My phone buzzes on the table. Kai's name glows in the candlelight.
I type with deliberate precision.
Mr. Rhodes, please direct all future communication regarding the ELK account through official GVM channels during standard business hours. I have nothing else to discuss with you privately.
I switch the phone to silent, reach for a chocolate truffle.
“The Creative Lead is now unavailable,” I say, meeting Zoe's startled but impressed gaze. “And she's definitely not in the mood for heroes.”
CHAPTER 21
THE BLIND SPOT
KAIDEN
The Gulfstream'sengines hum through the cabin floor. Thirty thousand feet above the Atlantic, moving toward Spain at five hundred miles an hour.
Logan sits across from me, hunched over blueprints and contracts. Knuckles white around the pen as he circles figures on a Team Blaze spreadsheet. He looks at those papers the way a man looks at a lifeline.
I glance at my phone for the tenth time in twenty minutes. Screen dark. Emma's message unchanged.Official channels.A wall I don't know how to climb without looking desperate.
“The overhead on their testing facility is twenty percent higher than industry average,” I say, trying to anchor myself in numbers. “They're bleeding cash on wind tunnel hours.”
Logan doesn't look up. “They're bleeding because they have the best telemetry in the paddock. You pay for that edge.”
“We could optimize the data flow through ELK's servers. Cut costs by a third.”
Logan drops the pen. It clatters against the table. “You're not talking about telemetry. You're talking to hear your own voice because you can't handle the silence from your phone.”
I slide the phone into my pocket. “I'm focused on the acquisition.”
“You're vibrating with enough nervous energy to power this jet.” He gestures toward the window, where the horizon glows with the first hints of Spanish sunrise. “I need you present for this. The Blaze owners are old-school. They don't care about tech moguls. They care about who's going to keep their bikes on the grid.”
I lean forward. “I have a thought. I want you to step in as primary contact for the GVM account. Sarah handles day-to-day, you take executive lead.”
His eyebrows pull together. “What?”
“It makes sense. You're the CEO. It removes the personal friction with Emma, lets her focus on the work without feeling compromised.”
Logan laughs, short and harsh. He stands, paces the narrow cabin. “No. Absolutely not.”
“It's a strategic shift.”
“It's a coward's exit.” He turns to face me. “You created this mess. You humiliated a woman you claim to care about by treating her like a chess piece. Now that she's called you on it, you want me to be your shield?”
“I'm trying to protect the project.”
“You're trying to hide.” He steps closer. “I love you like a brother, Kai, but you don't see it. You never see it. Everyone else's needs come second. Emma's. Mine.”
He braces both hands on the table, leaning in. “Have you asked me once today how I feel about this deal? Do you know what it's like, watching you treat my dream like a line item while you brood over a text message?”
The cabin feels smaller. I stare at the blueprints, seeing for the first time the weight Logan's been carrying alone.
“I didn't realize,” I say quietly.
“That’s the point, Kai. You didn’t look.” Logan exhales, shoulders dropping as some of the fire leaves him. “This deal is everything to me. It’s not just another line on a balance sheet. It’s the dream I’ve been chasing since we were riding dirt bikes in the woods behind your father’s estate.”
The words land like a blow. Logan never talks like this. He's the steady one, the one who smooths things over. I didn't know he felt second. I didn't look.
