Chapter 256

Hayden and Ron? Together? And that last name… Hart? All these thoughts slammed into my brain like a freight train. I’d had my doubts before, tried to connect the dots, but they both played it off as if I were imagining things. But now, seeing them here, there was no denying it.

“Hayden!” I called out.

Both Hayden and Ron turned. I was half-crouching by the pond, so they hadn't initially seen me. Ron even nudged Hayden, saying, “Who’s calling you? I thought I heard—”

Before he finished, Hayden spotted me and walked over. “You almost fell in,” he said, reaching out his hand. Thinking he was going to help me up, I started to grab it. But instead, he scooped me up as if I weighed nothing and carried me away from the pond. “Aren’t you supposed to be having lunch with Mrs. Johnston? What are you doing here?”

Seriously? We were at a restaurant. What did he think I was doing—feeding the fish?

Being swept up in his arms left me flustered. It took a moment to regain my bearings. I glanced at him, then at Ron, who stood nearby with a teasing smile, clearly amused. “You two… know each other?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Hayden said easily, then added, “We just met.”

Ron walked over. “So, Ms. Kay’s boyfriend is Mr. Hart. That means he came for a job interview with us because someone referred him. Was that you, Ms. Kay?”

His words clarified their presence. It all sounded reasonable. I had mentioned the OceanixCorp vacancy to Hayden before, but this was happening far too quickly.

I looked at Hayden, stunned. He seemed unfazed, though his voice softened slightly as he said, “Someone’s been paying a lot of attention to my girlfriend. Thought I’d stick around.”

I was speechless.

Even though Hayden’s voice was quiet, Ron caught on and laughed. “Ms. Kay, aren’t you going to welcome your new colleague?”

Wait, so Hayden got the job? It made sense given his experience, but this seemed too easy. Easy enough that Ron was already inviting him to a celebratory lunch?

“Ms. Kay, I look forward to working with you,” Hayden said, extending his hand.

I was about to shake it, but Ron jumped in, grinning. “With you two, a handshake? Come on, you should go for a hug.”

I was speechless. Again.

“Sure!” Hayden said with a smile, and the next thing I knew, he was pulling me into his arms.

“Perfect, just perfect,” Ron sighed dramatically.

Even though it was just a hug, and Hayden and I were officially a couple, I still felt a little embarrassed. I was about to step back when I heard a familiar voice, low and distressed.

“Jace, I don’t know what to do anymore. Tell me, what can I do to make your mom like me?”

It was Tanya.

“You don’t need to do anything,” Jace replied, his tone icy.

“Why?” she asked.

I knew exactly what he meant—Lindey didn’t like Tanya, and no amount of effort would change that. Jace was simply trying to spare her feelings.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you home,” Jace said.

There was silence from Tanya. I thought they’d left when Jace spoke again, his voice laced with frustration. “Come on, or do you still want to stay for lunch? Do you even have an appetite?”