Amber laid against her arms with her eyes closed on top of the desk, trying to nap. After Hunter and Nathan left, with a little over thirty minutes left to spare, she'd made her way to their next class for some rest and relaxation.

At first, Amber wanted to read, but her brain refused to cooperate. In fact, it was getting harder and harder to concentrate, especially in the last twenty-four hours or so—ever since Hunter Eaton came into her life. It didn't sound like much, but to Amber, whose twenty years of life had been pre-planned, quiet, and on track, he was like a bulldozer that just kept coming. Only Amber hadn't figured it out yet where she wanted him to stop.

She took a deep breath and exhale, realizing her heart rate was climbing just thinking of him. After a few minutes of steadfast breathing exercise, Amber's heart normalized, but her thoughts remained on Hunter and his words.

The course of true love never did run smooth.

True love? Amber lamented. What true love? Even to an outsider like Hunter, it was apparent there was no love between her and Liam. Was Hunter telling her to be patient? Was that why he had issues with her brushing Liam off like that? Amber's brow knitted slightly. This was why she didn't have friends. They all assumed they knew what was best for her.

But then again, it wasn't Hunter's fault. If Liam hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened. They would have just gone on their merry way, and there'd be no advice or quotes to fry the brain. And who knows when Amber would introduce the two. Probably never.

As for friends? It wasn't like Amber had a lot of friends to start with. The only person she considered was Brittany, and she was female. Were there differences between male and female friends, other than male friends flirted more? She'd have to ask Brittany later how to handle male friends if she wanted this to work out between her and Hunter.

And for reasons unknown, Amber wanted it to work out.

It would be nice to have another male to talk with about Liam, someone who can help her understand Liam, and perhaps even come to love him…?

Amber choked. Who was she kidding? Why, if Liam started sputtering nonsense like Hunter, Amber would have a heart attack! She couldn't imagine Liam chasing after any girl, much less dedicate his entire life to one.

"Aaaddd this is the reason you wanted to get here earlier," the familiar voice wafted to Amber's ears, disrupting her thoughts. It was Nathan, and he was probably talking to Hunter.

Amber wanted to open her eyes, sit up straight, and greet them... but she didn't. Instead, she kept her head down and pretended to be fast asleep.

Nathan and Hunter paused by the door to the classroom. It was a colossal classroom configured similar to the one from Monday, with booths for seats and tables layered from top to bottom. In the middle of it, Amber's dark head rested against her arms, decompressing.

"Oh look, she's sleeping—" Nathan began. One glance from Hunter, and he closed his mouth. He trailed quietly after Hunter, who was making his way towards Amber.

At the start of the aisle, Hunter paused, observing her dormant figure from afar. Nathan stayed behind him for a moment but then pushed forward, past Hunter, whispering. "I'll see if she's really sleeping."

I'm not, Amber thought as footsteps approached. She couldn't tell how far or close they were, and since she'd already faked it this far, she might as well see it to the end. 

Nathan stopped near Amber before leaning in, murmuring. "Bosslady?"

Amber used all her willpower to remain still as a statue, despite wanting to correct Nathan about her name.

"Bosslady…" Nathan's sing-song, quiet tone echoed right above her. "Booossslladdddyyy…? Are you awake?"

Hunter finally advanced, following the aisle to get to Amber.

"Guess she's sleeping." Nathan straightened and edged out of the section of open space as Hunter approached. He squeezed back in on the other side of the table with Hunter in the middle before sitting down.

"Really, Boss," Nathan began in a hushed voice as he pulled out a few items from his backpack, including his laptop. "With so many friends, you just had to pick this one."

There was something odd about how he stressed the word friends, but Amber couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Nor would she ask.

"Not only that," Nathan continued. "She's already engaged! What would her fiancé say if he saw you two?"

Amber wanted so badly to open her mouth and inform Nathan they were beyond that already. She didn't, only because she was supposed to be asleep. It didn't help that Hunter was unresponsive to Nathan's remarks.

"My old man called again and asked about the heir to Pro Securities. He wanted to confirm the rumors of him attending this campus. What am I supposed to tell him?" Nathan changed topics.

"Tell him whatever you want," Hunter finally spoke up. "That's not my problem."

Interesting… so Hunter also has his eyes on the heir…? But why?

"He's threatening to send me back to work," Nathan shuddered. "We agreed not until after I finish college!"

She realized then why Nathan's name sounded so familiar.

"Your father's Vice President of Pro Securities!" Amber exclaimed, suddenly straightening. She turned to face Nathan and Hunter before she could stop herself. "That's where I've heard of you before!"

Nathan blinked at her, mouth dropping into an O.

