Chapter 41: I said NO

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: I said NO

"Wait, Garrett" Jacey shook her head, as if she could somehow shake his answer into something different. "You’re serious. You’re actually saying no."

"I am."

"Garrett, we used to help each other with this stuff all the time." She leaned forward slightly, her voice becoming more urgent. "You know how this works. It’s one recommendation. One phone call. My brother’s qualified. He just needs someone to get his name in front of the right people, and you already know them."

Garrett let her finish.

"I heard you the first time," he said. "The answer’s the same."

"Do you even understand what this means for him? He’s been trying to get into that firm for a year." Her eyes searched his face for whatever crack she was used to finding there. "This isn’t some huge thing I’m asking. It’s small for you and it’s everything for him."

"I understand what you’re asking." His voice stayed even. "I just don’t want to do it."

She stared at him for a moment, the confusion on her face slowly giving way to disbelief.

"Is this because of how things ended between us?"

Garrett looked at her.

"You ended it. Not me."

"That doesn’t mean—"

"It means you made the decision." There was no anger in his voice. "You decided you didn’t want the relationship anymore. I accepted that. I don’t see why I’m supposed to keep doing things for you because we used to be together."

Jacey opened her mouth, then stopped.

For a moment, she just looked at him.

This clearly wasn’t how she’d expected the conversation to go.

"Please."

The word came out quieter than anything she’d said so far.

"Just this once. I’m not asking for anything else, I promise...Just this."

"No."

"Garrett." She said his name more softly this time. "I’m asking you. Please."

"Jacey I said no"

Her composure slipped another step.

"You don’t even have to do much. One email. One introduction, That’s all I need from you. You really are going to turn me down?"

Garrett didn’t move.

That seemed to bother her more than the refusal itself.

He wasn’t arguing with her. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t even trying to make her feel bad.

He had simply decided.

The old Garrett would have already had his phone out.

He could picture it clearly. Jacey would ask, he’d say yes, he’d make the call, and the problem would be gone. It would have been easy.

That was the problem.

He didn’t want to be that person anymore.

"I’m not going to change my mind," Garrett said. "You can keep asking, but the answer is still no."

Jacey looked at him for several seconds.

She seemed to be waiting for something.

A little hesitation, maybe a little guilt.

Anything that told her she still had a way to get through to him.

Garrett gave her nothing.

For the first time since she’d arrived, Jacey seemed confused at how everything had gone.

Garrett studied her for a moment, something about the whole exchange not quite settling right.

It wasn’t the request itself. People asked for favors all the time. It was the way she kept pushing past every reasonable stopping point, the way her voice kept climbing instead of leveling off into acceptance.

"Why are you trying this hard?" he asked.

Jacey blinked, caught off guard by the directness of it. "What?"

"This." He gestured, vague but pointed. "It’s a recommendation for your brother. You’ve asked, I’ve said no, and you’re still going. People don’t usually fight this hard over one email."

She hesitated, just a beat too long.

"He’s my brother, Garrett. Of course I’m going to fight for him." Her voice steadied as she went, like she was talking herself back into the explanation as much as him. "You don’t know what it’s like watching someone you care about get passed over again and again for something they’re actually good at. I’d do a lot more than beg an ex for a favor if it meant helping him."

It was a reasonable answer.

It just didn’t fully explain the look she’d had on her face a moment ago, the one that hadn’t been about her brother at all.

Garrett didn’t say any of that out loud. He didn’t have enough to call her out on, nothing concrete enough to turn into an accusation instead of a guess.

’Maybe that’s all it is.’

He didn’t quite believe that. But he filed the feeling away rather than chasing it. He didnt seem interested in what ever what happening

"Please," Jacey tried one last time, quieter now, like she could hear how little ground she had left. "Just think about it. That’s all I’m asking."

"I don’t need to think about it," Garrett said.

She held his gaze a moment longer, searching for something that would make him bend. Whatever she was looking for, she didn’t find it.

He didn’t offer to reconsider. Didn’t tell her to ask again next week. Didn’t soften it with an apology for saying no in the first place.

" 5 minutes Jacey" he raised his head "its been well over 5 minutes for a while now."

Jacey’s shoulders dropped, some of the fight finally leaving her. "Fine." The word came out flat, worn down. "Forget I asked."

She gathered her bag from the sofa and walked toward the door. Garrett didn’t follow her, didn’t stop her, just watched from where he stood.

She paused at the door for half a second, like she might say something else. She didn’t.

The door shut behind her.

Garrett stood there in the quiet that followed, the apartment settling back into itself.

’Right. Back to the actual problem.’

Emiliana. Freya. Daniel. The eight days ticking down whether he had an answer or not. And now, apparently, Jacey, though he had no reason to think she’d be a recurring part of any of it.

He had no way of knowing her visit had never really been about her brother at all.

Garrett watched the door close behind her. For some reason, he had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time Jacey came knocking.

"Does Hundred thousand pounds always come with this much trouble?" He asked, to no one.