See You at the Sunset

Prologue

Yesterday

Henry Shin was having a very good day.

It was a gorgeous June morning in New York. Not too hot just yet, humidity at bay, and the greens at Bethpage Black, one of

the most exclusive golf courses in the tri-state area, were, as expected, perfect. Henry was playing one of his best rounds

of golf in a very long time. One thing was for certain, he always stepped up when the pressure was on.

And the pressure was heavy for him to impress today. He’d been invited by the CEO of Bakerson’s Group, Eli Bakerson himself,

to join their four-man along with the chief of staff, Edison Wainwright, and Henry’s direct boss, general counsel of the company,

Steven Sword. The message was clear: You’re one of us now. Or, at least, you will be.

If Henry was the type to partake in office gossip, he might have heard the rumors and worried that being invited as a fourth on this weekly golf game meant something shady was afoot and a fall guy was needed to be suckered into the mix.

But Henry never interacted with his coworkers.

And though he knew the lore, he wasn’t worried. He was exactly where he wanted to be.

The entire vibe of the day screamed money and power and prestige beyond anything Henry could dream of. No, that was a lie.

Henry dreamed of this very thing regularly. It’s why he worked so hard. It’s why he had no life outside of work and no other

motivation than the ambition to succeed. The youngest senior counsel, the only person of color on the leadership team, and

now playing golf on a Sunday with the bigwigs. He had done this. He was the one who’d gotten himself here.

Henry covered his mouth with his hand to not let the smile show through. Play it cool, Shin.

“I stand corrected, Henry. The 3-wood was absolutely the right choice for this one. I’m gonna be taking your advice both in

the office and outside of it from now on, son.” Eli Bakerson chuckled, patting Henry on the back. Henry smiled, trying not

to stiffen at the use of the endearment.

It was not a word he was used to hearing.

But he allowed it to roll over him just for a moment. Because it signified he was in the inner circle now. He’d passed an

unspoken test. And now he belonged.

And that was the only thing that mattered.

“Shin, a word,” his boss said, nodding his head off to the right. Henry followed him the few yards away from gameplay.

“Yes, sir?”

“There’s something we need you to take care of tomorrow morning. And we need it done—” Steven Sword lowered his voice “—discreetly, without any loose ends. We trust you can handle it.”

“Of course I’ll take care of it,” Henry replied. And there it was: the ask. Whatever it was, he’d figure out how to do what

needed to be done. That was his job. Find a way within the structure of the law, pushing its limits if necessary, to protect

the company. And it’s what Henry did best.

“We are more than confident that you will. Details in your secure inbox. Oh, and make sure you join us at ten for the executive

meeting. You should definitely be involved in those from now on, son.”

There was that word again. If Henry was going to keep climbing this ladder, he’d have to get used to the sound of it, he supposed.

Especially if he was going to get to the top and stay there.

2:00 p.m.

Jia Chung had always been a firm believer in work–life balance. She wasn’t the type to be chained to her email on the weekends.

Work ended at six on Friday evening and started back up again at nine on Monday morning—nine thirty if the weekend had been

especially good. Life was too short to put work first.

But her new job was more demanding than her previous ones. The expectations a little harsher. A lot was riding on her keeping

her job . . . for once. Thus, when she was sent a gentle reminder that she needed to be available on weekends for emergencies, she turned off Silent mode for her notifications and opened

her email whenever her phone alerted.

She could not fuck up again.

Which meant, of course, her phone notified her of a message on a perfect Sunday afternoon. She begrudgingly, but without hesitation, opened it.

From: Genevieve Gordon

To: Jia Chung

Subject: Monday 10:00 a.m.

Hey Jia, just following up with an email. I sent you a calendar invite for a meeting tomorrow. Sorry about the short notice.

Just need to discuss something that can’t wait. Can you either accept the invite or reply to this email as confirmation you

will be in attendance?

