The next day, Tessa has her first full day at Vance, and she meets some of her coworkers: the secretary, named Kimberly, and a young man named Trevor. Hardin surprises her by taking her out to lunch, making sure she isn’t having regrets about having sex. When they pass Trevor back at Vance, Hardin immediately becomes aggressive, grabbing Tessa’s wrist and accusing her of flirting with Trevor. Tessa calmly reassures Hardin that she loves him and wouldn’t flirt with someone else, and they end up almost having sex in her office before Kimberly calls to say Mr. Vance is on his way in.

When Tessa gets back to the dorms after work, Hardin comes by. He has reluctantly agreed to attend his father’s wedding this weekend, but both he and Tessa need something to wear, so they head to the mall. While there, they see Zed, Logan, and another guy Tessa’s never met before: Jace. When Hardin introduces Tessa as his “friend” (453), Tessa hides her anger until they leave. She can see from Hardin’s face that Hardin doesn’t like Jace, yet he accepts his invitation to a party, explaining later that, “Jace isn’t one of those guys you say no to” (456).