Chapter 2

Before I left, I planned to clear my personal things out of the office and give them back their stuff.

I found Nash outside Faye's private office.

He was installing the biometric lock on her door himself. An unopened air purifier and a few expensive velvet throw pillows sat nearby.

"A little lower." Faye gestured. "When I'm in flats, I might not be able to reach the retinal scanner."

Nash didn't hesitate. He pulled the panel off and rewired it.

When he heard footsteps, he glanced back at me. "What are you doing here?"

I held out a worn multitool knife. Years ago, when we'd had to escape a protest that turned ugly, he'd given it to me for protection.

"Here. This is yours."

Nash looked startled.

"Just keep it. Why are you giving it to me?"

"In case I don't get another chance to give it back."

He missed what I meant. He just tossed the knife into a cardboard box full of junk.

"Good timing. We haven't moved Faye's couch into her office yet. You're strong. Come give me a hand."

I didn't move.

Faye waved her hands quickly. "No, it's okay. Cora's going to Dayaka. She must be busy handing off her work and packing."

Nash snorted and went back to his wiring.

"A workaholic like her? She can pack a carry-on in ten minutes. What's keeping her so busy?"

I turned and left.

The whole time, he never once asked what day I was leaving.

Grant was in his office, going through case files.

I set the original crisis playbooks we'd stayed up all night drafting together on his desk.

He took them, then seemed to remember something.

"Leave your camera and memory cards too." Grant filed the case folder away. "At the industry gala next week, Faye wants to show a documentary about how the company grew. She needs the old footage."

I'd bought that camera with my first bonus. It held almost everything from those early years: the five of us struggling in the garage and every celebration after a win.

"That's my personal property."

"We're just borrowing it to pull a few photos. It's not like we're keeping it."

He nodded toward the door. Faye walked in and looked at me eagerly.

"Cora, I just want to pick a few pictures from when everyone was starting out, so clients feel like we're a complete team with real history."

"But you weren't there when we were starting out."

Faye went white.

Grant frowned and shot me an accusing look.

"Was that necessary? She just wishes she could've joined us sooner."

"So you take my past to make up for what she missed?"

Grant seemed to run out of patience. He reached out to snatch the office key card from my hand.

"It's just for a few days, for the company's image. Don't make such a big deal out of it. After the gala, I'll have Jared give it back to you."

I looked at him for two seconds, then let go.

"Fine."

There was nothing on that camera I couldn't live without. I'd backed up everything that mattered to my own hard drive long ago.

I'd barely made it to the door when Ray stopped me in the hallway.

He tossed an encrypted external hard drive into my arms.

"Perfect timing. This has the company's core surveillance footage and reviews of our PR campaigns from the last few years. Put together an impressive résumé for Faye."

"She wasn't part of any of that crisis work."

"That's why she needs your files." Ray sounded impatient, as if it were obvious. "Cut out the footage where you appear, change your name to Faye's on the campaign reviews, and add a few photos of her working. For you, that's one night's work."

I looked down at the hard drive in my hand.

It held footage from the night we landed our first eight-figure deal, along with countless moments of us hugging and cheering after we'd solved a tough case.

Now they wanted me to erase myself from that history with my own hands, so Faye could take my place and claim a flawless "core partner" résumé.

"Okay."

My knuckles went white, but I put the hard drive in my pocket.

That caught Ray off guard.

"You're agreeing that easily?"

"Didn't you say I'd get over my tantrum in a few days?"

He rubbed his nose and relaxed.

"As long as you've come around. Big picture first."

That night, Jared kept his promise and took me to dinner.

Once the steaks came out, he kept his head down, typing on his phone.

Faye complained in the group chat that the security system at her new apartment was too complicated, and he immediately called the building manager to have it replaced.

Then Faye said she was worried she couldn't handle the press at next week's gala, and he sent her one voice message after another, patiently coaching her.

My steak went cold, the fat congealing into a white crust, and he never looked up once.

"Jared."

"Hm?"

"Do you remember what I'm doing tomorrow?"

His thumbs stopped, and he finally looked up.

"Going into the office to hand over your files?"

"Something like that."

He looked relieved and clinked his wine glass against mine.

"Don't look so serious all the time. Do a good job in Dayaka. I promised you I'd come see you."

Outside the restaurant, he leaned down and gave me a quick, careless kiss on the forehead.

"When the time comes, the four of us will all come to Dayaka to see you."

I didn't call him on the lie.

Back at my apartment, I plugged the hard drive into my computer.

I did cut every shot that showed my face.

Then I logged into the company network and used my own access to revoke the licenses on every analysis model and risk-modeling engine I'd built myself.

Those models had cost me countless days and nights. Faye wasn't getting them handed to her.

I unplugged the hard drive and dropped it into a manila shipping envelope.

This was my last parting gift to them.

A paper empire, all show and no substance without me.