The sun was an blinding glare off the surface of the lake, making the row of ridiculous, oversized swan paddle boats look like a fever dream of plastic and fiberglass. Clara stood on the dock, adjusting a sun hat the size of a satellite dish.
"Listen carefully, Julian," she hissed, her eyes tracking Arthur and Daisy as they approached.
Julian stood beside her, his arms crossed, looking like a man forced to watch his own funeral. He didn't look at the boats. He looked at Clara.
"I'm listening."
"The plan is simple. I'm going to hijack Arthur. I'll force him into a boat, and he'll be so annoyed he'll row to the middle of the lake just to escape the conversation." She poked Julian's chest for emphasis.
"That leaves you alone with Daisy on the dock. Use the 'Dark CEO' aura. Comfort her. Be the hero."
Julian's gaze shifted to the nearest plastic swan. His lip curled in genuine disgust.
"Seraphina... I own a yacht in Monaco. I am not stepping into a fiberglass bird."
"It's called strategy!" Clara snapped, grabbing his arm and spinning him toward the path.
"Look—here they come! Quick, look accidentally approachable!"
Arthur was moving with the careful, practiced grace of a saint, holding Daisy's hand as they navigated the slightly wobbly wood of the dock.
"Careful, Daisy," Arthur said, his voice a warm hum. "The dock is a bit unstable today."
"Thank you, Arthur..." Daisy smiled, her eyes wide and innocent. "Maybe we should just sit and watch the ducks instead? The water looks so deep."
"Nonsense!" Clara's voice cut through the air like a blade. She stepped into their path, her yellow dress billowing. "Watching ducks is for people with no ambition!"
She lunged forward, snagging Arthur's arm before he could react.
"Come on, Puppy. I need someone with strong arms to row me through the waves. Arthur is great at manual labor, aren't you?"
Daisy's eyes instantly pooled with tears.
"But... Arthur promised we'd row together..."
Clara waved a hand dismissively. "You can row later! Julian is right there."
She gestured toward the brooding man behind her with an awkward, toothy smile.
"And he's... an expert rower. Practically a professional."
Julian's voice was a low, dangerous mutter. "I have never rowed a boat in my life."
Clara didn't wait for a rebuttal. She aimed for the swan boat, intending to make a grand, dramatic entrance that would force Arthur to follow. But she had forgotten one crucial detail: her four-inch designer heels.
Her heel caught a coil of mooring rope.
"Wait—" Her arms began to windmill.
"Physics! I forgot about physics!"
SPLASH.
The sound was gargantuan. Clara vanished beneath the green surface of the lake, her expensive sun hat bobbing away like a lonely lily pad.
Arthur froze, his face a mask of sheer panic.
"Seraphina! There are fish in there! Someone get a net! A life ring! A lawyer!" He began running in small, frantic circles on the dock.
"I... I can't jump in! I have an important meeting at four... and I didn't bring extra socks!"
Clara's head popped up, her hair plastered to her face like seaweed. She wiped the water from her eyes and pointed a shaking finger at Arthur.
"Arthur! This is your moment! Save me!"
Arthur hesitated, looking down at his pristine white linen suit.
"I... I really can't, Seraphina. The dry-cleaning bill alone—"
Before Clara could hurl a watery insult, a second splash cut through the air.
Julian didn't hesitate.
He didn't check his suit or his schedule. He hit the water with the precision of a shark, his strokes powerful and fast. Within seconds, his hand was clamped around Clara's waist, hauling her upward.
"You idiot," Julian growled, his teeth clenched as he pulled her toward the dock. "You're going to get yourself killed playing these games."
Clara coughed, sputtering lake water. "Julian! You ruined the scene! You're the second male lead! You're supposed to be on the dock with Daisy!"
"Forget the second male lead!" Julian dragged her onto the wood, water dripping from his soaked suit onto the boards.
He stood up, towering over her, and gestured wildly at Arthur, who was still standing five feet away with dry shoes.
"He didn't even move! When are you going to stop chasing a man who's afraid of lake water?"
A few moments later, Clara sat wrapped in a coarse emergency towel, shivering. Julian stood in front of her, his white dress shirt completely transparent against his skin, his hair dripping onto his nose.
Clara tried to look at his face, but her eyes accidentally dipped to the sharp lines of his torso visible through the wet fabric. She looked away quickly, her face heating up.
"Okay..." she cleared her throat. "So Arthur might be slightly water-shy. It's a character flaw! I can fix him!"
Julian bent down, his shadow falling over her, cold water dripping from his chin onto her nose.
"You can't fix someone who doesn't want to be saved, Clara. You keep pushing me toward Daisy. But every time I look at her..."
He paused, his eyes burning with a dark, unscripted intensity.
"I see you causing another disaster. I see you nearly drowning for a man who won't even ruin his socks for you."
"That's because you're not focusing!" Clara poked his wet chest, her finger sinking into the damp fabric. "You're supposed to be the Cold CEO. Not the lifeguard!"
Julian's hand shot out, catching her wrist. His skin was freezing, but his grip was fire.
"Maybe I'm tired of being cold," he whispered, leaning so close she could smell the lake and his sharp, lingering nicotine. "Maybe I want to be the one who makes you shiver for once."
The tension was snapped by the sound of footsteps. Arthur approached, holding a steaming paper cup with a guilty expression.
"Seraphina... I found some tea for you. It's herbal."
Clara looked at the tea, then up at Julian, who was still holding her hand with a possessiveness that felt like a brand.
Wait...Clara thought, her heart skipping a beat against her ribs. Why is the Iceberg looking at me like I'm the Main Character?