The next morning, Jay walked into Mariano Enterprises fuming.
"He gave me his jacket," she announced to no one.
Aries looked up from his phone in the lobby. "Wait, what?"
"Last night. After dinner. I was cold and he just... put his jacket on me. Like it was nothing."
Aries raised an eyebrow. "That's... kinda sweet?"
"IT'S NOT SWEET. It's manipulative. He's trying to get in my head."
"By keeping you warm? Evil."
"SHUT UP."
Percy appeared, coffee in hand. "Who's evil?"
"Keifer Watson," Jay spat.
Percy sipped his coffee. "The guy you've been fighting with for weeks? The one you mention at least ten times a day?"
"I do NOT mention him ten times a—" Jay stopped. "Wait. How do you know how many times I mention him?"
Percy smiled. "Honey keeps count."
Jay stared. "You're texting Honey about me?"
"We text about lots of things. The weather. Coffee. How her boss mentions you too."
Jay's brain short-circuited. "He WHAT?"
Percy shrugged. "Just saying." Then he walked away, whistling.
Jay stood frozen in the middle of the lobby.
He mentions me? Like... mentions me mentions me? Or mentions me like 'that annoying girl' mentions me?
She didn't know which was worse.
At Watson Enterprises, Keifer was having his own crisis.
He sat at his desk, staring at nothing.
Honey walked in with coffee. "Sir? Your 10am is here."
He didn't move.
"Sir?"
He blinked. "What?"
"Your meeting. It's here."
"Right. Send them in."
Honey didn't leave. She tilted her head. "You okay? You've been... off. All week."
"I'm fine."
"You're thinking about her again."
Keifer's eyes snapped to her. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Honey smiled. "Sure, sir. Also, Percy says hi."
Keifer frowned. "Percy? Her brother?"
"They're friends. Well. More than friends. Hopefully."
Keifer rubbed his temples. "This is a nightmare."
Honey patted his shoulder. "Love usually is."
"IT'S NOT LOVE."
"Okay, sir."
She left. Keifer put his head on his desk.
The families, meanwhile, were having the time of their lives.
Group Chat: Jayfer Shipping Department
Keizer: Did you see them at dinner? The tension???
Jasfer: I thought they were gonna kill each other. Romantic.
Mama Reycee: He gave her his jacket. I saw it. OUTSIDE. In the cold.
Serina: Keifer never gives anyone his jacket. Ever.
Keizer: JAYFER IS REAL.
Aries: Can you guys chill? They literally hate each other.
Keizer: HATE = PASSION. PASSION = LOVE.
Aries: That's not how it works.
Mama Reycee: Let us have this, Aries.
Ella: babe just let them ship lol
Aries: Fine. But when they actually kill each other, don't blame me.
Keizer: WORTH IT.
The next meeting was brutal.
Jay walked in ready for war. She'd spent all night convincing herself that the jacket meant nothing. He was just being polite. Barely. Probably.
Keifer sat at the table, face like stone. He didn't look at her when she walked in.
Good. She didn't want him to.
"Let's start," he said coldly.
"Finally," she replied. "Something we agree on."
The meeting went downhill from there.
"Your budget projections are optimistic."
"Your timeline is impossible."
"Your team moves too slow."
"Your team has no creativity."
"Creativity doesn't pay bills."
"Neither does being a robot."
Keifer's jaw tightened. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Jay leaned forward. "You run your company like a machine. No heart. No soul. Just numbers and rules. It's boring."
"And you run yours like a circus. All flash, no substance."
"I have substance."
"Where? I haven't seen it."
"Maybe you're not looking hard enough."
Their faces were inches apart now. The room was dead silent.
Keifer's voice dropped low. "I look at you plenty, Mariano. I don't like what I see."
Jay's heart cracked. Just a little. But she didn't show it.
"Good," she said, voice steady. "Then stop looking."
She stood up, grabbed her things, and walked out.
The door slammed behind her.
Silence.
Keifer sat there, expression unchanged. But under the table, his hands were shaking.
Honey peeked in. "Sir? Should I—"
"No."
He didn't move for a long time.
Jay made it to the elevator before her eyes burned.
She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't.
He didn't like what he saw.
Fine. She didn't like what she saw either.
Liar, her heart whispered.
She punched the elevator button harder than necessary.
That night, both families heard about the fight.
Keizer found Keifer in the home gym, punching a bag like it owed him money.
"Son."
Keifer didn't stop.
"That bad, huh?"
Nothing.
Keizer sighed. "You know, when I first met your mom, I told her she was the most annoying person I'd ever met."
Keifer paused. Just for a second.
"And now?" Keifer asked quietly.
Keizer smiled. "Now she's the most annoying person I've ever met. But I also can't live without her. Funny how that works."
Keifer went back to punching.
"She's not annoying," he muttered between hits. "She's... everything. And I told her I didn't like looking at her."
Keizer winced. "Ouch. Yeah, that's bad."
"I know."
"Like, really bad."
"I KNOW."
Keizer patted his back. "Well. Good luck, son. You're gonna need it."
At the Mariano house, Jay was locked in her room.
Aries knocked. "Jay. Come on. Talk to me."
"Go away."
"Ella made cookies."
"...What kind?"
"Chocolate chip."
The door opened a crack. Jay's face appeared, eyes red. "Give me the cookies first. Then you can talk."
Aries handed over a plate. Jay sat on her bed, shoving cookies in her mouth.
"He said he doesn't like looking at me," she said, mouth full.
Aries sat beside her. "He's an idiot."
"A hot idiot."
"Jay."
"What? He IS hot. I can admit that and hate him at the same time."
Aries sighed. "This is messy."
"I KNOW." Jay dropped her cookie. "Why does he have to be so... him? Why can't he just be ugly and dumb?"
"Life's not fair."
"Tell me about it."
They sat in silence for a bit.
Then Jay's phone buzzed.
Unknown Number: I didn't mean it. - K.W.
She stared at the screen.
Jay: Then why did you say it.
Keifer: Because I'm an idiot.
Jay: Agreed.
Keifer: Can we start over?
Jay: No.
Keifer: Didn't think so.
Jay: Stop texting me.
Keifer: Okay.
She waited. No more messages.
She threw her phone across the bed.
"Stupid," she muttered. "Stupid stupid stupid."
Aries raised an eyebrow. "The cookies or him?"
"HIM OBVIOUSLY."
The next morning, Jay walked into work ready to forget everything.
A vase of flowers sat on her desk. White roses. Simple. Elegant.
The card said: I still don't like what I see. I like it too much. That's the problem. - K.
Jay read it five times.
Then she read it again.
Then she called Percy.
"Get Honey's number. Now."
"For what?"
"I need to know what his problem is."
Percy laughed. "You mean you want to know if he likes you."
"I want to know why he's so ANNOYING."
"Same thing."
Jay hung up on him.
But she didn't throw the flowers away.