Chapter 6

Adaline stares at the email notification. Her breathing completely stops.

Regarding your stalled marketing proposal.

How does he know? She hasn't spoken to him in three days. She hasn't posted anything about her assignment.

Her finger hovers over the trackpad. Her hand is trembling. She feels a deep, instinctual fear, like a prey animal realizing the predator has been watching it the entire time.

She clicks the email.

The body of the message is entirely blank. There is no greeting. There is no signature. There is only a single PDF attachment titled: Strategic Repositioning for Human Liberty - Youth Demographic.

Adaline swallows hard. Her throat clicks in the quiet library.

She double-clicks the PDF.

The document opens. Adaline leans closer to the screen, her eyes scanning the first page. It is an executive summary.

Within three paragraphs, the tension in her shoulders vanishes, replaced by absolute shock.

The analysis is brutal. It dissects the 'Human Liberty' brand's current failing strategy with surgical precision. It points out flaws in their supply chain marketing that Adaline hadn't even considered.

She scrolls down. The speed of her scrolling increases.

The document provides a completely new framework. It includes predictive data models on Gen-Z consumer behavior, a proposed budget reallocation, and a step-by-step counter-strategy against their biggest market competitors.

It is flawless. It is the kind of high-level corporate strategy that top-tier Wall Street consulting firms charge millions for.

Adaline sits back on her heels. Her mouth is slightly open.

She looks at the cold, clinical text on her screen. The image of the 'forty-four-year-old fossil' in her mind suddenly wavers.

A strange, unfamiliar sensation blooms in her chest. It is awe. It is the undeniable, magnetic pull of pure competence. She hates him, but she cannot deny the sheer brilliance radiating from this document. It is a terrifying display of intellectual dominance.

She shakes her head violently, slapping her cheeks with both hands.

"Wake up, Adaline," she whispers to herself. "He is still an older man from a completely different generation. A smart older man is still an older man."

She refuses to owe him anything. She opens the reply window.

Thank you for the file, she types, her posture rigid. I will pay your standard consulting fee. Send the invoice.

She hits send. Then, she immediately copies his data models and begins rewriting her entire proposal.

The next afternoon, the marketing seminar room is tense.

Camilla Royce, Adaline's nemesis and current group member, is standing at the projector. Camilla is presenting a painfully mediocre, safe strategy for the 'Human Liberty' project. She smirks at Adaline, clearly believing she has secured the position of Team Leader.

Adaline's pulse thumps steadily in her wrists.

When Camilla finishes, the professor nods politely. "Any alternative approaches from the group?"

Adaline stands up. She connects her MacBook to the projector.

"Actually," Adaline says, her voice ringing clear and confident in the silent room. "That approach will bankrupt the brand within two fiscal quarters."

Camilla's face turns bright red. "Excuse me?"

Adaline clicks her trackpad. Barron's data models flash onto the screen.

For the next ten minutes, Adaline delivers the presentation of her life. She uses Barron's ruthless logic, breaking down the market trends and presenting the aggressive repositioning strategy.

The room is dead silent. The professor leans forward, his eyes wide with genuine impressed surprise.

When Adaline finishes, the professor slowly claps his hands. The rest of the group joins in.

"Exceptional work, Miss Poole," the professor says. "You will be the Team Leader for the final execution."

Camilla looks like she swallowed a lemon. She stares at her desk, utterly humiliated.

Adaline walks out of the building. The London sky has cleared, revealing a rare patch of blue. Adaline smiles. The victory tastes sweet. The heavy weight of the past few days feels momentarily lifted.

Her phone buzzes in her coat pocket.

She pulls it out. A WhatsApp message from Barron.

Barron Cooke: It seems the presentation went well.

Adaline stops walking. The smile vanishes from her face. Her heart skips a beat, then begins to hammer against her ribs.

How does he know? The presentation ended exactly two minutes ago.

She feels a chill run down her spine. The man is a phantom.

She forces her fingers to type a cold reply: It was fine. Email me the invoice for the consulting fee.

Barron Cooke: I do not need your pocket money. If you want to thank me, have dinner with me this weekend.

Adaline stares at the word dinner.

The alarm bells in her head shriek. The old man is finally making his move. He gave her the homework help just to trap her into a date.

She types furiously: Sorry. I have to study for midterms this weekend. I am unavailable.

She expects him to get angry. Instead, his reply is a masterclass in manipulation.

Barron Cooke: That is unfortunate. I have a secondary file containing proprietary consumer psychology data. It is not available to the public. It would guarantee your project a perfect score.

Adaline's thumb hovers over the screen.

She bites her lower lip. She bites it so hard she feels the sting of pain.

She is a perfectionist. She wants that perfect score. She wants to crush Camilla completely. Barron knows exactly what buttons to push. He is dangling the ultimate academic prize in front of her.

Her desire to win wars against her physical revulsion of going on a date with an older man.

Her shoulders slump. The fight drains out of her. He has outmaneuvered her again.

Time and place? she types, feeling utterly defeated.

Barron Cooke: Saturday, 7:00 PM. The Ritz Restaurant, Piccadilly. Do not be late, Adaline.

Adaline locks her phone. She looks up at the London sky, feeling like a bird that just walked willingly into a gilded cage.