I wasn’t one of those people who were crazy about sweets and chocolate. It wasn’t like I had the need to drown myself in that sugary heaven and eat like there was no tomorrow. And I certainly didn’t need chocolate to pull me out of the depths of stress and sorrow.

But these last few days all I’d been doing was trading half-eaten Hershey's bars for new ones—as if I was searching for the Holy Grail among chocolate bars. Not even Alison and Marissa could pull me out of my depression. We’d had a chick flick marathon yesterday, stuffing ourselves with copious quantities of junk food, and while I loved spending time with them, this whole treacherous-Jared situation was killing the inner optimist in me.

I was like a deflated balloon, void of that cheerfulness that carried me through life, and no amount of self-help advice could bring a genuine smile to my face that just wouldn’t die the next second.

I’d been rejecting Jared’s calls and avoiding him when he’d suddenly shown up at Pathways. I barely managed to steer clear of him that afternoon, hoping he would just give up and never come back.

He hadn’t come back, but he continued calling, and I hated how with each new call, my heart crumbled more, begging my mind to reconsider and at least let me answer his call.

I told my best friends I was over Jared, claiming I’d be back in the dating scene in no time, but the truth was, of course, miles and miles away from that. I was feeling down—mildly putting it—relying on my work to help me drown out my negative thoughts.

The sessions with my clients were the only thing that helped me take my mind off Jared, which was why I was working a lot these days. This led to over-exhaustion and accumulated stress that prevented me from sleeping well, which was why I was like a walking zombie today in the office.

“Okay, honey. That’s enough,” Marissa told me earlier. “You aren’t helping anyone this way. I know you need to lose yourself in work because of that asshole Jared, but this is bad for your health. Go home and get some rest.”

I’d started to argue, telling her I was perfectly fine, but then Alison sided with Marissa, and there was no way I could stay at work with the two of them pressuring me to go home.

So, I’d finally threw in the towel and headed home, planning to crash earlier, but my plan failed when I reached the entrance of my building and I spotted Jared standing in front of it. What the hell?

My eyes widening, I swiveled in the hopes of escaping him before he noticed me, but it was too damn late. He was quick, grabbing my arm and keeping me in place no matter how hard I yanked against him.

“Let me go, Jared.”

“Please, listen to me, Claire.” His voice—and entire demeanor—exuded desperation, but I didn’t want to let the part of me that wanted to let him in again win. He was a liar and an asshole. There was nothing more to him than this.

“No.” I yanked again, but it was futile against his firm grip. “This is harassment. I’ll scream if you don’t let go of me right this second.” He released me as if I’d burned him, his brows scrunching up together. I glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I just want to talk with you, nothing else. I certainly haven’t come here to harass you. Since you haven’t been responding to my calls and texts, this was the only way for me to reach you.”

“Can you blame me after what you’ve done? And I clearly told you I don’t want to see you again. I haven’t changed my mind about that, so will you leave now?”

He let out a long sigh, running his hand down his face. He was clearly distressed, but he was trying his hardest to keep any negative emotions at bay.

“Look. I just want to tell you something important, so please listen to me. I won’t try to contact you after this, but please just give me five minutes of your time.”

“Now, that’s funny. You said the same thing when you showed up instead of Jay that night. And I actually made a stupid mistake of trusting you not to be the person I’d projected you to be.”

He looked so defeated that a huge portion of my defensive wall crumbled. He seemed sincere, but that was the real issue here. He’d seemed like a real deal the moment I made the foolish mistake of trusting him, and it had led me to this. Now, I couldn’t even trust my own judgment, which proved to be shitty with him.

“I understand that no matter how many times I tell you I’m not lying to you, you won’t believe me, but at least hear me out. This isn’t only about me. This is about Pathways too, and I think you may want to hear about that.”

His beautiful green eyes had been pleading me to listen to him, a hard line to his mouth slowly transforming into an inward slope the more I remained silent.

I let the words out before my reason could even protest, hoping I wouldn’t regret it, “Fine.”

I glanced at the cafe across the street. There was no way I would let him come to my place and threaten to completely demolish the wall I’d put between us. I didn’t trust myself enough to allow him to be that close to me in my home.

