-Shawn-

I barged into Jacqueline's office and scowled down at her, brimming with indignation. I was seeing red by this point, my hands shaking with unfiltered disdain as I pointed an accusatory finger at her smug face. I tried to breathe, simmer down, but I could feel all the rationale escaping my body in a burst of boiling ire. My skin would melt off at any moment now, leaving nothing but bright, searing rage behind.

There was betrayal... and then there was this.

I impulsively searched the office for the bastard, even if I knew damn well that Jacqueline wasn't careless enough not to account for me storming into her office. Hell, she'd probably planned it all down to the millisecond, which meant all I could do now was seethe helplessly.

By now, the brat was clearly long gone for the day, and the only proof that he was ever here in the first place was the room's unnatural cleanliness.

"How dare you?" I snarled through gritted teeth, still trying to wrap my head around the utter deception.

Jacqueline rolled her eyes in response, glancing up with an unimpressed smirk before signaling towards the seat across from her. "What are you grumbling about this time, old man?"

"You hired him?" I yelled at her while hastily sitting down, not missing the way she narrowed her eyes in displeasure. If there was one thing Jacqueline didn't appreciate, it was being scolded. Unfortunately for her, I didn't give a rat's ass about her feelings for the time being. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Who are you yelling at, huh?" she questioned sharply, pursing her lips. Her gaze was surprisingly intimidating, which was just so goddamn bold of her considering I was the one being wronged.

I released a shaky breath, clenching my jaw in another feeble attempt to calm down. I slowly nodded my head while rubbing at my temple, unable to wrap my head around this choice of hers. I trusted Jacqueline, usually to unprecedented degrees, but this was just... all sorts of messed up. Did she really need me to have a stroke so soon into my thirties?

I could see the confident, knowing expression on her face, a charismatic glimmer that spelled out "just trust me" in all-caps, possessing all the brutish subtlety of a flashing neon sign. But... I simply couldn't. Not this time. Even I had my hard limits; there was no way I could be on board with that brat working here, not if there was even slight possibility that he could pose a threat to my family.

Besides, how did she expect me to focus on work when I'd be spending all my time plotting how to murder him without going to prison?

"You're dead to me," I announced, folding my arms across my chest.

"You better write me a good eulogy, then," Jacqueline retorted while leaning back against her chair, unwilling to compromise. "I have a meeting soon, so I'm going to need you to have this meltdown in 2x speed. Reverb's optional."

"R-reverb?"

Jacqueline let out an impatient exhale, meeting my gaze with a certain determination. "Just trust me on this, okay? I know what I'm doing."

I glowered at her, unsure of what else I could even say. Trying to change her mind was an uphill battle, but I wasn't going to magically accept that bastard. It was clear we both understood the other enough to know there'd be no compromise, so perhaps that was why I was shaking with frustration, brooding down to the very core of my being.

We were at an impasse, and there would be no seeing eye to eye.

She sighed. "Shawn."

"Jacqueline," I muttered in response.

She quirked an eyebrow.

"You could've at least eased me into it," I finally explained, sighing under my breath. "How was I not supposed to feel blind-sided?"

To add insult to injury, she'd had the nerve to break the news by cc'ing me on an e-mail to Ira, our Hiring Manager. She'd casually let us know about the "sudden development" of Eric's impending internship and asked her for any required paperwork that they might need to submit to make sure it was smoothly approved. There was no mention of it beforehand, and no discussion of it requested either.

Hell, there was no mention of me either, as if she was just letting me know out of the kindness of her goddamn heart.

She'd just dropped it on me like it wasn't a clear sign of disloyalty. Treason, really. She should've just publicly executed me if she was willing to go this far. That would've stung less than this public display of insolence.

"Fine, yes. I could've," Jacqueline conceded, though she didn't seem all that apologetic. "Now..."

I grumbled frustratedly. "Why? Why him?"

"Would you have heard me out?" she questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hell no!"

She deadpanned, signaling towards my face. "See?"

"You crossed a line," I protested, shaking my head in disbelief. "There's no way I'm letting him work here, Jacqueline. You'll have to kill me first."

Jacqueline didn't say anything right away, which I initially mistook as her begrudgingly reconsidering her stance. Though, everything became clear once she grabbed onto her purse, trying to get up and walk away without even letting us finish this discussion. I shot up and sidestepped to block her path of escape, scoffing at the lack of urgency with which she tilted her head.

"Meeting," she bit out.

"I mean it, Sterling. Over my dead body."

"I guess you'll be needing a eulogy too, then," she remarked, looking down at her freshly manicured nails before signaling towards her laptop on the desk. "Maybe if we do a double funeral, we can get a discount; why don't you look into it?"

"You're insufferable."