Hunter only smiled, not at all surprised. "If you wanted to know, you should have just asked me."

Rather than answer, Amber covered her face and shook her head. Busted!

"Eh? Weren't you sleeping?" Nathan asked, obviously perplexed at her sudden outburst.

"I—I just woke up," Amber rubbed her eyes. "When did you two get here?"

"A while ago," Hunter answered with that idiotic grin on his face. "I hope we didn't wake you?"

"Not at all," Amber muttered, unsure of how to proceed. Nathan took her explanation to heart, but Hunter knew better, and the expression he gave her told her so.

A cellphone rang from Nathan, and the door to the classroom opened. The three turned to stare at a student, who stopped to prop the door before glaring at them. Amber responded with a weak smile, and the studen turned away, taking a seat at the front of the room.

"How hard is it to find the room? It's on the second floor." Nathan was talking to someone on his phone. "No, no, it's the east building! Not the west!"

There was a pause before Nathan slapped the desk in front of him. "I told you not to mix the two buildings!" He eyed Hunter and rolled his eyes. Then he spotted Amber, who was now giving him a questioning glance.

"It's another friend of the group," Nathan answered. "He's in this class as well." Before Amber could ask, Nathan continued talking, but not to her. "I'm talking to Bosslady, yo! Yeah… yeah… nope, they're just friends… Exactly!"

Amber focused on Hunter. "Aren't you at least curious about what they are saying?"

"Nope." Hunter turned his attention to the contents of his briefcase. "And you shouldn't listen to those guys, either. They always talk nonsense."

"Does that mean I shouldn't listen to you as well?" Amber suggested. "You are their leader, which means you sprout more nonsense?"

"You're missing all the excitement," Nathan whispered into the phone, listening in. "Bosslady is questioning Bossman… No, no, I will not record it!"

"Nathan," Hunter gave the command without turning around. "Cut it."

"Uh oh, he's mad now. Later!" Nathan hastily hung up without giving the individual on the other end to respond. "Don't mind me. Just ignore me." He turned to his desk and started shuffling papers around. "Pretend like I'm not even here."

Hunter waited until Amber's eyes were on him again before he spoke. "About tomorrow's breakfast—"

"Yes, yes," Amber intervened, not letting him finish. "Don't worry—I'll be there."

Hunter hesitated, his eyes laughing at her. It almost felt like he didn't want to say the rest of the words, but he pressed on. "While I'm happy you'll be there like you say, I have to take a raincheck."

This time it was Amber who paused as his words registered. A slight flush crept past her neck and up her cheeks when she realized what she had just said and what he had just said. Amber assumed he wanted to make sure she showed up, so she responded accordingly. It never dawned on her he was going to cancel—would cancel.

"I… um… you…." Amber's voice trailed off, unable to think of what to say next. She sounded like a floundering fool, even to her own ears.

"You'll save me a seat, won't you?" Hunter chuckled.

"I haven't thought about it." Amber lied, relieved at the change in topic. It was somewhat true. While she hadn't thought about their roles being reversed, Amber would have saved him a seat if he showed up late. Of course, he didn't need to know that!

Hunter laughed, drawing attention from Nathan, who sat up straighter in his seat. The pen that was in Nathan's mouth dropped as he stared at Hunter like he'd grown horns.

At that moment, Amber's cellphone rang, and she turned away to take the call. She knew who it was before answering. "Amber can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeep."

"You can only fool me once," the male on the other end answered. "I won't fall for it again."

"Hi, Dad," Amber smiled, staring out the window. Like Nathan said, they were on the second floor of the building. Amber watched the students walking back and forth to their next destination. "I missed you, too."

"When will you come back and visit?" Her dad sounded desperate. "Your mom is a slave driver!"

There was some background noise before her dad said in a lower voice. "And she has the hearing of a bat! Come home, soon, pleeassseee?"

"You and Mom can be so dramatic sometimes. It's only been two weeks."

"Two weeks too long," her dad answered, then coughed into the phone before returning to his normal manner. He was all business now. "Anyway, just got out of a Board of Directors meeting, and there's a rumor floating around about our rival's son going to your school. Have you heard?"

"Yes, I have." Amber tapped her fingers lightly against the table. She lowered her voice, hoping to drown out her conversation with the noise of other students that had arrived. "I didn't realize Vice President Storm's son also attends school here?"

She missed the way Nathan's ear perked or how quiet Hunter had become.

"That's nothing new," her dad scoffed. "If you had been paying attention, you would have known that before you started. We told you, while mediocre at best, your campus is home to some of the best instructors in the country in information security."

"Well, I don't remember that conversation," Amber tried, really, but it was too long ago for her to recall. "As for the rumors, I only just found out a couple of days ago by chance."