“You have only five minutes. And we’re going to that cafe.” I pointed at the place in question. “And you’re not going to try to convince me to be with you or forgive you or anything. Are we clear? The moment you start doing that, I’m gone.”

He nodded, relief, gratitude, and dismay showing on the attractive face that was haunting my dreams.

“Are you sure you can drink coffee that fast? Five minutes would be a record, you know,” he teased me, his benign smile showing me he was only trying to make me laugh. And my lips almost curled up at that. I almost allowed him to influence me that easily.

“Now is not the right time for you to be a smart-ass,” I bit back, making it sound sharper than I’d originally intended. I noticed a flash of anger in his eyes, but he tamed any possible outburst with a couple of deep breaths, which allowed that anger to dissipate.

Nice. So he was actually learning to control his anger. That was progress.

“Sorry. I won’t do that again,” he said, further surprising me, and headed to the cafe.

To my dismay, the place was what could best be described as a love nest. It was obvious that it was made for couples, with its dim lighting, soft music, and lit candles on tables covered with rose petals, which made this whole situation extremely awkward.

The only available booth was the one in the far corner of the cafe—which was half-secluded and had the tiniest seats ever. Jared and I would have to sit right next to each other, and I could only hope our bodies wouldn’t touch.

No such luck. Each time his knee or elbow brushed against mine, a rush of potent heat coursed through me, indicating that he still had a strong effect on me. And he wasn’t even touching me deliberately. I shuddered when I remembered what it felt like when he was touching me intentionally, especially all my intimate parts... I hated that I wanted him to touch me so, so much, even though that would be the worst thing to happen now.

I took a gulp of my black coffee, growing more fidgety with each passing second. He was too close. This looked very much like a date, especially with all these couples surrounding us. This had been a colossal mistake.

“Okay. Shoot.”

He drew his gaze from his coffee to my face, his lips parting as if he noticed just now how close we actually were. His eyes roamed over my features, taking in every single inch, and it was becoming unbearable. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. All I wanted was to claim those lips—to hell with mistakes and consequences.

But I couldn’t. He’d betrayed me. I couldn’t let this attraction—or whatever it was—erase my dignity and self-respect.

He looked away, clearing his throat. “I decided to quit my job.”

I whipped my head to look at him. “You did?”

“Yeah. I told you I hate it, and now—more than ever—I need to get out of the family business.”

My stomach churned at this news, and my mind fought against any warm feelings his admission might have induced. I refused to believe this had anything to do with me.

“It was high time. All these years I just followed the family business and did really well, but the longer I stayed there, the more I found it conflicted with my growing conscience.”

A bitter part of me wanted to snort at the “growing conscience” part, but a forgiving part of me—the one that wanted nothing more but to be with him again—wanted to hear him out without any snide remarks or derision.

“I don’t want to be that person who will destroy other people’s lives for money,” he continued, staring at his coffee with a frown on his face. “I feel like you were my wake-up call, Claire. All that time it felt like I needed a push. I needed something that would make me find the strength to get out of my family’s clutches. I was following their wishes and vision, not mine until I’d forgotten what my real dreams were.”

His voice hinted at a long-suppressed despondency, produced by years of neglected dreams and desires. I felt for him, I really did, but that didn’t change the fact that he had been lying to me. However, my heart was beating faster because of him, and a voice deep within me told me he obviously didn’t want to be a part of the scheme against Pathways anymore.

I was literally torn between my feelings and my fierce loyalty to my clinic and my friends. He’d lied to me, so even if he didn’t want to be a part of that unscrupulous world anymore, I couldn’t just receive him with open arms.

“Okay.” I shrugged my shoulders. “So, what does that have to do with Pathways?”

He faced me, and once more, his gaze touched each spot on my face, which brought intense color to my cheeks.

“I want to sell the shares of the corporation and open my own company. This way I can be independent and do things my own way.”

“That’s good, and I’m glad to hear it, but I still don’t understand how it has anything to do with—”

“I want to buy Pathways’ building and save it.”

And that clamped my mouth shut.