chapter 5.

Odessa quickly ran through replies that would steer the conversation where she wanted it to go.

"None that I know of," she said.

Silas placed both hands in his pockets and exhaled sharply.

"Why do you let him do it? Loyalty or stupidity?"

"Do what?" she asked.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering on her face.

Odessa could feel her breathing intensify.

Then he turned to walk away. Odessa felt her heart drop.

No, no. He was supposed to give her a card. What had she done wrong?

He paused and turned back to her. He pulled out his card and placed it in her palm.

"I think you should go where your talents are appreciated."

Silas's eyes remained on the card. He did not expect a call from her. She looked like she was exactly where she wanted to be.

Still, it pained him that an idiot like Tristan would get to take her work and pass it off as his own.

The few minutes he had spent with the man had been more than enough for him to understand what was going on.

She rose to her feet, the card between her fingers.

"How about we talk right now?" she said.

Silas tried not to show his surprise. He had not expected her to respond so quickly.

He wanted to tell her they could talk tomorrow instead, but the look in her eyes stirred something in him.

She wanted something, and she would sure as hell try to get it.

"Okay." He turned toward the elevator, and she followed.

Her head was down, and she was quiet, fidgeting with her fingers.

It was a warm surprise that she was the person he had been looking for.

He had been watching Vantage for years. They were brilliant, and they would make excellent partners. Then he met Tristan and knew that the man sitting in front of him could not have been the brains behind it all.

He knew because she had walked in fifteen minutes late for the meeting, in unremarkable clothes, and given an impressive proposal. He knew because he could sense a brilliant person from a mile away.

They were outside Vantage Tower when she finally spoke.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"My office. I'm a busy man, Odessa."

She increased her pace and was beside him almost immediately.

Silas led her to his car and watched as she hesitated at the door.

He wondered if she had changed her mind, or if he had been wrong about her.

She took a deep breath and got into the car.

Silas signaled the driver to move and turned to her.

"You didn't give me an answer."

She paused, blinking several times as if trying to remember what he had asked.

"You said I should go where my talents are appreciated."

Silas tilted his head. That wasn't an answer.

"Yes." He had meant what he said. He, of all people, knew what it was like to be stuck in a place that didn't recognize you.

"Would you say you appreciate people's talents?"

Silas raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were focused on him.

"I try my best."

"I'd like to work for you." Her voice was steady. She was serious.

His eyebrows rose in amusement. This would be the second time she had surprised him.

"I doubt your husband would like that." He placed his arm across the back of the seat and leaned back.

"I don't care. I'm leaving him." She did not waver on a single word.

Silas said nothing for a moment. The car hummed beneath them.

"I'm not here to settle any lover's quarrel, Mrs. Sinclair."

The words hit harder than she expected. Odessa kept her face calm, but her fingers tightened on her thighs.

Her phone rang loudly, cutting through the thick tension in the car.

She ended the call quickly and turned back to him.

"You asked why I let him take credit. Stupidity," Odessa said. "I was stupid. I thought he would eventually give me the recognition I deserved."

Silas watched her intensely as she leaned forward, jaw clenched.

"I'll work for you, and when I'm ready, he will have nothing. You can pull your support from the Manhattan deal and put it behind me."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "Pull my support?"

She took a breath. "I'm going to destroy Vantage from the inside out. I'm sure you'd prefer to keep your investments somewhere safer."

"It's a shame you're deciding to tear down what you built."

Odessa opened her mouth, then closed it.

Vantage was her life.

She had still been in college when she created the original draft.

The name she had picked. Every night she had spent at her desk while Tristan slept.

She had been so focused on tearing him down that she had planned to burn her own work with him.

"I need to take it away from him, not destroy it," Odessa said quietly.

His voice was low and steady. "Let him drown if he wants to, but don't let him take the ship. It's your work."

"Let me work for you. Think of it as an investment. When I'm done, Vantage will be the most profitable partnership you've ever had."

A slow smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

She was vicious. Whatever Tristan had done was probably the worst mistake of his life.

Now he was deeply invested. Either way, he had nothing to lose, and he had a feeling she would keep her word.

"We'll work through the details of your job description on Monday."

Her face lit up for the first time all day.

The driver pulled into the parking space at Blackwell Tower.

Silas adjusted his cuffs before he stepped out.

"Don't be late." He closed the door behind him and leaned into the driver's window.

"Take her wherever she wants to go."

His eyes moved to her, wide-eyed in the back seat.

She mouthed thank you, and he gave her a small nod before he stepped back.

He watched the car drive away with a small smile on his face.

His life had become predictable lately. Odessa would bring the right kind of chaos, and he had front-row tickets.