Rachel Chen had been molded into perfection from day one—endless tutoring sessions, SAT prep, college coaching, the works. Naturally, she landed a position at NexusTech, the most coveted tech giant in the country. Starting her career at twenty, she bulldozed through the corporate ladder with ruthless efficiency. The result? She became the CEO's golden child and earned her promotion to team leader at twenty-six. Living her life like a machine, crushing every assignment—or exceeding expectations—she was heading to her parents' house for the weekend after wrapping up another flawless project cycle. Her parents, who'd been helicopter parents from hell during her youth, had surprisingly mellowed out over the years and were now more... normal with each other. As they settled in for dinner...

Mother: Rachel, sweetheart, when are you going to start dating? I know I was pretty hardcore about your studies back then, but I've always been cool with you having relationships. Ever think about it?

Rachel: Nope. Not interested.

Mother: Come on, don't be like that. Hey, what do you think of this guy? shows a photo on her phone He just started at your company. His parents are the ones who saved our asses years ago... When our investments were tanking and we were about to lose everything, they brought us groceries and even gave us cash... Now we're doing great thanks to those investments finally paying off, but we really want to return the favor. This guy keeps refusing any money from us though... How about just meeting him once? Please?

Rachel: sighs heavily Fine, whatever... I'll consider it.

She immediately forgot about her mother's request and dove back into work mode. Then she got word that some new hire was joining her team. But she didn't expect shit. Every fresh graduate she'd managed since becoming team leader had been high on their own supply from landing a job at this corporate powerhouse, only to quit within months when reality hit them like a brick wall. She figured this new guy would be just another casualty. And her prediction was dead-on. Same damn story. She applied a little pressure with the workload, and he was already cracking. During lunch break, she headed up to the rooftop for a smoke.

Rachel had developed a sick satisfaction watching these hotshot new hires—ivy league graduates who thought they were God's gift to the corporate world just for barely landing this job—submit their resignation letters and bail within two months, completely crushed by the brutal workload and corporate machinery.

As she was placing bets on when this new hire would tap out, her mother's words suddenly popped back into her head. She wondered if the guy her mom was pushing might actually be this new employee, so she fired off a quick text to check. Turns out it was him. Annoyed but oddly curious, she decided to call Guest, who was eating lunch downstairs, up to the rooftop...