Friends Like This

Thea sat curled into the corner of the leather sofa in the foyer of the penthouse, phone cradled in her hands. The muted television above the bar still showed Rune’s swollen face and split lip. Now a panel of analysts debated the implications, their captions running under the screen like a never-ending accusation: Blackwood Empire CEO Assaults Rival?

She thumbed her screen without seeing it. Her inbox was something else; classmates, old acquaintances, were sending in questions, emails, asking for answers.

The same who didn't bother to check up on when the scandal happened, were now suddenly concerned for her. Every buzz made her stomach churn.On the coffee table lay the bandage Seth had wrapped around her palm. It was such a small wound, but it had turned into something else within minutes.

He did this for me, she thought, and then, and now he’s the one in danger.

Thea had known Runes could be manipulative. She had not expected him to spin a press conference within hours. Watching his lawyer announce a lawsuit claim had sent a chill down her spine. She kept replaying Seth’s expression in her mind, calm, unreadable. It unnerved her more than if he’d been angry.

Her phone vibrated again. This time the name flashing on the screen made her exhale: Daisy.

She slid her thumb across. “Daisy?”

“Thea!” Daisy’s voice burst through the speaker, high and tight with adrenaline. “Are you watching the news? Is it true? Did Seth actually…”

“No,” Thea said quickly. “It’s not true. He defended me. Runes grabbed me in the lobby.”

“Oh my God.” A pause, then Daisy’s voice dropped. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a scratch.” She glanced at the bandage. “Seth’s worse off. He’s the one being painted as a monster.”

Daisy hissed softly. “That snake. He’s trying to turn this on you two.”

“I underestimated how far he’d go,” Thea admitted. “I knew he was desperate, but this…”

There was the sound of a coffee machine in the background, Daisy must have been at her café. “Tell me everything,” she said. “Start from the beginning.”

Thea did. In a low voice she described stepping into the lobby, Runes blocking her path, the accusations about the cancelled merger, the moment his fingers dug into her arm. She told Daisy about Seth coming down the stairs like a storm and the punches that followed.

When she finished, Daisy was silent for a beat. Then: “He had it coming.”

Thea almost smiled. “You sound like Clara.”

“Clara’s here, actually,” Daisy said. “We’re both glued to the screen. She’s been swearing in three languages.”

Despite herself, Thea laughed, a brief crack in the tension. “Of course she has.”

“I’m serious, T,” Daisy went on. “You’ve been through hell with that family. And now Runes wants to bankrupt Seth? Over his own mess? We won’t let him.”

Thea leaned her head back against the sofa. “What can we do? He’s already shaping the narrative.”

“Maybe for now,” Daisy said. “But people are fickle. All it takes is one clip, one leak.”

Thea’s gaze drifted to the closed office door across the lounge. “Seth said he has security footage. He looked… certain.”

“Well then,” Daisy said briskly, “he’s about to hand Runes his own rope.”

Thea traced the seam of the bandage with her thumb. “I hate feeling like this. Sitting here while he’s out there taking the hits.”

“You’re not powerless,” Daisy said. “You’ve already hit Runes where it hurts with the Balmero deal. And if he thinks you’re going to sit quietly while he drags Seth, he’s got another thing coming.”

Thea’s stomach twisted. “That’s the thing. I didn’t plan any of this. Not this way. And now Seth…”

“Stop,” Daisy interrupted gently. “This is Runes’s choice. His greed. Not yours.”

Silence settled between them for a moment, punctuated only by the muted chatter of the TV.

“What are they saying now?” Thea asked.

Daisy sighed. “Mixed bag. Some analysts are questioning the story already. Someone on a finance blog posted screenshots of Sterling Co.’s falling stock price. People are starting to ask why a CEO that is desperate for a merger showed up at another CEO’s office in person. It’s not adding up for them.”

Thea sat forward. “Good.”

“You see?” Daisy said. “The tide always turns.”

Thea rubbed her temples. “I just wish I could do more.”

“You can,” Daisy said. “Keep your head. Let Seth handle the legal war. And when the time’s right, we’ll handle the social one.”

Thea almost asked how, but she could hear the clatter of cups and low voices in the café—Daisy was already juggling too much. Instead she said softly, “Thank you.”

“You don’t thank me,” Daisy said. “You call me. Always. Even if it’s just to vent.”

Thea swallowed a lump in her throat. “I’m scared for him, Daze. He looked calm but…”

“That man,” Daisy said, “is a glacier. You don’t see what’s moving underneath until it crushes you. Trust me, Runes is the one who should be scared.”

Thea pictured Seth at his desk, rolling his sleeves down after bandaging her, his voice low and even as he told Dante to reject the settlement. Glacier was right. But even glaciers cracked under pressure.

“I need to see him,” she said.

“Then go,” Daisy urged. “Let him know he’s not alone in this. Just… maybe don’t punch Runes yourself, okay?”

A tiny smile curved Thea’s mouth. “No promises.”

They both laughed, the sound softening the edges of the day. When they hung up, Thea stayed where she was for a long moment, phone resting on her knee.

Through the glass wall she could see Seth’s silhouette moving behind his desk, a slow measured stride. Even with the world tilting against him, he looked like he was exactly where he belonged.

Thea squared her shoulders. If Runes Sterling thought she was still the girl he could bully at Zean School of Business, he was about to find out how much she had changed.

She rose, smoothed her skirt, and walked toward her room.