Thanks,

Gen

Oh, okay, that wasn’t too bad. Jia liked Gen. She was nice for the most part. A last-minute meeting with HR would normally

send most people into a panic. But Jia couldn’t think of one thing that would be a cause for concern. And if there was something,

Gen would say so in the email, right? Jia did her job as requested. And she made it her daily mission to do whatever she could

to make it easier for everyone else. The people at her work were stressed and stretched thin enough; it showed all over their

faces. In fact, she’d recently caught a costly error on an expense report and fixed it on her own without bothering anyone

else. Jia was pretty sure a pat on the back was waiting for her.

She accepted the calendar invite and replied with a thank-you note back to Gen.

Now that that was taken care of, Jia had the whole evening ahead of her. Sunday nights were for self-care. An everything shower, full skincare routine, and her weekly hair mask.

Jia let out a deep breath. Life was finally starting to fall into place. She was starting to find her footing at her job.

She lived with her best friend in her favorite city. Her parents weren’t nagging her every single day. And all of this, she’d

done on her own.

She felt pretty darn good about herself.

In fact, too good to be staying in.

Jia immediately knocked on Lizzy’s bedroom door.

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked her.

“Uh, you know Sundays are for everything showers,” Lizzy replied.

“Well, we’re going out. We’re celebrating.” It was impulsive and possibly not the best idea. But it seemed like the right

call in Jia’s mind.

“We are? What are we celebrating? Wait, let me guess. The cute Irish bartender at McCoy’s finally asked you out?”

“Nope.”

“The boots you were eyeing online finally showed up at T.J. Maxx?”

“Wrong again.”

“Your parents agreed to get off your back about moving to Florida?”

“Stop guessing, you’re making me depressed. No, I think I’m getting some good news tomorrow at work,” Jia said.

Lizzy jumped up from her bed.

“A raise? A promotion?”

“I don’t know yet. I just have a meeting on the calendar and a very good feeling. So I’m claiming good news now, and we’re celebrating before it happens.” It was a trick Jia had used before. Claim the win and will it into existence.

“Well, okay then. I’m in. How about Willow?” Lizzy suggested.

Willow was Lizzy’s favorite bar. Jia had only been a couple times. It was trendy and swank, not cramming a crowd in like animals.

But more expensive than Jia’s shoestring budget allowed. It was also three train stops away. Lizzy, with the stable job and

a career with a future, loved it. But Friday was payday, and they were celebrating. She would be newly scrubbed and softened

and smell divine. “Willow sounds perfect.”

“Yay! I can’t wait to precelebrate your pending good news.” Lizzy truly was the best kind of friend.

6:00 p.m.

Henry didn’t go out much. Sunday nights were usually reserved for planning out the week, not only reviewing his calendar and

all the meetings he needed to be in but also what information he needed to have to give himself the advantage over anyone

he’d be talking to. Always one step ahead, no surprises, being prepared for anything and everything.

It was the way Henry had survived, and eventually thrived, on his own his whole life.

But he’d felt on the precipice of something big all day. Yes, the acknowledgment by the executives of his company. Yes, the

big responsibility they’d placed on him to handle business the following morning. But it was something else. He couldn’t put

his finger on it yet. He just knew something important was about to happen in his life. Henry always trusted his gut.

And it made him have the sudden and surprising urge to celebrate.

The bar on the ground floor of his building was the type of place where one could go alone and sit chest up for a glass of

wine or a really good scotch. And Sunday nights were pretty chill.

A celebratory drink or two wouldn’t hurt.

8:00 p.m.

Jia nursed her third glass of cava. It was the least expensive drink on the menu, and she held the glass casually like she

belonged there.

She’d finally pulled out the butter-yellow Chloe silk minidress she’d picked up for a steal at Jenna Lyons’s last closet clear-out

sale. Considering Jenna Lyons had a good ten inches on Jia, she figured this was likely meant to be a top. But on her five-foot-two

frame, it hit Jia a little above midthigh and made her legs look fantastic.

The vibes were just right at Willow. There was a decent crowd for a Sunday, she had a mellow buzz by now, and she wasn’t ready

to call it a night yet. But alas, her wallet and her bank account were not cooperating, and she really couldn’t afford another

eighteen-dollar glass. She downed the last of her cava and turned to Lizzy who was animatedly talking to the bartender.

