License to Cuddle

3

The woman held up a hand. "Let me stop you there."

Oh, yeah. Jungkook was definitely getting fired right now. His boss most likely wanted to make an example of him, demonstrating what could happen when one tiny error was made.

"It was good."

Jungkook's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

The woman still didn't smile or show any indication of being serious. "Really. The amount of research and analysis you included was very impressive considering the quick turnaround time. I've seen others take days to do the same amount of work that you did in hours."

Jungkook was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open and that he looked like an incompetent fool, but he was too happy to care. To receive this sort of praise was one thing, but to receive it publicly was an added bonus.

That was until his boss added, "You show a lot of promise. And honestly, that's why I assigned you the project in the first place. You were the only one I could trust not to completely fuck it up."

That particular comment earned Jungkook multiple glares from his coworkers, their eyes shooting daggers at him. Guess he wouldn't be making friends with them anytime soon.

"Because of that," his boss continued, "I'm going to give you another challenge. What experience do you have with alternative investments?"

"Honestly? Not much. Most of my experience has been with traditional assets and investing," Jungkook said, trying to rack his brain for anything on alternative investments. He had a feeling art and wine fell into that category, but he kept his mouth shut to avoid embarrassing himself in the event he was wrong.

"Well, do some research. We're launching a new fund comprised completely of alternatives, and I'm making you the lead analyst," his boss revealed, one corner of her mouth slightly lifting—her version of a smile. "This is a huge opportunity, Jeon. A lot of important eyes will be on you."

Her unspoken words were loud and clear: Don't mess this up.

The happiness Jungkook felt moments before quickly dissipated. Sure, this truly was a fantastic opportunity that would make him visible to his company's senior stakeholders. And yeah, this could be a game-changer for his career. But that didn't stop his chest from tightening as he thought about what else this all meant:

More pressure.

Longer hours.

Added stress.

Less free time.

If only Jungkook could say no.

But he couldn't—this assignment wasn't a request; it was an order—so he lifted his chin and ignored the pleading voice in his head chanting no, no, no. "I won't disappoint you."

His boss retreated to her office after that, leaving Jungkook to turn towards his computer monitors and frantically open a new search window. He really should save this research for Monday when he had more direction, but the new weight pressing on his shoulders demanded him to start right now. So his fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out the word alternative and preparing to add in investments when—

Oh. Shit.

Right there on his browser was an auto-complete suggestion based on his past searches:

Alternative touch therapy.

Flashbacks of a shiny mouth, tantalizing smirk, and sparkling eyes flitted through Junkook's mind in quick succession, followed by the sound of a deep voice and a husky laugh and—