Then another:
You absolute lunatic. I love you. But also call me.
Despite myself, I smiled.
Then I opened Eleanor’s email.
Lia,
The board has called an emergency meeting for 10 a.m. Attendance is mandatory. We need to discuss your remarks last night and their implications for the organization.
Implications.
Such a polite word for threat.
I lowered the phone.
“It’s starting,” I said.
Cassian didn’t ask what that meant. He already knew.
“When?” he asked.
“Ten.”
He nodded once. “I’ll drive you.”
I hesitated.
Last night I’d walked onto that stage with him behind me. I’d made it clear he wasn’t a secret.
Today would be different.
This wasn’t a gala.
This was a boardroom.
“I need to go alone,” I said.
He didn’t react immediately. Just held my gaze.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted. “But I need to do this without you in the room.”
Something shifted in his expression—not anger, not wounded pride. Assessment.
Then he nodded.
“I’ll be close,” he said.
Not a question.
Not an argument.
Just a statement.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Thank you.”
