Rain poured endlessly from the gray sky, turning the streets into a blur of reflections and rushing footsteps.
Lina Reyes tightened her grip on the paper bag she was holding, shielding it with her body as she ran. Her worn sneakers splashed through puddles, her hair already soaked and clinging to her face.
"Please don't let it get ruined… please…" she muttered, breathless.
This was her third delivery in the last hour—and if this one got messed up, she might lose her job.
She turned the corner too quickly.
And slammed straight into someone.
The impact knocked the bag from her hands.
"Oh no—!"
The contents spilled across the pavement—containers opening, sauce splattering.
And worst of all…
…onto a man's dark, perfectly tailored suit.
Time froze.
Lina's heart dropped to her stomach.
"I—I'm so sorry!" she blurted, immediately bowing over and over. "I didn't see you—I was rushing and—oh no, your suit—!"
She scrambled to pick things up, panic flooding her voice.
The man didn't move.
Slowly, Lina looked up.
He was tall. Impossibly so. His sharp features looked like they had been carved from stone, his expression unreadable. Rain slid off his umbrella, but not a single drop seemed to dare touch his polished shoes.
Even soaked in food stains…
…he looked expensive.
Dangerously expensive.
"I…" Lina swallowed hard. "I'll pay for the cleaning. I promise. It might take time, but I will—"
The man studied her.
Not the mess.
Not his suit.
Her.
"You'll pay?" he asked, voice calm—too calm.
"Yes!" she nodded quickly. "Even if I have to work extra shifts—"
A pause.
Then—
"How much do you earn in a day?"
"…Excuse me?"
"How much?"
Lina hesitated. "Around… five hundred pesos. On a good day."
Silence stretched between them.
Then something unexpected happened.
The corner of his lips twitched.
Not quite a smile.
But close.
"That won't cover this," he said.
Lina's face turned pale.
"I know… but I'll still—"
"Then work for me."
She blinked.
"…What?"
"Temporary," he clarified. "Until you've paid it off."
Lina stared at him, completely caught off guard.
"Work… for you?"
"Yes."
"Doing what?"
He glanced briefly at the mess, then back at her.
"Cleaning."
For a second, Lina wasn't sure if he was joking.
But his expression remained serious.
Something about this man was intimidating… yet strangely not cruel.
She looked at the ruined food.
At his stained suit.
At the rain still pouring down.
"…Okay," she said finally, gripping her hands tightly. "I'll do it."
The man nodded once.
"Report tomorrow. 8 AM."
He handed her a business card.
Lina took it with trembling fingers.
When she read the name printed on it—
Her eyes widened.
Adrian Hale
CEO
Her jaw nearly dropped.
CEO?!
She looked up—but he was already walking away, disappearing into a sleek black car that had pulled up beside him.
Lina stood frozen in the rain.
Clutching the card like it might disappear.
"…What did I just get myself into?"