“No.” Dimitri stands, and everyone else follows suit. “We’ll be in touch about next steps.”
“Excellent. Thank you for your time, Mr. Rudenko. We’re excited about the possibility of—”
Dimitri is already walking toward the door, his associates following. He pauses in the doorway, glances back one more time.
His eyes find mine across the room, and something passes between us. Not forgiveness. Not reconciliation. Just recognition.
Then he’s gone. The silence that follows is deafening.
Marcus sinks into his chair, exhaling sharply. “Well. That was… intense.”
“Understatement,” Diana mutters.
“Janice.” Marcus turns to me, expression unreadable. “That was either brilliant or career suicide. I haven’t decided which yet.”
“I apologize if I overstepped.”
“Don’t. He responded to you. The entire meeting he barely acknowledged anyone else, but you got his attention.” Marcus shakes his head. “I don’t know what that was, but if it lands us this account, I don’t care.”
I don’t respond.Can’trespond. My hands are shaking under the table, adrenaline finally catching up now that Dimitri’s presence isn’t filling the room.
The team disperses, already discussing strategy and deliverables and budget allocation. Diana hangs back, waiting until we’re alone.
“Want to tell me what the hell that was?” she asks quietly.
“No idea.”
“Liar. That man looked at you like—” She stops, eyes widening. “Oh my God. That’s him. That’shim. Dimitri Rudenko. The one who got you fired, the one you wrote the exposé about, the one you’ve been pretending doesn’t exist for four years.”
“Diana, someone could hear!”
“He knows, doesn’t he? He knows you were behind it.”
“I don’t know what he knows. We didn’t exactly part on terms that would lead to friendly reunions.”
“Friendly? Janice, he looked at you like he wanted to either kill you or—” She cuts herself off, shaking her head. “This is bad. This is really bad.”
“It’s fine. It’s a business meeting. He probably won’t even accept the contract.”
I’m wrong.
The acceptance comes through three hours later.
Marcus forwards me the email with a subject line in all caps:WE GOT IT.
I open the message with hands that won’t stay steady.
Rudenko Industries has accepted our proposal. Contract negotiations begin next week. Janice Woods is assigned as primary strategist. Nonnegotiable.
The last word makes my stomach drop.
Diana appears at my desk within minutes, phone in hand showing the same email. “He requested you specifically.”
“I see that.”
“Why would he request you specifically?”
“I have no idea.”
