Page 37 of Strictly Against Policy

“Thanks.”

He turned to me with an unreadable glint in his eyes. “Lina. Hli Nag. Pretty name—” His voice was soft and rather gentle. His dark-coffee eyes traced the outline of my face for a second before he ripped them away. “—with a pretty face.”

My lips parted, but no words or sound came out of my mouth. My instincts roiled behind my thin veil of calmness, desperately urging me to do better than him because he caught me off guard. Be wittier. Snarkier, even. Win, again.

Jonathan continued. “He makes you blush like that, huh?” I could feel heat rake across my skin again. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who he was referring to. “You sure you’re not still in love with my brother-in-law?”

I sighed. Why was he asking me this again? “No. I’m not. It’s been over a decade since then.”

“You said you dreamed about him often during high school because of your crush on him.” Jonathan blinked slowly before looking at me in the eyes. “Did you ever dream about me—your rival? Since you were so obsessed with getting first place out of our entire graduating class.”

“No, never. Was I supposed to?”

He shook his head. “The line between love and rivalry is fairly thin, Lina.”

“Are you admitting that you dreamed about me? Or that you were in love with me?”

He just stared at me. Not a single shred of emotion flashed across his eyes or the plane of his face. A mask of control. “I dreamed about you once. Senior year. Hated it.”

I hummed. “No, it sounds like you loved it.”

“Nope. I woke up disgusted. It was quite horrific, actually.”

Smiling, I said, “Good for you. I’m glad I could occupy every second of your existence—when you’re awake and when you’re dreaming.”

Jonathan scoffed, the corners of his lips curling as we came to my new apartment’s doorstep. “It almost sounds like that’s how obsessed you want me to be about you. Or, maybe, that’s how obsessed you are with me, too.”

My smile twisted into a Cheshire grin as I flashed my teeth. “Oh? Are you admitting you’re obsessed with me, Jonathan Lo?”

“The same way you admit to me winning,” he grinned.

“You only win when I let you win.”

He hummed, nodding his head slowly. “And I’m only obsessed when you claim I am. Same difference.” He glanced at the watch he wore and started to leave me by my front door. “Have fun dreaming about me.”

“Have fun strategizing how to win,” I called out to him as he walked away.

He didn’t turn back to glare at me, but I could already hear the way his lips quirked into his snarky, cocky smirk. We both knew I was being polite with him in front of the people he loved. When we were alone and in each other’s faces, trying to cut the other down with pettiness, I was the victor.

Most of the time.

CHAPTER 18

Jonathan

The one thing I used to hate the most was running into certain people when I least expected it. As a student, I hated running into my teachers at the mall. As a café barista during undergrad, I hated running into my manager at the grocery store.

I never reacted or felt that way seeing a classmate or a colleague in the wild. It was only ever with my teachers, professors, or managers. But that was exactly how I felt when I saw Lina walking into the gym. She didn’t see me as she beelined to the back, but that feeling of embarrassment—of being caught off guard—surfaced.

Andy insisted that Anthony and I work out at the gym in their gated community. The three of us worked out at least two times a week together but had never done so here before.

I didn’t take a moment to think about why there was a sudden change to our routine until Lina stepped through the gym door in nothing but a little black sports bra and a pair of the tightest black leggings. I looked away before my eyes could even skim the tops of her breasts or the thickness of her toned thighs.

Now it all made sense. This random, fortuitous run-in with Lina on my day off had to be planned by Andy. And, probably, by my sister too. I almost rolled my eyes as the twins snickered after I placed the two twenty-pound kettlebells I was using on the ground.

Anthony smirked childishly at me, tipping his head in Lina’s direction as he grabbed the kettlebells I just placed down. In the reflection of the mirror, I watched Lina walk over to the padded stretching area and start on some dynamic stretches.

“Aren’t you going to go say hi?” asked Andy.