Shay's POV
The next morning, Chase texted me the coffee shop's address where Jason had agreed to meet me. After reading the text, I felt a weird, nervous, fluttery sensation in my stomach.
I kept reminding myself during the drive that I was only meeting up with Jasonâthere was absolutely nothing to feel worried or nervous about. But the feeling never went away. It stayed with me until I finally arrived at the coffee shop, parked my car, and went inside.
'Chika' was the name of the place. The mahogany interior gave it a cozy feel, with bookshelves aligned in one corner, green couches placed on the side, and decorative vines trailing down the white-painted walls. A big red neon sign behind the counter read, "Mama's coffee is the best."
Since it was still early in the morning, only about five to eight people were sitting inside. As soon as I walked in, the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted me.
I sat in a booth near the door, ordered a cappuccino, and waited for Jason to arrive. Just as the waitress brought my coffee, I noticed someone walking in. When I looked up, I saw him.
Jason never failed to make my heart skip a beat. I internally scolded myself for allowing that to happenâevery single time. He wore black shorts paired with a plain white tee, black Nike trainers, and black sunglasses perched on top of his head. A small duffel bag was in his other hand, and I quickly noticed that I wasn't the only one who had noticed him enter.
Jason was undeniably good-lookingâan indisputable fact. Whenever he walked into a room, he effortlessly pulled everyone's attention toward him. Both men and women. Even the waitress who brought my cappuccino lingered near my table longer than necessary, blatantly gawking at him.
He scanned the café for about a minute before his eyes finally landed on me. Flashing a smile, he walked toward my table and sat in the empty chair across from me.
"Hi."
I simply nodded with a smile and took a sip of my cappuccino without returning his greeting.
Why? Because I still felt uncomfortable with this whole arrangement.
"Has Chase told you everything?" I asked.
He nodded while quickly folded his arms, making his muscles flex under his white t-shirt.
Get a grip, Shay! He's your ex, for God's sake.
"Yeah. So let me get this straightâyou want your sister's position before the end of this month?"
"Yes."
"And the big responsibility that comes with it? The consequences if things go wrong? That doesn't faze you at all?"
"Nope. She's hell-bent on taking over my brother's position, and I'm just as determined to take over hers."
He chuckled and leaned back against his chair.
"Wow... okay. Um, you do realize this idea sounds crazy, right?"
I glared at him. "Are you going to help me or not?"
He raised both hands in mock surrender.
"I will. I'm just trying to come up with a concept we can use. If we need to make this work before the end of the month, then we need a solid plan."
Well, that's what I need you for, dummy.
Reaching into my bag, I pulled out my phone and browsed through my list of scheduled appointments. I had a beauty show program to attend next week, already scheduled for Tuesday morning. Zooming in, I showed the phone to him.
"Selina's beauty show program. With our cosmetic products advertised on the show, it'll be a great boost to our profit margins, right?"
He stared at the screen for about a minute, his brows scrunching together before he looked back at me with a small smile.
"That's the perfect start. We can work with that. We only have three weeks. The beauty show advertisement will increase sales and ratings for next week. Then, for our next step, we fly your team to China and contact Wei Advertisement, which operates under our company, to promote the cosmetic products in Gen Plazaâboth online and in print. The online promotion should be linked directly to Falcon Group Company's website. Every executive director has a work guideline provided by the company. It serves as a reference for the power they hold at workâturning something impossible into something possible. I can get you that guideline. After we complete the second step, you'll study it so you understand the kind of work you're aiming for."
I processed everything in my head and couldn't help but feel relieved at how confidently he explained everything. It made it seem like this plan would actually work. I may not trust him anymore, but I trusted that his ideas would.
Chase was rightâJason was an expert in this field.
Grinning happily, I noticed he seemed taken aback by my reaction but returned a hesitant smile.
"Okay, let's do it. I'll inform my team, and we'll start working on it right away."
He nodded firmly.
"Good. If we do this right and meet each week's deadlines, I guarantee you'll get that position."
My heart fluttered at his words, and I quickly hid the blush creeping onto my face by taking a long sip of my coffee. A quick glance at my phone told me it was nearly time to head to work.
Grabbing my handbag, I slipped a ten-dollar note onto the table for my coffee and looked down at Jason.
"I should get to work. Thanks for agreeing to this. I really appreciate your help."
He casually shrugged with a relaxed smile.
"Of course. I'd do anything forâ"
He suddenly trailed off. I caught the conflicted expression on his face before he replaced it with a neutral look.
"Anything for business, right?" I said, raising a brow.
He nodded slowly.
Without another word, I walked out of the coffee shop.
It was clear what he had meant to say, but he had stopped himself before letting the wrong words slip. Bringing any complicated feelings into this arrangement would only break the mutual understanding we had just established.
This was business. And I intended to keep it that way.