"Are you able to confirm?"

First, Nathan's father, and now hers? What was so interesting about this rumored heir, anyway?

"What does it matter?" Amber shrugged. "Why should we care if the heir is here or not?"

"He's your rival!"

"Hmmm," Amber nodded, thinking. "Unless you plan on setting me up with him to increase our fortune, it has nothing to do with me. He may be right next to me for all I care. Besides, the coward's too scared to show himself in public so just let him hide. I'm fairly certain he's deformed or has some sort of disease if all we have of him are rumors." 

There were bouts of coughing to her left, and Amber turned to see half of Nathan's shirt coated with water. In his hand was a half-emptied water bottle, and Nathan was smacking his chest, struggling to breathe. His face was a mixture of white and red, as if he unable to decide whether to laugh or die.

Is he all right? Amber mouthed the words to an amused Hunter, who was giving her an odd stare.

"He's all right," Hunter answered, not even paying any attention to Nathan or his suffering.

"Who's that?" Her dad asked after hearing Hunter's voice.

"Students in the background," Amber returned to the conversation. "But really? Why is everyone so interested in him? And why should I be interested in him?"

Her dad lowered his voice on the other end, even though there was no one else there but her mom. "There's a rumor floating around that they're trying to gain some smaller competition. It might make or break us if it happens, so the Board is interested."

"Let the Board do their own dirty little work," Amber lowered her voice. "Why is it always you? Besides, aren't you supposed to be on paternity leave?"

Her dad sighed on the other end. "Amber, this is how these things work."

Amber's voice tightened. "When I become one of the Boards, I will—"

"Amber," her dad warned, and Amber stopped. He added. "Forget it."

"If I find him and get the information, will it get them off your back?" Amber asked, referring to the heir. 

"Stay out of it," her dad warned. "You're not ready yet."

"If you keep protecting me, I will never be ready." Amber rubbed her temples, a sudden headache starting. "I'll see what I can dig up about the heir and if I can find any information, but I don't know how useful it may be for us."

Amber continued without giving her dad a chance to respond. "If you had wanted me to stay out of this, you wouldn't have mentioned the heir. Besides, now I'm also curious. The heir must be some real spoiled brat and a real coward if he's hiding behind his parents. Better yet, he is probably an embarrassment; otherwise, why are there no pictures of him? Nothing! Maybe he doesn't even exist, and it's all a conspiracy theory by the company to keep us all on our toes?"

This time, there were more coughing fits to her left. It was louder than before, as if there was something stuck at the base of someone’s throat. Amber shifted, wondering why Nathan didn't learn his lesson the first time about sipping from the water bottle. She opened her mouth, about to tell him so, until she noticed it wasn't Nathan. Instead, coughing with water all over the front of his shirt, was a blond-haired young man with glasses sitting next to Nathan.

Good old Nathan was helping by patting the young man's back, none too gently. All the while, Hunter played with his laptop, scrolling through the news and responding to emails.

Is he okay? Amber mouthed the words to Nathan and the young man, whose eyes were on her. It looked like they wanted to laugh and cry simultaneously but couldn't decide. They were also looking at her like she'd grown horns as well. They also kept glancing at Hunter, almost as if they were afraid or worried. About what, Amber didn't know, and she didn't want to find out. 

He's fine, he's fine, Nathan mouthed back.

"Anyway, what about the contract with One Security?" Amber asked, turning back to her dad. "Did they sign it yet?" She missed the way Hunter shifted closer to her so he could hear the conversation.

Six months now, her parents have been working closely with the Board and One Security to get a contract signed. After months of negotiations, they were close to an agreement, and while Amber didn't want to join the corporate world yet, she was still interested in most of the things that went around the company.

"No," her dad gave a deep, frustrated growl. "They want more money. They're refusing to sign unless we add 2% on top of the royalty."

"That's stealing!"

"Nothing we can do about it. The Board wants them. Whatever the Board wants, they get."

"Bullshit," Amber said under her breath. "Our job is the interests of our members, not the Board."

"Either way, they've given us until Friday afternoon to decide. I'll stall them for as long as I can, but I don't think there's anything else we can do."

Amber rubbed her eyes, her brain trying to come up with a solution. "Send the contract to Aunt Mariam—"

"No," her dad's voice was firm. "You know I can't do that. She has her own problems to worry about."

Amber knew, but still…

"Anyway, whatever you do, be careful," her dad said on the other line, dropping the subject of the contract negotiations. "I'll talk to you soon."

"I will," Amber answered. It was perfect timing because the Professor had just walked in. She eyed the clock on the wall. "Class is about to start. I'll talk to you later! Love you guys. Bye!"