Chapter One

Mark was so fucking tired of this shit. It was the same every day. Wake up, dress, head into the office and wait for a job to come through. He would head from house to house fixing refrigerators, dishwashers, and the like. It was boring as fuck and he was sick of it. He wanted… no… needed something new in his life.

He downed the last of his energy drink and threw the can to the floor of the car as he did every day, the tin clanking against previously discarded cans and bottles. “Last appointment of the day,” he pumped himself up as he blasted his music and drummed the beat against his steering wheel. This had become his routine before almost every appointment. He would arrive at the house a few minutes early, drink his energy drink, or soda, or water, and just rock out to give him energy for the boring task ahead. His head bounced to the music as he reviewed his clipboard with the details of his last client.

“Nari Yu. Dishwasher leaking on rinse cycle.” He read the report out loud, flipping through the reports to familiarize himself with the task ahead. He inwardly groaned. If this fix wasn’t as simple as tightening the hose, he would have to travel all the way back to the office to get replacement parts and return, spending however long it took to finish the job by tonight since the lady had paid for same day service.

With a huff, he exited his vehicle and straightened his clothing, making sure his shirt was fully tucked and his belt unturned. A quick glance in the rearview mirror to fix his hair and he was set to go, tucking his clipboard under his arm and lifting his tool box from the back seat. “I swear to god, this better be a quick fix,” he mumbled under his breath as he made his way to the front door.

It took him ringing the doorbell twice for it to finally creek open. He had honestly been praying the lady wasn’t home so that he could call it a day early, go home, and just play video games all weekend, not having to care about getting out of the house for the next two days, until Monday rolled back around and he had to start this hellish cycle all over again. Sometimes it was a wonder to him that he had been able to last five years in this stupid career with not one advancement and seemingly none in sight.

“May I help you?” the girl at the door asked in a breathy voice, as if she had run to answer. He could only see a slither of her face, but the glossy look in her eyes and the mess of hair at the top of her head was enough for him to know that running wasn’t what left her breathless.

Mark cleared his throat. This lady was wild! It was four o’clock in the afternoon! “Nari Yu? I’m here to fix your dishwasher.”

Her face crinkled in confusion. “Was that today?” She quickly glanced behind the door and seemed to be having a silent conversation with someone. This was so awkward for Mark. He could feel his ears burning from embarrassment. In all the years of him working from house to house, he had never interrupted sex before. “Could you come back tomorrow?” she finally turned back to him, seemingly in a rush to get him to leave.

“Well…” Mark looked at his clipboard. “You did have this prioritized and we don’t work weekends, but I would be more than happy to come back Monday,” which of course was a lie. He never liked working, let alone coming all the way out to a property only to be turned away. It didn’t help that this property was all the way on the outskirts of town and he had nearly gotten lost weaving through the tight, curvy roads lined with an endless abundance of trees. If this lady didn’t want her dishwasher fixed here and now, he would pawn the job off to someone else to take care of. He had better things to do than waste his time on a second trip. He wasn’t paid for cancellations.

She looked back behind the door once again, biting her lip. “Fine,” she smiled. “Give me just a second.” Before he could say anything, she closed the door in his face. He half wanted to turn back to his truck and walk away, but he knew the lady had paid good money for a priority fix and his morals wouldn’t allow him to leave, even though his mind was beating him up for staying.

Luckily, it only took about a minute of him standing there staring at his shoes for the door to open up again, this time by a shirtless man only slightly taller than himself. The guy didn’t even say anything, just gave this tight lipped smile that didn’t seem sincere at all. He was probably just upset that his fun time was ruined. Mark laughed to himself. Cock blocking strangers. Who would have thought that would be the highlight of his Friday. “I’ll just have a look at your dishwasher and be on my way.”

“Kitchen is this way,” the girl from earlier said as she came bouncing into the room, a men’s dress shirt the only thing covering her body.

Mark quickly looked away, not wanting to give the wrong impression to the man standing beside him. Why the hell didn’t she put on some real damn clothes!? “Um… Mrs. Nari Yu? I hate to tell you how to dress in your own home, but…” He paused mid sentence, not expecting her to laugh at him. Did she think is discomfort was funny or something? This woman was really working his nerve. First leaving him on the doorstep, now laughing at him? “Is something funny?” he asked, unamused.

