’t expect him to be worth that much.


    “What? You don’t think I’m worth it?” he asked, straight–up.


    I rolled my eyes. “No, that’s not what I meant.”


    After a beat, I asked, “So, what did you make at yourst job?


    “Fifteen grand a month,” Hayden said casually, and I nearly did a double–take. Ron was offering


    him, like,


    over eight times that.


    “Wow, he’s… definitely got guts,” I muttered, not sure what else to say as Hayden raised an


    eyebrow.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    “I was the one who threw out the number. I didn’t think he’d actually go for it,” Hayden admitted.


    I let out a dryugh. “OceanixCorp must really need talent.” I shook my head, still in disbelief.


    “You’ve got some guts, too, asking for that much.”


    Even at RiverwaveCorp, the deputy CEOs barely made that kind of money.


    “I’m worth it. Plus, I need the cash for our wedding,” Hayden added, making my face heat up.


    I cleared my throat and decided not to respond. I quickly started the car and asked, “Where to? I’ll


    give you a ride.”


    “What about you?” he shot back.


    “I’ll drop you off and then head back to the office.”


    “Mr. Shane said you’ve got the rest of the day off. We could hang out,” Hayden said,


    “You can ask him yourself. Do I look like the kind of guy who’d make that up?” Just as he finished,


    my phone buzzed. Sure enough, it was a text from Ron telling me to take the rest of the day off.


    I chuckled, shaking my head. “You’re really something else. You haven’t even started, and the boss


    is already rolling out the red carpet. Are you sure you’re not secretly best friends with Mr. Shane or,


    like, co- owners of thepany?”


    Hayden just looked at me, saying nothing. I held his gaze for a few seconds, then waved it off. Still,


    I


    couldn’t shake the feeling that Ron was being unusually chummy with Hayden, especially


    considering his backer’sst name was Hart.


    My imagination went into overdrive. “Hayden, do you have any siblings? Like a super–rich older


    brother or something?”


    *Just my sister, Yuna,”


    I frowned. “Okay, what about any loaded cousins with the samest name?”


    “I’ve got a few cousins, but they’re all pretty normal, just doing regr jobs. None of them are rich.”


    His straightforward answer left me at a dead end.


    Maybe I was overthinking things.


    I realized I was being paranoid. First, I’d suspected Matthew over a contract. Now, just because


    Ron had an investor named Hart, I was side–eyeing Hayden too.


    Ugh. I was even starting to annoy myself.


    “Have you ever been to a police station?” Hayden asked out of nowhere.


    I blinked and shook my head. “Nope.”


    I’d been a model citizen my whole life. What reason would I have to set foot in a police station?


    Then he hit me with, “So what’s this I heard about you molesting someone?”