"That makes two of us, then."

"Jacqueline..."

"He's already hired. You'll have to deal," she explained, shrugging it off like it was no big deal. Like it was out of her hands now. "Besides, weren't you the one jumping the gun and treating him like an unpaid intern just a few hours ago?"

"He offered," I defended through gritted teeth. "Besides, it was the least he could do!"

"And did he do a good job?"

"That—that's not... ugh! You're not authorized to just hire someone, especially not without my knowledge!" I complained, and it felt like my left eye was pulsing from the stress. "Why not just head down to the county jail and hire whoever they've recently booked while we're at it?"

Jacqueline snorted at that, snickering to herself before slowly setting down her phone. "The only person I needed to run that by was Ira, which I did. Any more questions?"

"Why do you hate me?"

"I don't."

"Then?"

Jacqueline deadpanned, signaling for me to move out of her way. "Are you really going to throw a tantrum over some kid getting an internship here for a few months, Shawn?"

"He—he almost kidnapped Meghan!" I exclaimed, which just earned me another eye roll.

"So, he has some transportation experience. Good quality for an intern," Jacqueline noted sarcastically under her breath, walking right at me.

I grumbled while stepping aside, shooting her a dirty glare. "As far as I recall, we were supposed to be getting an intern for our floor sector, not for you. And I definitely don't want some creep working for us! Find someone else!"

Jacqueline turned back, narrowing her eyes. "Remember what Meghan told you?"

I narrowed my eyes, unwilling to humor her with an answer.

"Because I do. You were bitching at me about it just last night, weren't you? That she kept defending him? That she mentioned how nothing happened?"

"Nothing happened because I got there!"

"Is that so?"

"Maybe he intimidated her into silence!" I exclaimed, still not having ruled that out entirely. Yeah, Meghan was not typically the type to argue when agreeing would help her case, but that entire night was a hellish blur by now. I didn't know what to think, let alone believe.

"Eric? The one that wanders around like a lost puppy looking for an owner?" Jacqueline asked incredulously, scoffing under her breath before leaning back against the doorframe. She tapped her foot impatiently, clearly restraining herself from walking off. "That one?"

I frowned, unsure of how she'd reached the same metaphor that I had just hours prior. "A stupid, clueless mutt, yes. Wagging its stupid tail for nothing."

Jacqueline stifled a laugh. "See?"

"That doesn't mean I want him around here," I retorted, grumbling under my breath. Eric was still a threat, even if he was also too naïve for his own good. The two weren't mutually exclusive. If anything, it greatly concerned me to know that he couldn't be truly intimidated into staying away, his lack of self-preservation clearly getting in the way of any rational decision-making.

Why the hell would he even agree to Jacqueline's ridiculous plan? Didn't he know I'd seek revenge? Wasn't that obvious?

"C'mon. He literally hand-delivered your ugly wallet, didn't he?"

"So, he knows how to fetch," I groused, raising an eyebrow. "And?"

Surprisingly, Jacqueline looked just as frustrated as I felt in that moment. She huffed out before harshly poking at my chest. "You need to get over yourself," Jacqueline ordered, glaring up at me.

I sighed, wondering what I could possibly say to change her mind. She knew exactly what had gone down, so why didn't she understand just how troublesome it would be for the brat to be hanging around here?

"Meghan stops by sometimes," I muttered, unable to come up with much else as a means to counter her. "What if—"

"If I had even the slightest inkling of a doubt that he wasn't trustworthy, I wouldn't have hired him," Jacqueline retorted, and I was almost jealous of how certain she sounded in that moment, her eyes lit with undeterred determination.

I sighed. "You're so full of shit."

Which, that was apparently not the right thing to say.

"I offered him the spot because he's efficient and hard working. Here's a thought: If you're so worried about Meghan getting into trouble, why not keep a better eye on her? You do that, and I'll make sure to handle him," Jacqueline gritted out before walking off to her meeting. "And don't follow me!"

I frowned at her from the doorway. "You think I can control her?"

Jacqueline huffed in disbelief, looking at me like I was the one with the screw loose. "I didn't say to control her, idiot. You're a parent, not a dictator. So, parent her."

I scoffed at her condescending tone, taking a step forward before reconsidering trailing after her. This would inevitably end with a big spectacle in front of our co-workers, and Jacqueline wasn't above that in the least. "I meant what I said earlier! You're dead to me, Sterling!"

Jacqueline actually turned to look at me while walking towards the elevator, shrugging sarcastically. "You said the same thing last week when I ate the last bagel in the rec. room. It was fucking delicious, by the way!" And then she turned back, the insolent rat.

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A/N: Thank you for reading. Please consider voting and commenting; I appreciate it immensely!