She buttoned the top two buttons of the shirt, which was a step up from him straining to keep his eyes from her cleavage. “Sorry,” she said. “My clothes are in the wash right now. Spilt red wine all down myself. This is… all I’ve got.” She glanced at who Mark assumed was her lover. “Also,” she continued. “I’m not Nari. I’m her sister, Lian.”

Mark nodded in understanding, as if he cared. All he wanted was to finish the job and get the hell out of there. “This way?” he asked the unnamed guy, pointing in the direction Lian had directed him to in the first place.

“Yup,” was all the man said, not even taking his eyes off of his lover.

This was sickening. Mark rushed into the kitchen area, afraid if he stayed any longer, the two would start up what they had been doing with him still in the room. “Please be a quick fix,” he mumbled to himself as he stood in front of the dishwasher, slowly wiggling it out of its nook. As soon as the machine was out of the way and he was able to shine a light into the dark area, he saw what was causing the problem. The cord had been bent in a way that cut off the water supply. Who ever installed it hadn’t been paying attention to the way the cords were set into the back. With it being cut off, the water was backing up, and the pressure got to be too much until a hole exploded, finally allowing an escape for the liquid to drain. Getting on hands and knees, he wedged himself into the small area behind the machine and gripped the cord in one hand, pulling it out straight and capturing the rip in the beam of light from the small flashlight he now held between his teeth. There didn’t seem to be a way to salvage the thing with how big the tear was. He’d have to replace it. Still a simple fix. These things were always busting one way or another. He had started to keep extras at the bottom of his toolbox for such occasions.

Mark slowly pulled himself out of the nook behind the dishwasher and went to reach for his tools when he noticed he was no longer alone in the kitchen, a new face having entered the home without him realizing. He sat there on the floor looking up with what he knew was a dumb look on his face, flashlight falling from his lips and to his lap. This. Woman. Was. Beautiful.

“I wasn’t expecting you today.” Her voice was light as she took a step closer to him and bending to peeked behind the machine. “Are you able to fix it?”

Mark quickly tried to regain his composure, closing his gaping mouth and clearing his throat. He could smell the faint scent of her perfume at this distance. So very sweet, just like the softness of her lips, the curves of her breasts and hips. “Um…” he started, gulping hard as she turned her attention back to him. “It won’t be too hard to fix. I’ll have it done pretty quickly.” Which was true. He could have it all fixed and running in less than five minutes, but… he didn’t want to leave so soon just yet. Not any more. Not if it meant leaving her too quickly.

“That’s a relief.” She smiled and it took everything in him to not get noticeably excited about being graced with her presence and gifted with the beautiful view of her sexy smile. Counting down helped. Also repositioning his legs to be more discreet. “I’m Nari.” She extended a hand towards him, seemingly oblivious to the effect she had on him.

“Mark,” he replied around a lump of nervousness in his throat, lightly grasping her soft hand in his own and wishing she’d never let go. And here he was, just moments earlier, hoping to not have to set foot in that house, wishing no one would answer the door or that they would reschedule. It was times like these that he praised himself for having a conscience and morals, despite his hate for it eighty percent of the time. 

She flashed her smile once again before standing up right and bouncing herself up to sit on the counter opposite where he was working. It was hard for him to tear his gaze away from her breasts as they bounced as gracefully as he would have imagined, but he managed to look away and into his own lap, pretending to be occupied with retrieving the flashlight he had dropped earlier. “So. I hear you met my sister. Sorry about that. Those two…” she trailed off with a shake of her head and a disapproving look on her face.

“Ah, it’s okay. It was only a little uncomfortable.” That won a light laugh from her and his stomach tightened with delight. Such a wondrous melody it was.

“So what’s wrong with it?” Nari asked, changing the subject back to the task at hand.

He turned back to his work, now wishing it was a major problem that he’d have to work on for hours. He quickly racked his brain for a reason that would greatly expand his five minute job but couldn’t seem to come up with anything to pretend to be doing, especially with her watching him while he work. He sighed. “It just needs a tube replaced. Yours had a hole in it.”

Nari just nodded. “So that shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. Sorry to make you drive all the way out here just for that.”

“It’s no problem,” Mark blushed as he turned his back to her and got to work. He didn’t want her to see his cheeks and ears redden. He began to again counting down from one hundred, trying to calm his racing heart. This woman was insanely beautiful and had the voice of an angel. Who was he to have her apologizing to him? God, he hadn’t felt this way about a woman… EVER! He’s never experienced a reaction towards anyone as strongly as he was reacting to just her very presence.

