I can’t help the burst of laughter that escapes me.
Leave it to Jamie to be one step ahead of all of us.
Misha looks momentarily stunned, then rolls his eyes dramatically. “Of course you did.”
Oliver joins us with a soft smile on his face as he brushes a lock of hair behind my ear. He presses a gentle kiss to my temple, his breath warm against my skin. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he whispers, his words full of quiet reassurance. “We’ve got this.”
I nod, feeling the tension ease in my chest, even if just for a moment. These men—my men—have a way of making the weight of the world seem a little lighter.
One by one, we grab our laptops, settling back into work mode. The room hums with quiet focus, the familiar sounds of typing filling the space.
A while later, I sit back and watch them for a bit. Despite everything—the uncertainty of what’s to come, the tension of the looming meeting—calm replaces the nerves.
Maybe it won’t all go as planned. Maybe there will be more obstacles, more battles to fight. But at least the fish are safe. At least we took that small victory and made it ours.
And as I sit there, surrounded by the men who’ve become my home, I realize something important.
I’m happy.
In this moment, with them, I am truly happy.
TWENTY-NINE
The meeting roomat Elysium headquarters, despite its sleek and modern design, is suffocating. The walls, all glass and steel, seem to close in around me, the air heavy with tension. My heart pounds in my chest as I sit at the long conference table, the polished surface reflecting the dim lights above. It’s a setting meant to impress, but today, it only adds to the weight pressing down on me.
Every member of the management board sits across from me, their expressions stern and unreadable. Langley is there, too, his demeanor easier to interpret as he tries to intimidate with his cold, calculating gaze.
But I’m not alone. Oliver, Misha, and Grey sit beside me, and all it takes to ground myself is a quick look in their direction, which soothes me in a way nothing else could. Hendricks stands off to the side, ready to testify.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm the remaining nerves that threaten to overwhelm me.
This is it—the moment of truth.
Two days of preparation have led to this. Two days of gathering everything we could use to prove that the AR project they’ve announced as theirs belongs to me.
My fingers brush against the edge of the table as I try to steady myself, and Oliver catches my eye and smiles softly at me. He had been nervous, too, when he saw the police arrive, leaning close to whisper to me with a wry smile that now he’ll feel like a criminal on the run forever.
The thought makes me suppress a smile of my own.
Walking into Elysium earlier was a moment of quiet triumph. Every cylindrical aquarium we passed was empty.
What matters to me matters to them.
And they’re proving it to me now once more, sitting in this office next to me, fighting for my work.
Fighting my fight with me.
The board members exchange glances, their eyes occasionally flicking toward Langley. I can almost hear the unspoken words hanging in the air, the weight of the accusations about to be laid bare.
Grey leans toward me. “Ready?”
Ready as can be.
I nod, my grip tightening on the edge of the table. “Ready.”
“Mr. Donovan, could you please explain why we were all summoned to this meeting?” The CEO’s voice slices through the tension in the room.
“It’sDoctorDonovan,” Grey corrects him, and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
