Chapter 4

The next morning, I was in a bright, airy café in SoHo, sitting across from a sharp, smiling woman from SOM's HR department. The Chicago firm had moved fast.

"We are so thrilled to have you, Mr. Scott," she said, sliding the finalized physical contract across the table. "Just a few signatures here, and we'll have a courier take it straight to the office."

I picked up the pen, the weight of it feeling solid and real. This was my new life.

As I was about to sign, the bell on the café door jingled. I glanced up.

It was Jen and Caleb.

They froze when they saw me. Jen recovered first, a condescending smirk spreading across her lips. She walked over to my table, Caleb trailing behind her like a puppy.

"Ryan, darling," she began, her voice dripping with false pity. "Look at you. I know you're desperate, but you don't have to sit here all alone. I was thinking... if you come back to the office and make a formal, public apology to the board and to Caleb, I might be able to convince them to give you your old job back. Under probation, of course."

Caleb snickered. "Yeah, man. We can't have our star fall too far."

I said nothing. I just looked at them.

The HR rep returned from the counter with two coffees. She placed one in front of me.

"All set, Lead Architect Scott?" she asked cheerfully, tapping the contract. "Once you sign, your transition bonus will be wired within the hour."

Jen's face went slack. The smirk vanished, replaced by a mask of pure shock. "Lead... Architect?"

Caleb's jaw dropped. "SOM? You're going to SOM?"

At that exact moment, Jen's phone began to ring, a frantic, buzzing shriek that cut through the café's quiet murmur. She fumbled for it, her eyes wide with confusion.

"It's the office," she stammered, looking at the caller ID. "It's Mr. Benton's personal assistant. He's... he's at the firm. He's called an emergency meeting about the skyscraper. Right now."

Panic flashed across her face, raw and unfiltered. Her eyes darted to me, a flicker of the old calculation returning. She still thought she could use me.

She grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my sleeve.

"You have to come with me," she hissed, her voice low and urgent. "You have to."

I looked down at her hand on my arm, then back up at her terrified face. I gave her a small, empty smile.

"Okay, Jen," I said. "Let's go."