A million thoughts of things he wanted to do with this woman began to flood his mind as he started unscrewing the damaged cord. From taking her out to a fancy dinner to holding her close under an umbrella on a rainy day. From holding her delicately beautiful face between his hands as he softly kissed her to…

He shook the vision from his mind. Calm the hell down, he thought to himself, again counting down, this time to reduce the visible excitement growing in his pants for the second time. Counting always helped.

“How long have you been in this field of work?” Her voice startled him from his thoughts and he ended up smacking his head against the counter as he tried to quickly turn to look at her. His pain seemed to make her laugh. “Are you okay?” She asked with a worried, yet humored expression.

“I’m fine,” the handyman hissed, rubbing the side of his head with a chuckle. Smooth. “And to answer your question, it’s been about five years now that I’ve been with this company. Five very long years.” He pulled the new hose from his toolbox and turned back to hook it in.

Nari chuckled. “Getting tired of it, huh?”

“Yeah, just about.” Mark smiled. For whatever reason, this goddess had decided to stay on that countertop and talk with him, he was hella thankful for it. She probably just didn’t want to witness something happening between her sister and the still unnamed man. Mark had a feeling they had a very hard time keeping their hands off of each other, regardless of who was watching or where they were. Mark didn’t care at this moment. In fact, he was happy for it, if that was the reason Nari stayed and shared his company. “So, what line of work are you in?” he asked her as casually as he could.

“I’m…” she paused and he could almost hear the smile on her face. “I’m self employed.”

“Ah, lucky.” Mark completed the last few twists to secure the hose and carefully removed himself from the small nook behind the dishwasher. “One day, I want to be self employed. I just don’t know what I want to do yet.” He stood, dusting his hands and pants off before turning fully to her. “I’m all done here, ma’am. Your dishwasher should be as good as new now.”

The goddess laughed. “Please don’t call me ma’am. Nari is just fine.”

“Well, Nari,” he said as he pushed her machine back into place, ignoring the jump his heart made at calling her by her name. “It was nice talking to you.”

“You as well. And thanks again.” She hopped down from the countertop and extended her hand out to him.

He didn’t hesitate to grip it softly in his own, smiling warmly at her. She was just so beautiful. He didn’t want this to be the last time he saw her. He didn’t want to wait for fate to have them cross paths again. It’s now or never, he told himself, taking a deep breath before doing something he hadn’t done in a long time. “Um… Nari? If it’s not being too forward, do you want to join me for dinner some time?”

Her smile didn’t waver, but the answer she gave wasn’t the one he wanted. “Oh. I don’t know. Maybe not. I just got out of a pretty bad relationship not too long ago. I’m not looking to jump into another one.”

His smile fell just a little. “Oh. Okay.” He hadn’t thought she would say yes anyways. It was a jump in the dark with only a slim chance of landing anywhere. Whoever had let this real world angel out of their grasp must have felt his world end. If it had been Mark, he would have never let her go. If it had been him, he would have dodged bullets for this woman. He couldn’t give up. Some way, somehow, Mark wanted to see this woman again, and short from stalking the girl, he could only think of one thing to do and just pray she utilized it someday soon.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out one of his business cards, quickly scribbling something on the back. “Well, if you change your mind, here’s my card. My cell number is on the back.” He handed her the card with a shy smile before grabbing his tools and heading to the front door.

***

The ride back to the office was a long one. Nari’s house was so far out of the city, and through so many twists and turns, he had gotten himself turned around several times. Granted, him being in a daze half the time may have had a large part to do with the countless missed turns. He had left his cell phone in his lap the whole drive and kept looking down at it, willing it to ring, imagining countless possibilities of the things he would say if she really did call him. He imagined taking her out to dinner, hearing her melody of a laugh as he told stories and jokes. He imagined taking her dancing and swinging around the dance floor to smooth jazz music as if they were the only two in the room. He imagined taking her home, covering her body in sweet soft kisses, ripping her clothes off one item at a time. He imagined her nails digging into his back, gripping the sheets, her teeth softly clamping on his ear as she tried to hold back the melting sound of her moan.

This time, he didn’t count down. The images playing through his mind had him rock solid and he wished so bad he was already home so that he could lay in his bed, eyes clamped shut, pleasuring himself through these glorious thoughts he was playing in his head. An image of her on her knees made a shiver go through his body as her tongue licked a wet line down his…

A blaring horn brought him out of his daydream and he realized the previously red light was now glowing green. He cleared his throat as he pressed the gas pedal and continued forward, beginning his countdown from one hundred as he turned into the parking lot of his workplace. It took him a couple of minutes, but once he had calmed himself enough to decently exit his car, he began unloading his trunk of all of the broken parts he had collected from his appointments that day.

