“Mr. Rhodes asked me to give you this.” He hands me a small card. “My direct number. If you need a ride, day or night, you call. I'll be there.”
“That's not necessary?—“
“He was very specific, ma'am.”
I take the card. Tuck it into my bag.
“Thank you,” I say again.
I walk the last block to the office, heels clicking on pavement, trying not to feel like I’m doing something inappropriate.
Work is work. Meetings, emails, the ELK campaign demanding attention. The Silverpoint bid is gaining traction, media coverage building. I should feel proud. I do feel proud. But there's a distance now, a thin layer of glass between me and the office politics I used to navigate so carefully.
Miles avoids me. Actually turns and walks the other direction when he sees me coming down the hall. I should feel triumphant. Instead, I just feel tired.
Rachel catches me at the coffee machine.
“Hey,” she says. Hesitant.
“Hey.”
We stand there, the machine gurgling between us.
“How are you doing?” she asks. “After everything.”
“Getting by.” I pour my coffee. “One day at a time.”
She nods. Doesn't quite meet my eyes. “I heard you're helping someone recover from an accident. Taking time to be there for them.”
Office gossip travels fast. I wonder what version she's heard.
“Something like that.”
“That's good.” She finally looks at me. “You deserve good things, Emma. I mean that.”
I'm not sure what to say. “Thanks, Rachel.”
She takes her coffee and goes. I stand there, let the moment settle. It doesn't fix what Miles did, but it's something.
Zoe ambushes me at lunch.
“Okay, spill.” She drops into the chair across from me, salad forgotten. “You've been living with Hot CFO for two days and you're not giving me anything? This is a betrayal of our friendship.”
“There's nothing to spill.”
“Emma. You're living in his penthouse.”
“I'm helping him recover. He can't be alone.”
“Uh huh. And how is that going? Is he walking around shirtless? Please tell me he walks around shirtless.”
I laugh despite myself. “He's on crutches. He's mostly just cranky and stubborn and refusing to rest.”
“But hot while doing it?”
“Zoe.”
“What? I'm invested now. I need details.”
