Chapter Fifteen
Gage had told her, weeks ago.
Two weeks in London. Dealing with the subterfuges of a certain Cassian Montenegro. She’d nodded, saidof course, tucked it somewhere between a lecture on sovereign bond markets and the moment he’d invited her to the Harvest Summit.
She’d known it was coming. She just hadn’t known she’d miss him this much.
She’d gotten used to the fact she never ran into him on campus anymore. But now he wasn’t there to have dinner with. And because of the time difference, even video calling was hard.
She was fine. Busy. But it felt like Toronto all over again.
8:02 p.m.
GAGE: About to step into a meeting.
GAGE: I’ll call in the morning.
BEA: Okay. Goodnight.
Her days were full.
In the lecture hall, someone beside her scrolled through a fashion house invite. Bea took notes, half listening, half thinking about the policy memo she had to rewrite for Monaghan & Stowe.
At night, she studied with one leg tucked under her, foot nudging her laptop charger, chamomile cooling on the desk beside her.
Across the apartment, Georgina’s speakers clicked on. Instrumentals only. That was their rule: no lyrics during study hours. It wasn’t written down, but they both knew that if the vocals cut out, someone was trying to focus.
Mondays and Wednesdays she tutored Nico. Tuesdays and Thursdays she did Pilates with Lillian. They walked back to campus in their gym clothes, hair still damp, mango froyo in hand. The fruit was a local variety that ripened in late March, which was fall by the UR calendar, summer by taste. Lillian insisted it beat anything she’d ever had in Melbourne, and Australians were notoriously obsessive about their mangos.
Bea didn’t argue. It was perfect. Cold, golden, and almost too sweet.
One of those small, stupidly good things she would’ve told him about if time zones weren’t so rude. Some things just didn’t land in texts.
The office was nearly empty.
It was past eight, and Monaghan & Stowe had shifted into its second personality: quieter, more focused, lit from within by desk lamps and the blue glow of spreadsheets. The sound ofBea’s keyboard was one of the few things competing with the hum of the air system and the occasional shuffle of paper from across the bullpen.
She adjusted a figure on the third slide.
The numbers were clean. And honestly, a little shocking. To her, at least.
Bea leaned forward and began typing.
Internal Memo – Monaghan & Stowe
Subject:Gender Pay Gap in the UR
Author:Beatriz Cruz (Analyst, Financial Policy Research Unit)
The gender pay gap—often cited as women earning 15% to 20% less than men—has returned to the spotlight in Western markets. Much of this can be explained by industry and seniority, but a 10% gap remains, particularly in roles tied to negotiation and performance. Research suggests this is linked to lower risk appetite and higher conflict sensitivity among women.
The UR has recently faced criticism for its lack of engagement in gender pay gap debates common in other Western nations.
The rebuttal is simple: it hasn’t been an issue here for over thirty years.
While men still dominate the billionaire class (88%), women under 40 in executive tracks consistently out-earn men. They score higher on national exams, rise equally fast in their careers, and, importantly, report greater job satisfaction.
This isn’t aspirational. It’s long-established.
