Chapter 85 - 86
SIENNA~
I wasn’t actually desperate to work at Cole. Not really.
The company was impressive, sure. Johnny Gray’s operation was one of the best in the pack territories but I had options. Dante was already arranging for me to meet Professor Nolan.
That door was opening, and it was a bigger door than Cole could ever be. No, this wasn’t about the job. This was about not making an enemy out of Johnny Gray. Simple as that.
We might end up as colleagues someday. Senior and junior in the same field, crossing paths at conferences, collaborating on projects.
In this world, in these circles, having one more friend was infinitely better than having one more enemy. Especially an enemy as connected as Johnny. So when he drew that line ‘Elodie is my friend’
I didn’t push back.
I didn’t argue. Didn’t let my irritation show even though I could feel it prickling under my skin. Today his attitude was so much better than it had been at that banquet. Warmer. More open.
Was it even sincere? Hard to tell. Maybe he was just being professional. Maybe he had decided I wasn’t worth the hostility. Or maybe... and this was entirely possible that he was just pretending. Keeping his enemies close, as they say.
But there was time. Plenty of time to figure out which version of Johnny Gray was real. We might not become good friends, but we didn’t need to be. Being cordial was enough. Professional respect was enough. I could work with that.
"I understand," I said, keeping my voice light. "And I won’t push you, Mr. Gray. There’s no need to worry."
His shoulders relaxed slightly. Good. He’d been tense, probably expecting me to make this difficult. I wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.