The next morning, Ethan stood leaning casually against the car in front of Jessica’s apartment building.

The early sunlight reflected off the polished black vehicle, and Ethan checked his watch, glancing occasionally at the apartment entrance.

Mark was standing next to the driver's door. His expression and stance were always ready for anything.

Jessica came out of the building. She carried a big black bag on her back and her keys in her hand. She walked steadily toward her car parked on the roadside.

She stopped when she saw Ethan. He was hard to miss. Words seemed to stick in her throat, and her eyes widened. “Ethan? What are you doing here?”

Ethan straightened and smiled warmly. “Good morning, Jessica. I thought I’d—”

Before he could finish, another voice interrupted from inside the car. “Jessica! Hey, good morning!”

Jessica blinked, now thoroughly confused. She leaned slightly to peer past Ethan, where Jordan grinned at her from the car’s open window. He was leaning out comically, waving enthusiastically.

“Guess what? Never in your mind that we're going to accompany you back to your hometown, right?” Jordan said, his grin as wide as ever. “Ethan here insisted on making this all official, so voila! The escort team is ready to serve.”

Jessica raised her eyebrow and looked back at Ethan. “Escort team?”

Ethan rubbed the back of his neck, his sheepish smile giving away more than he intended. “It’s… uh, kind of a last-minute arrangement.”

Jessica stared at the unlikely trio, her surprise slowly giving way to amusement.

"Let me clarify. You," she pointed at Ethan, "came all the way here. And you," she gestured to Jordan, "came along for support?"

Jordan threw his hands up dramatically. “I'm the manager. I'll need to manage everything.”

Jessica couldn’t suppress her laughter. “You’re impossible, Jordan.”

Ethan cleared his throat, trying to steer the conversation back. “We thought it would be nice to make sure you get to your hometown safely. Mark’s driving, so you can relax.”

Jessica crossed her arms, giving Ethan a look. “And whose idea was this, exactly?”

Ethan hesitated, glancing briefly at Mark, who raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. “It was… sort of my mom’s suggestion.”

Jordan burst out laughing and slapped the side of the car door. “Your mom is a really good cupid!”

Jessica shook her head and laughed. “I'm speechless. This is… unexpected. But I appreciate it. However, I'm going for three days.”

"Don’t you think I should drive by myself?" Jessica asked.

Before Ethan could answer, Jordan said, "Don’t worry. Ethan told us to pack for a week."

Mark, as stoic as ever, opened the car door for Jessica. “If you’re ready, Miss Moore.”

Jessica glanced between the three men, finally shrugging. “Alright, then. Let’s do this.”

As she slid into the car, Jordan immediately started a lively conversation about the snacks he’d brought for the trip while Ethan leaned back with a small smile, content to let the banter flow.

Mark, meanwhile, started the car with the same calm efficiency he brought to everything.

As the car eased onto the road, Mark glanced briefly at the rearview mirror. “Where to, Miss Moore?”

Jessica quickly pulled out her phone and opened her map app. “It’s Brookville. About two hours from here,” she said, leaning forward to show him the directions. “Just follow this route, and I’ll guide you if needed.”

Mark nodded, his attention shifting back to the road. “Understood.”

Up front, Jordan leaned toward Mark with an easy grin. “Two hours, huh? I have time to learn more about you, Mark. Let’s start with something simple. I know; what's your favorite food, Mark?”

Mark, who was surprised by the question, raised his eyebrows. Still, he answered Jordan, “I don’t think I have one,” he said.

Jordan gasped theatrically. “What? You must have a favorite food! Everyone has. There must be something you really like. Pizza? Burgers? Anything?”

Mark's lips moved slightly as if he was trying not to smile. “I eat what’s available. I don’t think about it much. I used to be in the army.”

Jordan groaned. “You’re killing me here, Mark. Even if you were in the army, you're not a robot. There must be something you like."

Mark's tone became gentler as he thought of Mamori. "Well, I think I have a few or... maybe I've missed some. There are my late wife's cooking."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Jordan was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that response. “That’s unfortunate. I’m sorry, Mark.”

Ethan and Jessica, who were listening, also felt sorry.

Jordan tried to lighten the mood again and asked, "Alright, next question—what’s your favorite color?”

Mark looked at him, and his usual serious expression softened a lot. “Why do you want to know that?”

“I’m not sure,” Jordan said, holding his arms out. “I’m a manager now. Ethan sent me to a lot of courses this week. So, I think it’s my job to understand the people I work with, even if they aren’t on my team. This is part of my job.”

Mark shook his head slightly but humored him. “Blue.”

“Ah, a classic,” Jordan said, nodding sagely. “I knew you were a blue kind of guy. Reliable, calm, but with a mysterious side.”

Ethan, sitting in the back, watched the exchange with a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

'What kind of magic does this guy have?' he thought, observing how effortlessly Jordan’s relentless charm seemed to draw Mark out of his shell. 'If Jordan had a system like mine, his Charisma stat would probably be maxed out.'

The thought made Ethan smile. He felt reassured that hiring Jordan as the manager had been one of his better decisions. Someone with Jordan’s ability to connect with others would be invaluable as Nova Tech grew.

