Chapter 20
***
Emma
The calendar invite landed in my inbox at 1:19 p.m.
Subject:Falkirk–Elion Strategic Check-In
Date and Time:Wednesday, June 3rd, 10:00 a.m. EST
From:Nathan Bell
Attendees:Emma Sinclair, Nathan Bell, Jennifer Capolli, David Broughton, Kevin Smith, Damien Holt
The words glowed on my screen like a sprung trap.
It hit in the middle of a debrief with accounting, another tired loop of questions without answers.
Where is the money supposed to come from?
We only have this much left.
The numbers blurred, a dull hum gathering at the base of my skull.
I stilled, the hum of the projector cutting a straight line through the fog.
“Did you get that?” Jennifer asked from two seats down, nails tapping against the tabletop.
“Yeah,” I murmured.
Damien hadn’t said anything today about a meeting. Not one word.
The pen bit into my fingers. His earlier message, warm and teasing, hovered at the top of my screen, painfully out of sync with the cold ambush wrapped into that invitation.
But none of that changed the room or my role within it.
“Please continue,” I said.
We pushed through another hour of financials. My answers came measured and practiced while the rest of me narrowed into tighter focus, mapping risks and contingencies beneath the surface.
By the time the meeting ended, something inside me felt lightly scraped, tender but intact.
At two-thirty, a light knock broke the muted quiet. Candace peeked in, scanning my expression. “Bad time?”
“No, it’s fine.” I coaxed a smile into place.
She stepped in holding two salads. “Chicken Caesar.”
“You’re perfect,” I said, taking it as hunger tightened low and insistent.
She sat across from me with red-rimmed eyes.
“What happened?”
“Garrett was a dick again. Surprise,” she muttered, her shoulders slumping. “He flipped out because I didn’t want to go out last night.”
“Dick,” I snapped. “I can’t believe he didn’t give you any grace, especially after yesterday.”
