Johnny only responded with a flat "oh" and didn’t say anything further. He stepped closer to Elodie, tapping his pen against a section of his notebook. "Hey, take a look at this part. Does the logic hold up?"
Elodie leaned in, scanning the notes for a mont before nodding. "Yeah, that tracks. Let cross-reference it with the current build."
She turned back to her laptop, her fingers already moving across the keys.
Seeing this, Sienna spoke up, although her tone was casual but it was persistent. "Which section are you working on? I’d love to take a look if you don’t mind sharing."
Johnny’s response was imdiate and cold. "Miss Brown, I’m in the middle of sothing right now. Not really the best ti."
Sienna opened her mouth to reply, but Elodie had already walked over to Johnny, rattling off a string of data points without looking up from her screen.
The mont Elodie stepped closer, Sienna’s expression shifted. Her eyes went cold, her jaw tightening just slightly.
Elodie hadn’t planned on acknowledging her at all. But when she glanced up and saw Sienna staring at her, practically glaring, she t her gaze head-on for a brief, icy second before turning back to Johnny and continuing their discussion.
Sienna had her own work to handle, so she turned on her heel and walked back into the eting room.
Rex and the others were deep in conversation about contract details when she entered. Rex looked up, noticing the subtle tension in her posture. "Everything okay out there?"
Rex and Yves hadn’t been close enough to hear what Sienna and Johnny had actually discussed.
From their vantage point, it had looked like a normal, even pleasant conversation.
Then Elodie had suddenly appeared, pulled Johnny aside, and shot Sienna a look that could’ve cut glass.
Like she thought Sienna was trying to flirt with him or sothing.
Sienna didn’t look up from her laptop, her tone carefully neutral. "It’s nothing. I was just asking Mr. Gray for so professional input."
That seed to satisfy them. Rex nodded, rembering that both Johnny and Sienna worked in the sa field.
Johnny was one of Professor Nolan’s students. His skill set was beyond question.
Sienna was hardworking, always seeking to improve. It made perfect sense that she’d want his advice on technical matters.
But Elodie, with her narrow perspective, had clearly misread the situation. She’d assud Sienna was making a move on Johnny and rushed over to intervene, throwing her a warning glare in the process.
Rex leaned back in his chair, his curiosity piqued. "Do you know that woman?"
When Sienna realized he was referring to Elodie, her fingers froze on the keyboard for just a second.
Elodie was undeniably beautiful.
For a split second, Sienna wondered if Rex was interested in her.
But then she rembered the conversation she’d overheard at the auction—the way Rex and Yves had dismissed Elodie entirely. And the way Rex had been so eager to talk to *her* instead.
She relaxed slightly.
"Not really," she replied coolly. "Why do you ask?"
Rex glanced back toward where Elodie and Johnny were still working, heads bent close together as they discussed sothing on the screen. "She seems pretty involved in whatever they’re working on. Looks like she knows her stuff."
Sienna’s tone remained indifferent, almost dismissive. "I’m not sure about that. From what I’ve heard, she only has a bachelor’s degree."
"Only a bachelor’s?"
"Yeah."
Rex let out a low hum, like that explained everything.
No wonder.
Elodie’s education didn’t asure up to Sienna’s, and she didn’t have that sa effortless charm either. It made sense that she’d be insecure about soone like Sienna getting too close to Johnny.
Rex could understand feeling protective. But the hostile attitude Elodie had displayed constantly assuming other won were trying to steal her boyfriend, felt unnecessarily petty.
The more he thought about it, the more his indifference toward Elodie shifted into sothing colder. Subtle disdain.
Johnny, now montarily free from the imdiate task at hand, glanced through the glass window separating them from the eting room where Rex and Sienna sat.
After watching for a mont, he leaned closer to Elodie and muttered under his breath, "Does Rex have a thing for Sienna?"
Elodie, absorbed in troubleshooting a data inconsistency, paused for half a second as she registered the question. Then she realized who Rex was.
She shrugged, her tone unbothered. "Probably."
She genuinely didn’t care about this particular drama. After answering, she nudged Johnny’s arm and urged him to get back to work instead of gossiping.
The sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave.
Johnny pursed his lips, shaking his head. "That guy’s got weird taste."
After making his comnt, he dropped the subject and refocused on the screen.
Rex, noticing Johnny’s glance through the window, assud Johnny had been looking at Sienna.
He also assud that Elodie had gotten annoyed because Johnny kept staring at Sienna, which is why she’d quickly pulled him back to work.
It confird his suspicions about her jealousy.
anwhile, Sienna hit a snag in her own work and paused, frowning at her screen.
She wanted to ask Johnny for help, but when she glanced over, she saw that both Johnny and several Wilson Tech staff mbers were gathered around Elodie, listening intently as she explained sothing.
The way they were all paying attention, nodding, taking notes, asking follow-up questions, made it clear that Elodie knew what she was talking about.
Sienna’s jaw tightened slightly.
She turned her gaze back to her laptop and kept working alone.
---
Elodie and Johnny stayed busy until around five in the afternoon, finally wrapping up the bulk of their work.
The contract with Wilson Tech had also been finalized.
Manager Kim invited Elodie, Johnny, and the others into the conference room to relax and grab so water.
When he noticed that Rex and his team had also finished their work, he smiled warmly. "It’s getting late. Why don’t we all grab dinner together?"
Rex felt a flicker of interest and imdiately looked toward Sienna.
Sienna, seemingly oblivious to his gaze, spoke up without hesitation. "I appreciate the offer, but Dante will be picking up from Wilson Group soon. We already have plans, so I’ll have to pass. Enjoy your al, though."
The mont Sienna declined, Rex’s enthusiasm evaporated entirely.
He shrugged, his tone casual. "I’ve got other things to handle anyway. Maybe next ti."
Sienna’s refusal didn’t surprise him, but it didn’t stop the disappointnt from creeping in either.
Johnny, watching this exchange unfold, beca more and more convinced that Rex was interested in Sienna.
And it was painfully obvious that Rex only didn’t want to go because Sienna wasn’t attending.
Manager Kim looked a bit awkward now that both Rex and Sienna had bowed out. He turned to Johnny, hopeful. "Mr. Gray, what about you?"
Johnny raised his teacup and clinked it lightly against Elodie’s, grinning. "We’re free, right, Elodie?"
Elodie, catching onto the fact that he was subtly needling Rex, nodded. "Yeah, we’re free."
Sienna noticed the easy familiarity between Johnny and Elodie, the way he smiled at her, the way she responded without hesitation.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
Johnny was really good to Elodie.
Too good, maybe.
It bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
Because if Johnny who was Professor Nolan’s star student, soone with real influence in the field, was this invested in Elodie, it ant Elodie had sothing Sienna couldn’t easily dismiss.
And that was a problem.
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