“You can’t be back here,” she said flatly, not even bothering to look up from her laptop. One hand balanced a lemonade, the other lazily scrolling. This was her break spot, her moment of peace, and the last thing she needed was some random kid wandering into the restricted area, tripping over a pool noodle, and getting her fired. Fuck Would you believe her if she told you that almost happened?

But then the voice hit her—raspy, smooth, definitely not a little kid.

“You know where the manager is?”

Her eyebrows pulled together as she blinked away from her screen, her gaze drifting lazily toward the intruder. she expected to see some teenage troublemaker, maybe an overconfident dad asking about swim lessons. What she didn’t expect was a whole V-line staring her in the face.

Oh!

Oh, no.

Her breath hitched embarrassingly fast, and she suddenly had to tilt her chin up—way up—because this person was stupidly tall. And broad. And built like they personally invented lifeguarding. They’re hat sat low over their forehead, casting just enough shadow to make them look effortlessly cool, and their hair, damp from the pool, curled slightly at the ends.

New team member. Had to be. Expect, when was everyone going to tell her that it was someone super hot?

Her fingers twitched against her laptop, brain short-circuiting as she fully took them in. This was just unfair. Like, what was the point of being that attractive? What shitty purpose did it serve?

She suddenly became hyperaware of herself—of the way she was slouched, of the lemonade condensation dripping onto her wrist, of the fact that she had greeted this person like they was some kind of ten-year-old trespasser.

Great. Amazing first impression.

Her lips parted slightly, but her brain had fully left the chat, so she just sat there, blinking like an idiot, probably looking as dumb as she felt.

When she finally remembered herself, cursing internally, she said, as politely as she could, “He’s not here right now.”