Where is Dahlia?

Mr. Mel's gaze settled on Dahlia. "Can you explain what happened?"

She glanced at Jane before answering. "I suffered burns from spilled coffee, but I'm here and prepared for the presentation."

Mr. Mel turned to Jane. "And your contribution to the project?"

"She stayed home and wouldn't share her files," Jane muttered.

"Can you blame her?" Mr. Mel's patience thinned. "I'm still waiting for your answer."

The silence stretched uncomfortably.

"Out," he finally snapped. "You'll receive no credit for this work."

The screen flickered to life, revealing the director of G&R Inc.

"Mr. Berg," Mr. Mel greeted, "we're ready for the preliminary presentation. Dahlia?"

"Hello, Mr. Berg." Dahlia displayed her sketches of wolf heads designed for the gear. "The snowboards feature silver and black wolves, with customizable color options."

"Perfect," the director nodded. "Show me the commercial concepts."

She presented scenes of a silver wolf racing alongside a skier, a black wolf with a snowboarder, and finally, a skier playing with wolf cubs before continuing downhill.

Mr. Berg stared in appreciation. "Incredible work, Ms. Fin. Mr. Mel, I trust she's being promoted?"

"Indeed," Mr. Mel confirmed. "The CEO has scheduled a meeting with her upstairs to discuss her advancement."

"Let's set up a meeting for January. Keep up the momentum." With that, the Zoom call ended.

"Mr. Fin," Mr. Mel said, "I can’t express how thrilled I am. This client is huge, and notoriously difficult. You pulled it off. Now, head upstairs. He’s waiting for you."

Dahlia rode the elevator to the top floor. The secretary announced her arrival, and she knocked before stepping inside.

Hunter was standing there. She darted over and hugged him.

"You got called in too? What are you working on?" she asked, grinning.

"Nothing, actually," he replied. "Why are you here?"

He met her gaze. "I’m the CEO, Dahlia."

"What?" she blinked, confused. "Wait—did I get this because you made it happen?"

"Of course not," Hunter said firmly. "You earned this on your own. The products are Lupin’s, not mine."

She laughed nervously. "This has to be a joke. I want to earn my place, not..."

"I swear, no one interfered. Mr. Mel doesn’t even know we’re connected."

Dahlia exhaled sharply. "I’m pissed at both of you. Really pissed."

He stepped closer. "I missed you," he said softly. "How’s Bram?"

She looked away. "Bram’s fine. But I haven’t made a decision yet, Hunter. This is…"

Dahlia walked away, closed the door. The elevator sign said out of order.

"Great. Anything else?" she muttered, heading for the exit stairs. One flight down, the door creaked open. A hand shoved her, and she tumbled to the bottom, everything fading to black.

Bram called her phone repeatedly. Nothing. He dialed the office.

"Hello?" Lance answered.

"Hi, is Dahlia there? I can’t reach her."

"Hold on, let me check her desk." A pause. "Her stuff’s here, but she’s not. Last I heard, she went upstairs for a meeting this morning."

"Thanks," Bram said, hanging up. He called Hunter.

"Bram, what’s up?" Hunter answered.

"Where’s Dahlia? She’s not answering her phone. I just called the office, and they haven’t seen her since your meeting this morning."

"What? Okay, I’ll check and call you back."

"Don’t bother. I’m coming," Bram snapped, ending the call.

He checked her location, still in the building. He’d given her a watch to track her after Heidi’s shady antics. Trust issues, sure, but now it might save her.

He marched into the building, took the elevator to the marketing floor, and found Hunter at her desk.

"Hey, her stuff’s here," Hunter said.

Jane and Flora walked by. "Hey, Hunter. Who’s this?"

"Bram. Her boyfriend," Hunter said.

Jane froze, staring at them.

"Where’s Dahlia?" Bram demanded, stepping closer to Jane. "If I find out you hurt her, I don’t care if you’re a woman…" He glared down at her, his voice low. "You’re done."

"I…I haven’t seen her," Jane stammered, her voice shaky.

Bram glanced at his watch, tracking the red dot. Elevator, stairs.

"Maybe she took the stairs?" he mumbled, pushing the door open and peering down. There she was, crumpled at the bottom. He took the steps two at a time.

Kneeling beside her, he felt her limbs carefully. A gash on the side of her head oozed blood. Her eyes flickered open for a moment, her hand reaching out weakly before going limp again.

"Damn it," Bram cursed under his breath. He scooped her up, cradling her as he headed back to the elevator. Hunter followed without a word.

"Get her stuff and meet me at the clinic," Bram barked. "I can’t take her to a regular hospital, she heals too fast."

"Got it," Hunter said, pulling out his phone. "Should I call Todd?"

"Yeah, do it," Bram snapped. "You got a car?"

Hunter nodded, barking orders at the driver as they climbed in. Bram settled Dahlia in the back seat, holding her close, her scent filling his lungs.

Five minutes later, they pulled up to the clinic. Bram carried her inside, barking orders at the nurses as he laid her on a bed.

He cleaned the wound on her head, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Bram?" she murmured, disoriented. "Where am I?"

"Clinic," he said softly. "You fell down the stairs."

"No," she corrected, her voice steadying. "I was pushed."

The curtain whipped open, and Hunter stepped in, his jaw tight. "Jane," he said, his tone icy. "I’ll handle her."

"You’ve got no proof," Dahlia shot back.

"We’ve got cameras everywhere," Hunter replied. "I’ll find out."

The door swung open again, and Todd and Jason walked in.

"Girl," Todd said, shaking his head. "You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

Dahlia’s gaze shifted to Jason. "Did you know my parents, Jason?"