“I should go,” Jia said. It would be the responsible thing to do. She could get home early, sober up, get some rest, and be

completely ready for her exciting morning tomorrow.

“Don’t go, not yet. Let’s have one more drink,” Lizzy begged. “My treat. We were gonna try some scotch tonight.” Lizzy leaned over the bar and raised her eyes to all the bottles of brown liquor on the top shelves.

Neither of them were big connoisseurs of the good stuff, so Jia braced herself for what Lizzy would decide on.

“Jackson, can you get me two more glasses of the Oban 15 for the ladies here?” a man next to her called out.

“You got it.” The bartender reached up to the top shelf and grabbed a long, slender bottle, pouring them each a glass.

Jia turned her body toward the generous man sitting next to her at the bar. She was such a sucker for a deep, sexy voice.

He was alone, both hands circling a short glass of amber liquor. He looked over his shoulder at Jia. He was young, surprisingly

so, especially for this area. Handsome in a very serious way, strong brows slightly stitched together despite a barely there

smile on his lips.

She would have guessed finance bro, but they rarely ventured out alone. Lawyer maybe, with the stern air about him.

“Thank you for the drinks,” Lizzy said. “Cheers!” She reached out her glass and Jia met hers. The generous stranger lifted

both his drink and his chin in front of him, not quite reaching out to theirs for a clink. “We’re celebrating my friend here!

She’s getting promoted at work tomorrow.”

His eyes caught Jia’s and locked in. He was intense in a way that made it hard to breathe. “Congrats,” he said with a head

nod.

“Thanks,” Jia said, her response breathier than she’d wanted. “And thanks for the drink. That’s really nice of you.” She lifted

the glass to take her first sip. His eyes followed along with the movement. She licked her lips and swallowed. The burn was

intense at first, but what followed was a surprisingly smooth flow down her throat. “God, this is good,” she said.

His eyes flared. Her breath caught. Words spoken. Laughter shared. The two of them brought their glasses up at the same time and finished their drinks.

He raised his finger and circled it to the bartender, signaling another round. Jia leaned in a little closer to him, her body

warm and pliant, this time clinking her glass to his as she took a sip of her next drink.

10:00 p.m.

Henry never did this. He never went down to his local bar and overimbibed. He usually nursed one glass of really good scotch

and was done. He never bought strangers drinks and let his tab run out of control. He never picked someone up and brought

them to his third-floor apartment in the same building.

But he was celebrating his own win.

And there was something about her. She was gorgeous in an easy way, effortlessly sexy in that silk dress and too-bright sandals.

She laughed freely, and her eyes danced at the things he said. And sure, it was partly the alcohol talking, convincing him

to see where this would go.

All he knew was that he wanted her.

And tonight, after a really good day and a few glasses of exceptional scotch, he was going to let himself go for what he wanted.

1:00 a.m.

Jia did not want to get up. If she didn’t have such an important morning ahead of her, she’d have stayed right where she was.

It had been a very good night, and she felt spent in all the right places.

She pulled the sheet up to cover herself despite it being almost completely dark in the apartment. She swung her legs off the side of the bed and bent down searching for her panties and her dress. She looked back over her shoulder at the man lying next to her.

His arm covered his eyes, and his breath was even and heavy. Jia squeezed her legs together remembering everything that they’d

done to wear this poor guy out.

His chest was bare of any hair except below his belly button leading to, what Jia had come to discover over the last couple

hours, was an incredible package. God, and he knew what he was doing: attentive and took his time, always checking in on her

pleasure, a consent king.

As far as hookups went, this was a really nice surprise and solidified in Jia’s mind that things were most definitely picking

up for her. But she had to get home and get some sleep or she’d be a mess in the morning.

She leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek. He moved a little but settled back down to sleep. She took one last look

at him, all of him, and sighed. She got up, grabbed her shoes, and quietly left the apartment.

Jia hailed the first taxi that approached, got in, feeling the glorious ache of just having had remarkable sex, and smiled.

It wasn’t until she’d gotten home, cleaned up, and into her pajamas that she realized she had never even gotten his name.