Meanwhile, Jessica sat quietly beside Ethan, watching the scenery pass by. The cheerful chatter in the front seat filled the car, but she couldn’t shake a slight awkwardness.

It wasn’t anything bad—just a shy, unfamiliar feeling of sharing the back seat with Ethan.

Jessica glanced at Ethan, noticing the faint smile on his face as he stared ahead. She hesitated, then decided to break the ice.

“So, Ethan—”

“So, Jessica—”

They both spoke at the same time and immediately stopped, blinking at each other in surprise. Jordan, hearing the overlapping voices, turned halfway in his seat with an exaggerated grin.

“Well, well, what’s this? Synchronizing already? You two should totally go on a duet show.”

Ethan shook his head, chuckling. “Sorry, you go first.”

Jessica smiled as her nervousness faded. “How did you come up with the idea for Nova Tech? It must have taken a lot of courage to start something so ambitious.”

Ethan thought for a moment. He couldn’t tell the truth about how everything began with David. Mark and Jordan stopped talking and wanted to know how Ethan got started.

Mark is curious about his boss, while Jordan is surprised to learn that Ethan has suddenly become rich. When he first saw Nova Tech's headquarters, he couldn’t understand how Ethan could afford it.

Ethan cleared his throat and replied, “That’s a good question. To be honest, it all began with a small idea. Then fate intervened. I met David at the bookstore, and during our conversation, he suggested that I start a company.”

"Well, it's nothing special at the moment since we're still in the hiring process. How about you? How did you get into real estate?" Ethan asked.

Jessica relaxed as the conversation changed tone, feeling grateful for the shift in atmosphere. "It wasn't really planned. I stumbled into it after college because I couldn't find a job related to my field. I struggled quite a bit to earn significant commissions. But..."

She paused before a smile appeared on her face, "As what you said. Fate played its part. I met you."

Mark glanced briefly in the mirror, his deep voice contributing to the conversation. “Then I'm just like you.”

“We all are,” Jessica admitted, smiling softly. “That’s what makes it interesting—how we all ended up here because of Ethan.”

Jordan nodded. “When you put it that way, I can’t believe this guy offered me a management position. But after all the courses he forced me to attend, I actually think this position is pretty awesome.”

The entire car erupted in laughter, the earlier awkwardness completely fading away. Ethan couldn’t help but feel grateful for the mix of personalities in the car, each contributing something unique to the moment.

***

As the car drove smoothly onto the highway, the city skyline grew smaller in the distance, and the mood inside the car changed.

The playful conversations from earlier faded as Mark became more serious, his eyes focused as he checked the mirrors.

In the back seat, Ethan felt uneasy—not because of Mark, but from a deeper feeling. It was the same sense he had experienced the night before, a strange awareness that something was wrong.

“Mark, is something going on?” Ethan asked, his tone calm but firm.

Mark’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror and then to Ethan, clearly surprised by the question. “You feel it too?” he asked, his voice low.

Ethan nodded. “What do you mean by ‘feel’? Are we being followed?”

Mark hesitated for a split second, then spoke, his voice steady. “Most likely. Black sedan, about four cars back."

"Since when?" asked Jordan.

"It’s been with us since we left the city,” Mark replied calmly.

Jordan sat in the front seat, leaning toward the window to see the car. “Are you sure?” he asked, his usual calm voice showing stress.

He tried to stay calm, but the tense atmosphere made it hard. “It could just be a coincidence.”

“Maybe,” Mark replied, his face serious. “But I’ve seen this before. The same pattern—stay back just enough to avoid suspicion, then move in when the time is right.”

Jessica, sitting next to Ethan, clutched her bag tightly. Her knuckles were white, but she forced herself to take a deep breath. Panic wouldn’t help.

Instead, she tried to focus on the voices around her, keeping herself grounded.

“Why would someone be following us?” Ethan asked, leaning slightly forward.

His calm voice didn’t betray the storm of thoughts running through his mind. Is it related to Nova Tech? Mark's enemies? Or could it be something else entirely?

Mark shook his head slightly. “No idea, but it doesn’t matter right now. What matters is getting all of you to safety.”

Jordan leaned back in his seat, trying to stay calm. “Let’s think this through. They haven’t done anything yet, right? They’re just following us. Maybe it’s nothing.”

“Maybe,” Mark replied, his tone clipped, “but in my line of work, you don’t wait to find out.”

Jessica finally found her voice, though it wavered slightly. “What… what should we do?”

Mark glanced at her briefly in the rearview mirror. “Stay calm. Don’t look back too obviously. If they’re following us, they’re watching to see if we’ve noticed. Acting natural is the best way to buy time.”

Jessica nodded and swallowed hard. She held her bag tighter and fought the urge to look out the back window.

Ethan felt anxious, but he spoke calmly. “Mark, what’s the plan?”

Mark’s jaw tightened. “We keep driving for now. If they follow us off the highway, I’ll know for sure. Then we’ll decide how to handle it.”

Jordan, still trying to keep things light, forced a chuckle. “Well, I guess this is where having a bodyguard pays off, huh?”

Mark didn’t respond, his attention glued to the road ahead and the mirrors. Ethan sat back, feeling confused. This wasn't how he imagined the trip would go, but he trusted Mark's judgment.

Whatever was happening, they would face it together.