POV: Leah
Now Jared has his own speech time, “Hello everyone, I’m Jared Connors. I’m so thrilled to be here.”
His eyes were glued to mine when he said that last sentence. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my body.
I didn’t even bother to hear the rest of his speech because he’s only talking about how excited he is to be working together with his dad’s employees in the future.
He even said, “I hope you all can learn a lot from me, as much as I can learn a lot from you.”
Jared ended his little speech with a smirk that was directly shown to me. The hint of arrogance in his tone is making me want to punch him.
After his father took over again to give his wrap up speech about the company’s future plan, his secretary came up to me and told me to meet Mr. Connors at his office, because he wants to talk.
I instantly got nervous because apparently he didn’t call the others to the office.
I heard a lot about Mr. Connors’ reputation on how he’s being a little hard on his employees, which scares me. I’m one of the students that he supported so I hope he’s not going to be too hard on me.
I made my way there and tried to calm down. When I’m ready, I knocked on the door twice and waited for a cue to come in.
Opening the door slowly and entering the room only hoping to see Mr. Connors there, but Jared was standing beside him.
“Hello, Leah,” Jared greeted me and his father who stood beside him looked at us back to back.
I was about to pretend that I didn’t know him, but Mr. Connors beat me into it.
“You two know each other?” I was about to tell him about the party, but Jared quickly opened his mouth.
“We met before. How about you introduce me to her officially, Dad?” He turned to me with a big smirk plastered on his face and all I wanted to do is to smack the living shit out of him.
“This is Leah Rosewood. She’s one of the three scholarship students that the company supported. Leah’s here is the most brilliant out of all two hundred students who applied. She really earned her place here. I chose her because of her focus, her analysis, and frankly, her potential. That Wallace memo she wrote was better than half the junior team’s output. She has a really bright future ahead of her.” I smiled at Jeff.
“Thank you so much. I can’t thanked enough for the opportunity, Mr. Connors. Your support means a lot to me.”
“You worked so hard to get here, Leah. You deserve the scholarship.” He then turned to Jared who faked a smile in front of him.
“So you guys must be wondering why I called you both here…” He said as he grabbed his iPad from his desk, making me turn to Jared and back to Jeff.
“I’m assuming that you want me to teach her,” Jared said confidently, making me want to gag. “I mean we both have a really great chemistry, Dad. We spen—” I jumped towards him and covered his mouth.
Mr. Connors looked confused and annoyed, seeing his son trying to play around, but continued, “I want you both to work on this litigation case. It’s sensitive, strategic, and one of our biggest clients.”
I slowly erased my hand from Jared's mouth and started staring at Mr. Connors, stunned with the new information.
“I want you to work together. Study the case, try to give me various solving problems and maybe give me ways of how to cover up their loop holes. Think of this as your audition. Leah, I’d like you to lead.”
I froze. Me? A leader?
“What?” Jared said sharply.
“She’s the one I trust to guide this from the ground up.” Mr. Connors didn’t even glance at him when said that. “Jared, I expect you to support her.”
My heart beat faster and Jared didn’t even move. But I could feel the heat coming off him like a furnace. Jeff gave us a firm nod.
“Impress me,” he said with a smile and pointed at the door. “You are dismissed now.”
“Thank you, Mr. Connors.” I smiled and he nodded.
I walked to the door and Jared followed me out from the room without saying anything to his dad. After he closed the door after us, I turned to him wanting to tell him my schedule. But he looked at me so intensely, it made the silence deafening.
Then he suddenly let out a laugh—low, bitter, humorless.
“So this is what it takes,” he muttered. “All my years of work, just to be benched for someone with a sob story and a perfect GPA.”
I turned to him slowly. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he said. “I’ve been training here since I was seventeen. Interned, clerked, studied everything. And then you walk in on a scholarship girl with probably some tragic backstory and suddenly, you’re the favorite.”
I stepped forward. “You think I got to lead our project because of pity?”
He smirked. “I think my father likes underdogs. Makes him feel noble.”
“Right. Because I couldn’t possibly be here on merit,” I snapped. “Just like you couldn’t possibly be here on nepotism.”
He stiffened at that one. Good.
“Oh, wait,” I said, voice colder. “You’re only here because of nepotism.”
His eyes darkened when I let out a dry laugh.
“Don’t pretend we’re the same. You’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve been under a microscope since the day I could spell ‘litigation.’ I screw up once, I lose everything.”
“And yet I’m the one working twice as hard just to breathe in the same room,” I hissed. “You’re right, I don’t have your connections and I don’t have your money. But you know what I do have? Drive, discipline and nothing to fall back on.”
He stepped toward me, close enough to make the space feel too small. “You think your hustle makes you superior?”
“No,” I said. “I think it makes me dangerous to people like you.”
His smile vanished. “You’re not dangerous, Leah. You’re just a glorified intern who got lucky.”
“And you’re just a scared little boy in a big suit,” I shot back. “So desperate for your daddy’s approval, you’d burn the whole building down if it meant he’d finally look at you.”
That one landed hard, I could feel it.
He stared at me, quiet for a beat before he hissed, “You don’t know a damn thing about me.”
“Neither do you,” I said, my voice shaking but firm. “So stop pretending I’m beneath you when you’re clearly terrified I might be your equal.”
He moved faster than I could process—slamming his hand beside my head, pinning me to the wall with a force that should’ve scared me. But it didn’t.
His chest nearly brushed mine, breath was hot and shallow. And his eyes—God, his eyes were devouring me like he hated that I could see through him.
“You really want to test me right now?” he growled. “Because I swear—”
“What?” I challenged, voice low. “You’ll put me in my place?”
He didn’t answer. His jaw flexed, eyes dropped to my lips, then lower—to the spot on my neck pulsing hard and fast. His whole body was coiled like a wire about to snap.
Jared’s nostrils flared when his fist at my side tightened.
He turned without another word, storming off and leaving me with my heart pounding and a hollow space where his presence had just been.