I crossed offpatient-centricand looked around, trying to stifle a yawn. What was Liam doing now? Probably drinking a matcha smoothie with his client,Bonnie.
If that’s what she was.
Fuck. I’d forgotten about her. Of course. He was probably already involved with someone. Maybe he boned all his clients, as well as anyone he got stuck in a lift with?
Not that it mattered. It was just a hookup.
That was what people did.
Modern women.Singlewomen.
“Novexia is not just a pharmaceutical company, it is a living, breathing organism that bristles with innovation, thrives on agility, and resonates with the very pulse of progress…”
Or—maybe Liam had just remembered something he had to do? Not like he’d just shagged me and disappeared because he’d got what he wanted.
Well. I’d got whatIwanted too.
It was only sex.
He had seemed rather sweet though…
“Gerald’s on fire today,” snickered Kelly, scribbling out another box. “The motherfuckingpulse ofprogress.”
I could still remember his scent and the feeling of his skin when I’d lain next to him in the bed afterward.
Had he really just used me forsex?
I mean, I guess, I’d used him, too. Perhaps we’d both needed that post-adrenaline fuck to accept what we’d survived.
Not exactly my usual style, though. I’dneverdone that before.
“Courage and integrity are our watchwords…”
God, this was boring. Glancing around the room, I saw most of my colleagues listening attentively to Gerald’s empty drivel—or at least, faking it well.
“Let us synergize our synergies, unafraid to pivot, poised to scale new heights. We are proud to walk the walk while talking the talk… every single day…”
Past the sea of nodding heads, I saw a dark figure hanging back by the elevator hallway. With the glare from the lights of the main floor behind him, his face wasn’t visible. I strained to see who it was.
Gerald continued, warming to his theme.
“Now, more than ever, we must lean into our purpose. Not yesterday’s purpose, but tomorrow’s. The future’s. A purpose rooted in radical empathy, sustainable excellence, and, yes,people-firstpharmacodynamics.”
James scratched off another two boxes on his bingo card and raised a brow smugly.
The man at the back moved farther into the room toward the low wall of the kitchen, like he was oblivious to the huge meeting going on. Whoever he was, he’d be in trouble if he distracted Gerald now. Gerald was in the zone. This was the presentation of his career.
“Because this is not about products. It’s aboutpeople.”
I saw Monish shudder.
“Bingo.” Kelly punched the air like a soccer fan, completely forgetting James’s imperative to whisper.
At least twelve nearby heads snapped toward her in unison, frowning.
“Um… whoa, yeah. Bingo, Gerald, it’s always about… the people. So, so true.” Kelly turned bright red and forced me into an awkward fist bump as she attempted to cover her gaffe. “Go Novexia,” she added flatly, staring me in the eye, mortified.
The heads rotated slowly back toward Gerald. Kelly mouthed, “Sorry,” to James. Mercifully, no one on the leadership team seemed to have noticed.
