Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Inod, letting Serena’s words sit between us.
The light from the bedside lamp glows across the room, creating a halo around the edges offer some kind of comfort. I can still feel the tension clinging to her like sweat.
sof Serena’s profile as she stares up at the ceiling it might
“Do you even love him?” I ask gently. “Nathan”
Her lips part, but nothing comes out right away. Then, in a small voice, she says, “Maybe. He’s sweet, and he cares about me.”
Her throat catches. A soft hiccup follows. Then the first sab
“And I just broke his heart,” she whispers, as if realizing it for the first time. Tm an evil person, Sloane. So evil”
Her face crumples and her shoulders hunch inward. The tears come fast now, I slide toward her across the mattress and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my chest.
She doesn’t fight it. Just shudders in my hold, her body trembling. And even though she’s the older one, the feels impossibly small.
the taller one, the louder one, in this moment
“You’re not evil,” I say, brushing my fingers lightly through her hair, even as my own heart aches. “Okay? This will all go away. It’s just a storm. It pass
“Mom hates me now,” she mumbles against my shirt. “I saw it in her face. She looked at me
1squeeze her a little tighter. “No, she doesn’t She doesn’t. She’ll come around.”
like I wasn’t hers.”
But as I say the words, they catch in my throat. Because deep down, in the quietest corner of myself, I’m not sure I believe that.
Two weeks later, on a Friday
lay afternoon, I’m at work, hunched over my desk with my fingers moving across the keyboard.
we were back in
Serena’s still at my place. She’s been there since the dinner. She started off using my skincare products and stealing my cardigans college. But after a few days, Nathan dropped off all her things outside the building in two large trash bags and didn’t even say a word when I stepped out to thank him. Just got in his car and drove away. Serena cried the whole night. Again,
And Knox? He’s a ghost I get texts from Sweet, thoughtful messages. Video calls where he looks like he hasn’t slept in days. But it’s not the same as seeing him in person, I tell myself it’s my fault for dating a busy man who travels all the time, but it doesn’t stop me from missing him. His house is
angry!
y somebody else lives conveniently being occupied by Jade. The irony isn’t lost on me. I fought Knox about moving in, fought hard. But now I’m
there.
Most of that anger is directed at Jade. He destroyed the peace I didn’t even realize I was holding onto. And Mom? She’s still not answering anyone’s calls I’m convinced she’s blocked all of us
I’m mid–keystroke on a firewall report when I hear my supervisor’s voice from above me.
“Drop whatever you’re doing,” Harper says. “You’re needed on the top floor.”
My hands freeze above the keyboard. “Top floor?“,
“CEO’s office.” She’s already walking away. “Now
Uh oh. I don’t like this.
Ever since Hunter strutted into this company and claimed his throne as CEO–just like he said he would–he’s managed to stay far, far out of my way. And I’ve been perfectly fine with that arrangement Thriving, even. We haven’t so much as passed each other in a hallway. Not once.
Chapter 103
Which, honestly, isn’t that surprising. Top execs move like shadows in this place. They take the private elevator, have their own entrances, their own goddamn alt, probably. The rest of us? We stay tethered to the lower floors, doing all the real work while t polished alternate dimension,
So what the hell is this? Why now? Why me?
I stand and smooth down my skirt, then grab my phone. Harper’s already at the elevator, walking at a pace that makes me have to jog to catch up. I pin just before the doors close.
The ride up is quiet. I stare straight ahead, resisting the urge to bite my lip.
When the doors finally open into the top floor, I’m hit by how pristine it all looks. I’ve only been here once to deliver a message from Harper to one of the executive assistants, but I can tell it’s a lot different now. Like a luxury hotel lobby merged with the brain of a Fortune 500 company. Sleek Furniture, Wall- to wall windows spilling sunlight across marble floors. Art that probably costs more than my car.
Harper leads me down a comidor and stops at a thick walnut door. She knocks once and then opens it.
“Here she is, Mr. Blackwell,” she says, gesturing like I’m some long–lost package.
Inside, the office is large and modern, with one wall almost entirely glass. Hunter sits behind a curved desk, mid–conversation with a bald man in dark sunglasses, who’s seated by the window. He’s holding a silver–tipped walking stick between both hands, upright like a ceremonial sword.
“Thank you, Harper. You can leave now,” Hunter says without looking at her. “And Ms. Mercer, come in and shut the door.”
My heels tap across the floor. As Harper exits behind me, I catch her giving me a look that says, “Don’t do anything stupid.”
I nod faintly and walk farther into the room, shoulders straight even though my spine feels like it might snap
“Sit down, Sloane,” Hunter says.
I lower myself into one of the two chairs facing the desk.
The bald man hasn’t stopped staring Or maybe he isn’t staring at all. The sunglasses make it hard to tell. But it feels like he’s watching me. Judging me.
“So, Sloane,” Hunter says, resting his elbows on the desk. “You’re aware that we’re doing a bit of restructuring around here, aren’t you?”
Inod. “I am.”
“Good.” He flips open a thick file folder and begins to skim through it. “Mr. Mateo Torres,” He gestures to the man by the window, “the majority shareholder, and I were reviewing personnel this week, and your file stood out.”
My stomach clenches.
דסי
“Don’t worry. I mean that in a good way
He flips to a page and starts reading aloud. “Led a security patch upgrade that prevented a major leak in Q2. Detected a data breach before it reached the client interface-
He keeps reading, naming things I recognize as my past projects.
Eventually, he closes the file.
You did all this in six years?”
“Yes,” I sa
I say, my voice even, “I did.”
“That’s excellent work. Exactly the kind of thing that shouldn’t be buried on the lower floors. The previous executives were incompetent. Promotion
2/3
11:36 Sat, 31 May
Chapter 103
based on hookups and office politics. All of that ends now.”
Thesitate.
unsure how to respond. It’s… good? But coming from Hunter, it feels like a trap:
“Thank you so much, Mr. Blackwell,” I say at last. “I believe there are others who work just as hard”
“Hardworking and humble,” he says, grinning. “I think we made the right choice, Mr. Torres.”
I glance over at the man again. Mr. Torres removes his sunglasses. One of his eyes is scarred shut. It’s not grotesque, but it startles me. The other eye pins me in place like a microscope slide.
“Of course we did,” he says. “Ms. Mercer–may I call you Sloane?”
“Yes, you may.
“Great.” His voice is smooth but low. “What would
ld you say a
say about a corner office?”
My mouth opens a little “That… it has a great view of the city.”
Hunter lets out a soft chuckle. “Told you she’s funny.”
Mateo isn’t smiling, though. He keeps watching me. “The office comes with a higher paycheck. Different responsibilities, Bonuses. Benefits. This is not a job anymore. It’s a career”
I nod slowly, heart thudding
“We’ll go over the details over dinner,” Mateo says. “Right after the close of work
oh.com
come on. Not today, when I’m supposed to meet Knox.
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