Dante’s POV
The sll hit before I even tasted it.
Wrong. Just... wrong.
I paused, the cup halfway to my lips, and frowned. Then I took a small sip anyway, just to be sure.
The second the coffee touched my tongue, I set it down.
“Have her make it again,” I said, not looking up from my docunts.
Chad stood there for a second, probably surprised. “Of course, Alpha.”
I went back to my work, unbothered. It wasn’t a big deal.
Ten minutes later, Chad returned with another cup.
I didn’t even bother tasting it this ti. Just lifted it, took one whiff, and set it right back down.
“What’s going on here?” I asked, my patience thinning.
Chad shifted his weight. “Secretary Sherry is probably just nervous, Alpha. It’s her first ti making your coffee. She might not have gotten the temperature quite right, or—”
“Secretary Sherry?” I cut him off, finally looking up. “What about Elodie?”
Chad’s expression changed. Uncertain. Almost... careful.
“Luna Elodie left the company, Alpha. I thought you knew.”
I stared at him.
Left?
“When?” The word ca out flat.
“Last Thursday.”
I leaned back in my chair slowly, processing that information.
Thursday. That was almost a week ago.
She’d left Wilson Group, and no one had bothered to tell ?
Well. That was annoying.
But also... typical Elodie behavior, really. Getting emotional about sothing, probably that whole situation with Sienna at the banquet and making so dramatic gesture to prove a point.
She’d probably expected to notice imdiately. To call her. To ask her to co back.
Which I hadn’t done, obviously, because I’d been busy and assud she was still showing up to work like a responsible adult.
“I see,” I said finally.
Chad waited, clearly expecting to say more.
I didn’t.
Because honestly? This was fine. Elodie had worked here for years. She’d been competent, reliable, knew exactly how I liked things done. But she’d also been getting... difficult lately. Moody. Distant.
Maybe so ti away would be good for her. Let her cool off, realize she was being irrational, and then she’d co back.
She always ca back.
That’s what Elodie did. She got upset, she pulled away for a bit, and then she ca back because where else was she going to go?
“The coffee?” Chad prompted carefully.
“Take it away. Just bring water.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
After he left, I sat there for a mont, staring at the spot where the coffee cup had been.
___________
**Elodie’s POV**
By noon, Johnny had left for a business lunch with so potential investors, which ant I was on my own.
I headed to the company cafeteria, grabbed a tray, and found a table in the corner by the windows.
A few people from my departnt were already there. When they saw , they nodded politely. “Elodie.”
“Hi.”
That was it. They went right back to their conversation, and I went back to my lunch.
I didn’t bla them. Why would they be warm to ? I was the woman who’d sohow gotten their respected colleague to quit on his first day eting .
I ate my salad chanically, barely tasting it, and tried not to think about how lonely this felt.
After lunch, I went straight back to my desk and dove into the work Simon had handed over—Yale’s unfinished projects.
The code was good. Really good. I could see why the team valued him.
But there were also inefficiencies. Small things that could be optimized. Algorithms that could run faster with a few adjustnts.
I lost myself in it, my fingers flying over the keyboard, and for a few hours, I didn’t think about Dante or Sienna or the humiliation of this morning.
Just code. Just logic. Just problems I could actually solve.
Around five o’clock, I saved my work and walked over to Simon’s desk.
“Hey,” I said quietly. “I’m almost done. Can you take a look?”
Simon glanced up, clearly distracted. “Done with what?”
“Yale’s projects. The ones you assigned this morning.”
He blinked. “Wait, what?”
I sent him the files, and he opened them on his screen, his expression confused at first.
Then his eyes went wide.
“You... you finished all of this?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Is there sothing wrong with it?”
“Wrong? No, I—” He scrolled through the code, his mouth slightly open. “This is... Elodie, Yale spent *ten days* on this work. And you—you did it in *one*?”
“I had a fresh perspective,” I said, trying to downplay it. “Sotis that helps.”
But Simon was already reading deeper, and I watched his expression shift from shock to sothing like awe.
“This isn’t just finished,” he said slowly. “You optimized everything. You found solutions to problems we’ve been stuck on for weeks.”
A few other people had started drifting over, curious about what had Simon so worked up.
“What’s going on?” soone asked.
“Elodie finished Yale’s entire workload in one day,” Simon said, still staring at his screen. “And she improved on it.”
The gathered crowd went silent.
Then soone laughed nervously. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not joking. Look at this.” Simon turned his monitor so they could see.
One by one, their skeptical expressions lted into disbelief.
Simon looked at like he was seeing for the first ti. “You’re really just an undergrad? You didn’t go to grad school?”
The question made my chest tighten.
“No,” I said quietly. “I didn’t attend graduate school.”
“But—*how*?” soone else asked. “We’re all PhDs here. Top universities. And you—”
They didn’t finish the sentence, but I heard it anyway.
*And you’re better than us.*
“Why didn’t you pursue further education?” Simon pressed. “Financial reasons? Family obligations?”
I looked down at my hands.
The real answer was too complicated. Too painful.
“Just personal reasons,” I said instead, forcing a small smile. “Maybe soday I’ll go back to school. If the opportunity cos up.”
The lie tasted bitter.
Simon studied for a long mont, and I wondered what he saw. If he could tell how much it cost to stand here and pretend I was fine.
After spending another hour helping a few colleagues troubleshoot so code issues because apparently word had spread fast about what I could do, I finally packed up my things and left.
When I stepped out of the office, it was nearly seven. The sky had that dusky purple glow that ca just before full dark.
And Johnny was waiting by the door.
I stopped, surprised. “What are you still doing here?”
He grinned. “Waiting for you. You cleared up everyone’s doubts on your first day and earned their respect. I’m impressed. As always.”
Sothing warm flickered in my chest, pride, maybe, or just gratitude that soone believed in .
“Should I buy you dinner as a thank you?” I offered.
Johnny raised an eyebrow. “What else do you think I’ve been standing here for?”
I laughed, actually laughed and it felt strange. Like I’d forgotten how.
We walked to his car and drove to a restaurant nearby, one of those upscale places with soft lighting and cloth napkins that Johnny liked for business dinners.
“This okay?” he asked as we pulled up.
“Perfect.”
We got out and headed inside, and I was feeling lighter than I had in weeks. Maybe months.
Maybe things really could get better. Maybe I really could build sothing new here, sothing that was mine.
We climbed the stairs toward the second-floor dining area, and I was mid-step when a child ca barreling down toward us, chasing after soone, laughing and completely oblivious.
I jerked backward to avoid the collision, my heel catching on the edge of the step.
I felt myself tipping, my arms flailing uselessly—
And then Johnny’s hand was on my waist, steadying , pulling upright before I could fall.
“Whoa, careful,” he said, his grip firm but gentle.
“God, thank you,” I breathed, my heart racing. “I almost—”
Then I saw them.
Dante and Levi.
Standing at the top of the stairs. Just... standing there. Staring.
My breath caught.
Dante’s expression was unreadable, blank in that way that ant he was feeling sothing but refusing to show it.
And Levi? Levi looked almost amused. Like he’d just stumbled onto sothing interesting.
Johnny’s hand was still on my waist.
I stepped away from him quickly, my face flushing hot. “Thanks,” I said again, quieter this ti.
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