Chapter 165
Rex’s fingers tightened around his wine glass. The question had hit a nerve, and Jimmy knew it.
"Can we just not talk about her?" Rex said, his voice coming out sharper than intended. He forced himself to relax, to take a breath. "There’s nothing interesting there. Let’s order."
Jimmy shrugged, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. He’d gotten his answer, even if it wasn’t the one Rex had spoken aloud.
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Wednesday morning came too fast. The conference room was freezing, the air conditioning blasting, smelling faintly of stale coffee and dry-erase markers. Elodie sat at the head of the table, flipping a pen between her fingers. The sound echoed in the quiet room.
Johnny was droning on about Q3 projections. Elodie was halfway through zoning out, thinking about how much she needed a latte, when the door opened.
Johnny’s secretary, a nervous girl named Beth, peeked her head in. "Mr. Gray? I’m so sorry to interrupt. Mr. Becker is here. He says it’s urgent."
The room went still. Johnny didn’t move for a second. His face went blank, that corporate mask slamming into place. But Elodie saw his hand stop moving over his tablet.
Harry, she thought. Well, shit. That was fast.
It had been two days since Johnny had basically hung up on the guy. And now here he was. No call, no email, just showing up at the office like he owned the building. It was a power move. A big, flashy, ‘I don’t need an appointment’ power move.
Johnny stood up, smoothing his tie. He looked calm, but Elodie could smell the shift in his scent, sharpened adrenaline under the cologne. "You continue with the meeting," he said, his voice even. "I’ll go take a look."
"Okay," Elodie said simply. She didn’t offer to come. She knew better. This was alpha business.