Page 12 of Glass Jawed
There’s almost an edge to it. A subtle accusation. A dare.
I extend my hand, cool as I can manage. “Aarohi Talwar.”
He takes it. Firm, polite. But his grip lingers a beat too long. Tightens, ever so slightly.
“Nice tomeetyou.”
Fuck.
He remembers.
Hedefinitelyremembers.
Akshat introduces himself next, and somehow that cues a full-on chat between him, Katie, and Lucian about Ivey versus Rotman. Lighthearted teasing, rival school banter, the usual.
Ivy League banter, but Canadian.
Lucian’s voice is smooth, polished—too polished. Every word lands like it’s been rehearsed, but not in a robotic way. More like... weaponized charm.
He throws in a humble chuckle here, a small eye-crinkle there. Katie is clearly charmed, and even Akshat looks like he wouldn’t mind a mentorship invitation right about now.
Meanwhile, I can’t hear a damn thing over the pounding in my chest.
I nod along when someone laughs. No clue what I’m nodding at. Lucian hasn’t looked at me again—not directly—but I feel it. The awareness between us. Like I’ve got a live wire tucked into my back pocket.
Then Katie suddenly goes, “Shit. I totally forgot I have an appointment at seven.”
She grabs her phone to check, confirming it with a frown. “I’ll have to skip drinks. But tomorrow’s still good?”
“Yeah, I’m good with tomorrow,” Akshat replies.
Lucian raises an eyebrow. “What’s this about? A project?”
“Yeah,” Katie says, tucking her phone away. “We have to develop a business model around a known pain point. Aarohi worked with a U.S. telehealth company, so we figured we’d build from that.”
At the mention of my name, Lucian finally looks at me. Really looks.
Like he’s been waiting for the excuse.
“You worked in U.S. healthcare?” he asks, casual.Toocasual.
I nod. “Contract role. Mostly product development and customer workflows. It gave me a decent lay of the land.”
“That’s interesting,” he says, thoughtfully. “I don’t meet many students with that kind of background.”
His eyes flick to Katie and Akshat. “You guys don’t mind if I steal her for a bit? I’d love to hear more about her work. Might be useful to swap some notes.”
A pause. Beat-perfect.
It sounds like a professional courtesy. It’s not. Iknowit.
But he’s so good with words, so calm, that neither Katie nor Akshat seem to catch the sharp shift in air pressure.
“Yeah, of course,” Akshat says. “She’s full of good ideas. We’ll regroup tomorrow.”
Katie throws me a look I can’t quite decode before saying her quick goodbyes. A few seconds later, they’re gone.
And I’m alone with Lucian Vale.
