“Speaking of teams,” Harold interjects, “my team has passed along some interesting rumors. Something about construction delays on-site? Logistical issues?”
My hackles raise instantly. “Where did you hear that?”
“Oh, you know how it is.” He waggles his fingers through the air. “Little birdies talk. I just want to make sure everything’s on track for next week’s launch.”
“Everything is on track,” I tell him firmly. “Frank Moretti and his team have delivered exactly what we needed, on time and on budget. I was just at the site this afternoon. It’s flawless.”
“No HVAC problems?” Harold presses. “No issues with the fire suppression system?”
I lean forward, letting a hint of steel creep into my voice. “Harold, if you’ve got concerns about the project, I’m happy to arrange a private tour for you. But I can assure you that every single system has been inspected and approved. We’re ready.”
There’s a beat of silence. Harold’s smile looks insincere, but eventually, he nods. “Good, good. Just doing my due diligence, you understand.”
Brewer clears his throat. “I think we’re all feeling confident about the launch. Bastian’s track record speaks for itself.”
The other investors murmur their agreement, and I feel the tension ease. We spend another twenty minutes going over final details before I’m finally able to end the call.
As the screen goes dark, I settle back in my chair and scrub my hands over my face. I didn’t like that look in Harold’s eyes. How the hell did he hear about the construction issues? We’ve kept that information locked down tight. Only a handful of people even knew there were problems in the first place. And thanks to Eliana’s hard work over the last two months, those problems no longer exist.
I make a mental note to ask Frank about it when I see him next. But for now, I want to find Eliana.
I push back from my desk and head toward her cubicle. Maybe I’ll convince her to grab dinner somewhere out of the way, just the two of us.
But her desk is empty. Her Garfield mug sits abandoned beside her monitor, still half-full of cold coffee. Her chair is pushed back at an awkward angle, like she left in a hurry.
“Looking for Hunter?”
I turn to find Kyle, Eliana’s least favorite coworker and a consistent pain in my ass, leaning against the cubicle partition with a smirk.
“Where is she?” I ask.
“Beats me. She got a call maybe, like, twenty minutes ago? Looked pretty upset about it. She grabbed her coat and booked it out of here.” He pauses and purses his lips. He seems to be enjoying having information I don’t. “Didn’t say where she was going, though.”
I frown. She would’ve texted me if it was something minor.
Unless it wasn’t minor.
I pull out my phone and fire off a quick text.
Where are you? Everything okay?
The message delivers but doesn’t show as read. My frown deepens.
I turn my back on Kyle and start striding toward the elevator, staring at my phone the whole time to see if the Read status on my text changes. After a minute or two of waiting and still no elevator, I grunt in frustration and go for the stairs instead.
I’m charging down the stairs, my anxiety building with every step, whenRead: 4:32 P.M.suddenly pops up beneath my text. My phone rings a moment later.
“You alright?” I bark into the phone as soon as I answer. “Where are you? Is everything?—”
“I’m fine, Bastian,” she says with a laugh. But I know her well enough by now to hear the tears lurking at the edge of that laughter.
“Then why do you sound like you’ve been crying?”
“Because I have been, dummy,” she replies. “But it’s okay. It’s a good thing. My mom called and she needed me, and I came here,and we talked, and… Yeah. It’s a long story, so I’ll have to explain when I see you again. But I’m gonna take her to a meeting tonight, alright? She wanted me to go and I want to be there for her.”
I soften at once. That fear for her safety, the ever-present thought ofWhat if Aleksei does something I don’t expect,goes whooshing out of my stomach. “Yeah. Of course. Of course that’s alright. You need anything from me?”
“No, but thank you. I’m just gonna spend some time with her. I think… I think things might be changing for the better, Bastian.”
