Chapter 3
Willow
No one took the bait. Usually it was easy to dupe someone into clicking a bad link. People were too quick to believe that their company’s CEO was personally sending them a gift card through their email.
She would have to try again. A week was plenty of time to know it hadn’t worked.
Landon had suggested she try some of the AI approaches.
It was amazing how well artificial intelligence could fool someone.
Hell, a few seconds of someone’s voicemail message could be used to mimic them for voice phishing.
But she didn’t like contributing to the AI problem. Two programmers at work had already been let go and their customer service department had been massively downsized in favor of AI-powered chatbots.
Willow planned out her next steps while completing her daily workout. As much as she hated it, she knew it was necessary.
When she was t-boned by two cars coming from opposite directions, she had become trapped with her left arm pinned by her seat.
The vehicle had been so damaged the rescue team had to deploy the Jaws of Life to get her out.
By then, her shoulder had been dislocated for over an hour and her passenger was deceased.
Now, she dealt with the aftereffects; various scars across the left side of her body, including a particularly long one that stretched across her jaw.
It used to bother her, but she’d taken the opportunity to make herself into someone new.
She hadn’t been able to gather the courage before to get tattoos or piercings, but now she did whatever she wanted.
Intricate floral designs and animal skulls intermingled with the scars on her body, making them all part of the canvas that was her skin.
Her job didn’t allow for facial piercings beyond the ones in her nose though, so those were mostly in… other places.
Another set. The ache in her shoulder was deep as she lifted a weight at her side.
Come on. Almost done.
Sweat trickled down her nose. She was almost finished.
After this, she could tell Landon to fuck off.
Apparently, her offhand comment about not remembering to do her PT had convinced him to become her daily alarm clock.
The aesthetic result of lifting and exercising regularly was definitely a bonus, though.
She’d never been overweight, but now her body was lean and toned.
Willow fought to lift the weight one last time.
Finally. She was done.
She wiped her brow with her sleeve and chugged water from the bottle sitting on her desk.
Once she’d recuperated a little, she packed away the equipment and made her way to the kitchen. Of course, with her steps came the soft pitter-patter and little chirps of a certain princess. Maybe Stahma was making sure Willow knew she was there. As if it was possible to forget.
She rummaged through the freezer. Nothing sounded good. She hadn’t planned ahead by pulling something out to thaw, so microwaving would take longer anyway.
Nope. No good.
She bit her lip. Going out was annoying, but it would be nice to get some fresh air. It was the weekend and she hadn’t gone outside in more than twenty-four hours.
Ramen it is.
Willow slipped her shoes on and donned her warmest hoodie. She flipped the hood up to cover her ears. It wasn’t too cold outside according to the thermometer, but she liked being wrapped up.
She checked her makeup in the bathroom mirror before heading out. The scar wasn’t really embarrassing, but she still preferred to make it less noticeable. She dabbed a little extra concealer on it since some had worn off.
Once outside, a shiver wracked her body. Maybe she should have put on another layer. It wasn’t that late, but the sun had already dipped low enough for the streetlights to kick on.
She walked the length of the street, going from each illuminated place on the sidewalk to the next. This was a quiet area of town so there were only a handful of other people sharing the path.
Ahead, she spotted the glowing light of her favorite place to make ramen: K-Shop. It was like one of those convenience stores in South Korea with walls of endless options. Unfortunately, unlike in South Korea, there weren’t any open past 10 p.m.
What kind would she make today? She had been skeptical about putting cheese on ramen, but Landon had convinced her to give it a shot. She liked it on the spicy side and the cheese just gave it a little something extra.
A large body collided with her, making her almost lose her footing. She hadn’t even noticed anyone was there. She had been stuck in her absentminded anticipation of salty, savory goodness.
“Sorry,” she murmured, peering up at the tall figure she had run into.
His blue eyes found her and the corner of his mouth curled up. “Don’t worry about it, pretty girl.”
Pretty girl? She stifled the urge to roll her eyes. He wasn’t bad looking himself. Messy dark blond hair and that grin was swoon-worthy. He was wearing a thick coat, but she could see the hint of tattoos climbing up his neck.
To his side was another man similar in height to him. His head was shaved and darker than his companion’s. His hazel eyes swept across her in a subtle motion. He raised a hand to rub his stubble, revealing a tattoo on his hand. They were both looking at her like they’d stumbled upon a treat.
Her cheeks flushed before she mumbled something and hurried past them. They were definitely a treat to come across. What business did two guys that good-looking have existing side by side?
Willow’s feet finally got her to the entrance of the shop. As she swung the door open, she stole a glance in the direction of the two men.
The one with light, messy hair apparently had the same idea, because he was watching her.
Shit. Caught red-handed? What was it called when someone got caught checking out two guys they had no business thinking about?
Inside, she sighed at the warm air scented by the huge variety of noodles and toppings.
She located her favorite red and black package, then collected a few things to go with it.
Green onions, sausages, tteok-bokki, and cheese.
All of the tables were taken, so she purchased her items to-go.
That was probably a blessing in disguise.
She preferred eating like a gremlin, crouched in front of a screen with one knee up.
On the walk back to her apartment, she kept an eye out for the guys she’d bumped into.
Why are you looking for them?
They definitely looked like bad news, but it didn’t hurt to fantasize.
It had been a couple of months since she’d hooked up with anyone.
It wasn’t a self-esteem thing, she just didn’t want to be treated like a fragile doll when whoever she was hooking up with peeled off the layers.
Sure, her shoulder was sensitive, but she could handle some roughness.
Most of them liked the way her tattoos complemented the scars, but they’d become standoffish with her piercings.
It was like they thought she was a broken pain-seeker.
The nipple piercings had been a test of strength, but the one between her legs was her ultimate act of self-healing.
Her last boyfriend hated it when she got a nostril piercing.
Then, she’d brought up wanting tattoos and it had resulted in an hour-long tirade on how he wasn’t going to let her look like some “druggie whore”.
But now, she was free and decorated herself in as much metal and ink as she wanted.
Once home, she prepped her meal, noting just how quiet it was.
Being alone was okay, but she would like to have a boyfriend again someday.
Her extra-curricular activity made that more difficult than her general reclusiveness, however.
It would take time to build enough trust to let a guy know, “Hey, I like to pretend I’m Robin Hood and scam money off companies to help people.
I also have a mysterious friend in Central America and you can’t be upset about it. ”
Not many guys would go for that. At best, they would ditch her. At worst, they might call the cops.
So, here she was. Alone with the sound of the TV she’d switched on to fill the silence, settled with a steaming bowl of soup, and a steady friend who was only a keystroke away.
It wasn’t so bad.