The Wrong Woman

Jasper felt flustered and hastily attempted to deflect. "I could tell something was bothering you, and I figured it might have been related to the interview."

Imogen wasn't convinced by his explanation, which seemed full of holes. She questioned, "Maybe I'm just in a bad mood from a botched interview. How do you know I didn't even attend?"

Jasper fell silent, leaving Imogen staring at him, clearly baffled. He quickly shifted gears, making his way to the kitchen. "You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? Let me whip something up for you." "Jay," Imogen called after him.

Jasper remained focused on cooking. "What are you in the mood for? Maybe some beef?"

"Are you really not going to explain?"

"I was just guessing."

Imogen let out a deep sigh, unsure of how to respond.

Jasper avoided addressing the question by spending the entire evening holed up in his study, deeply immersed in work, and retiring to bed late into the night.

department as planned. She breezed through her initial interview and was hired on the spot. The straightforward process and the superficial interview seemed like mere formalities. They hired

contract with a flourish. If it weren't for Star Enterprise looming large before her, she'd find it hard to believe any of it

ID badge, everything was wrapped up smoothly in just a single day. It felt as though she

After finishing onboarding, instead

an adjacent, spacious building. Inside, the space was filled with mechanical displays and operational areas dedicated to the R&D

a hint. "Gerald, meet our specially recruited newcomer. Please make sure she settles in

a man in his 50s with thinning hair and a noticeable belly, scrutinized Imogen intently

accepted Imogen's resume

a highly paid expert poached from a prestigious institution

demanded his special

connected to some higher-up! I won't have such a 'specially

as the entire office turned to look

down. This isn't our call. It's out of

if a company as large as Star Enterprise, assigning someone with