Before he could even gather everything into his arms, he heard the front door of the office building slam open, hitting the door stop pretty hard, followed by the seemingly pissed voice of the devil himself. “Mark Trent! You better get your ass into my office asap!”

Mark outwardly groaned, not caring if his boss heard him. “What the hell is it this time!?” Ever since the company owner drunkenly praised Mark’s work ethic, saying that maybe he should have been managing the store, Mark’s boss has had it out for him, looking for any and every reason to write him up. Not that Mark really cared. He, himself, was looking for any and every excuse to throw a huge fit and just quit the damn job all together! In all honesty, he didn’t need this job. Not only had he saved up nearly all the income from this very first paycheck, but when his parents passed, they had left him a good chunk of money behind; enough to allow him to not work for at least three or four years and still be in good hands. His dream was to start his own business. He just didn’t know what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He didn’t know what he wanted to invest in just yet.

Of course, the cunt of a manager didn’t answer to Mark’s question, just turned and stormed back into the building. Mark wanted to take everything he had already gathered in his hands and throw it all across the parking lot. He was so sick and tired of this shit. He needed something new. He needed something with a little more flare and meaning. With a deep breath and more of his life saving counting technique, Mark finished gathering all the shit from his car and followed after his pissy manager.

After making a quick stop to drop all of the defective parts collected throughout the day to the refurbishing desk, he made his way back to his cubicle, in no rush to talk to the fuming manager about whatever it was that had him in yet another foul mood. He logged onto the worker’s portal to mark his jobs for the day as complete. The process brought his thoughts back to Ms. Nari Yu and he couldn’t help the smile that played across his lips. As shitty a job this was, at least he had stuck around long enough to meet her.

When he got to the end of his list of jobs, he paused. This wasn’t right. His last appointment had been for Nari, yet the portal was showing otherwise. Mark inwardly groaned. The actual appointment was flagged as red, meaning that the customer had called in about the technician never showing up. Was this what he was about to get chewed out for? He scrolled down some more, trying to find out why he had mistaken Nari’s appointment for today. It just didn't make any sense to him. Mark wasn’t one to make mistakes like this, especially when it was a process he did on a regular bases. Her appointment wasn't set until Monday at four in the afternoon, and it wasn't even his appointment. It was his manager's. “No wonder they weren't expecting me,” he mumbled to himself, thinking back to the look of confusion on Lian’s face when she finally got around to answering the door. The only thing he could think of was that the paperwork must have gotten mixed when he printed them. He always printed the orders as they came in, then filed them in order of the day the appointment was set and the worker assigned. Oh well. At least he got to meet the girl of his dreams.

Finally, he finished logging in all the tasks and notes of the day's work and packed his things to head home. Of course, he first had to stop by the manager's office to get yelled at. “Typical workday,” he mumbled to himself as he opened the door to the small, cramped office, not even bothering to knock.

His manager, Jay Brinton, sat at his desk, red in the face, elbows set on the desktop with his fingers intertwined under his chin, sharp eyes throwing daggers toward the nonchalant Mark, who casually took the seat opposite the angry man. Neither of them spoke, both wanting the other to say something first.

Mark started tapping his hands on the armrests of his chair, after a minute or so passed, with a tight lipped smile and raised eyebrows. The silence was really working his nerves. “Welp, that was a good talk,” he mumbled as he started to stand to leave.

“Have a seat, Mark,” Jay’s voice came out low and slow and when Mark turned back to look, he could have sworn he saw more than just rage behind those eyes.

“Look,” Mark started, choosing to stay standing. “If this is about me missing my appointment, it was a mistake. Accidents happen. I'll call the client before I leave today, if it makes you feel better.”

Jay slammed his hands on his desk, standing slowly with his head bent down, not meeting Mark's eyes, but the vicious grin that bared the man's teeth was hard to miss. “You think everything is that simple?” His head snapped up and Mark nearly flinched. Nearly. “Not only did you lose one of our most loyal customers, who called another company when you didn't show, but you also went to an appointment that wasn't even assigned to you!” His words had gotten louder and louder as he progressed until Mark finally had to take a step back, an annoyed look on his face at the unnecessary volume the man was using towards him.

“You're mad I went to an appointment to literally just replace the water hose? Because that’s all you missed. A cracked hose. There's practically no commission on those jobs. Trust me, I saved you time and gas. Can I go now?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact,” Jay said, through gritted teeth. “You can go. Pack up your desk, too. You're fired.”

Mark scoffed. “You're serious?”

“As death,” the manager replied with a sharp nod of his head, his jaw twitching, eyes so sharp, they seemed to pierce right through his now ex-employee.

A million thoughts flew through Mark’s head. Fired? He was being fired!? This was pure bull shit. He was being fired over something so simple as an appointment mix up? He couldn’t even count the amount of times his coworkers had mixed up their own schedules, his fuck faced manager included!

“What the fuck is so funny?” came Jay’s voice in an almost growl.

Mark couldn’t help it. He had to laugh! This was just too funny to him. He didn’t need this shit job anymore, so why did he have to care? What good was it ruining his good mood for this piece of shit manager? With as much money as he had set aside, it was only a matter of time before he had quit anyways. Another chuckle vibrated his vocal cords. “So, I guess we’re done here? I’ll just get my things and go.” He took a step back towards the door, hesitating only to see if the fuming man before him had anymore to say. When Jay continued to stand there, eyes glaring, teeth bared, Mark took it as his que to continue out of the cramped space.

Fired? Fine. He’ll get to add  the severance to his savings and he would finally be forced to start his own thing.

***

Getting home from work and knowing he didn’t have to ever go back gave Mark one of the most lightweight feelings that he had had in a long time. He plopped onto his bed, face first, and just laid there for a good five minutes, letting the feeling of freedom sink into his every muscle. Maybe he would take a couple of months off before starting his next big thing. Ever since his high school days, Mark had always held some type of job. He deserved this break.

Rolling over to his back, Mark closed his eyes and rested with his hands behind his head. What was he to do with all of this free time he now had? His breathing began to even out into slow steady breaths and eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

A light buzzing sound woke him from his dreamless nap, and Mark’s eyes flew open. The room was dark, the sun having set already. A quick glance at his phone showed the time being just past eleven.

Mark sat up with a yawn and opened the text message he had just received, the number unknown. “Come have fun with us! We’re at Allure. This is Nari.” For a moment, he sat there, frozen, rereading the message over and over again. A smile slowly stretched his lips as the reality of the situation sunk in.

She had contacted him. Nari Yu. That beautiful woman he had encountered by chance only hours ago. She was already contacting him. Mark sprung from his bed and ran to the restroom to freshen up. There was no chance in hell he was going to make a woman like her wait.

Only forty minutes later, Mark was paying the bouncer his entrance fee and pushing by the crowd of people standing near the entrance. His eyes scanned the dim red lit room trying to catch a glimpse of his target, but seeing her nowhere. His brow furrowed as he made his way to the bar, checking his messages again to make sure he had read the club name correctly.

“What can I get you?” the bar keep questioned as Mark squeezed into an empty spot along the counter.

Before Mark could answer, a deep voice spat out an order from behind him. “Two tequila sunrises and two rum and coke.” As the man behind the counter turned to make the drinks, a hand clapped Mark on the shoulder and the same guy that he had seen earlier at Nari’s house leaned against the bar next to him. Her sister's lover. “The name’s Jinyoung,” the guy replied, seeming to see the question in Mark’s eyes. “The girls are taking a piss.”

Mark just nodded, not really having anything to say to the other guy.

“You got here pretty fast. You must have a serious hard-on for Nari.”

He had said it so casually and Mark, not expecting such a vulgar comment, stammered, “W-what!? No, no, no. It’s not like that.”

Jinyoung laughed. “You don’t have to bull shit me, man. I get it. Those sisters are like fire and every guy in here has been dying to touch those flames.”

Mark’s jaw tightened at the thought of other men touching what he so desperately wanted to be his. “To be honest, I’m surprised she contacted me.” The laugh that came from Jinyoung seemed out of place. “What?”

Jinyoung turned and picked up two of the drinks the bar keep had just put in front of them. “Nari didn’t text you. That was Lian. Get the drinks.The girls should be out by now.”

Mark stood frozen for a second. “You mean she doesn’t even know I’m here!?”

“Nope. But don’t let that stop you. Make your move,” and without another glance back, Jinyoung headed off towards the opposite side of the club.

She didn’t even know he was here? Fuck! The embarrassment ate at him, but Jinyoung was right. He had come all this way. Why not make his move?