Chapter 3

I watched Jake pull Sarah closer, his hand protectively on her arm. She leaned into him, a perfect picture of dependence. Their connection was a tangible thing, a dark thread woven from ambition and deceit that I now saw with perfect clarity.

"What did you just say?" Mr. Henderson' s voice was dangerously low. He was no longer the detached, visionary CEO. He was furious. He took a step toward Jake, his face red with anger. "You are refusing a partnership with the one person who can make this project succeed? In front of everyone?"

"I am," Jake said, his jaw tight. He didn't flinch, not even when Mr. Henderson' s hand shot out and shoved him hard in the chest.

Jake stumbled back a step, catching his balance. The slap of hand against suit jacket was loud in the silent room.

"I will not have my fiancée's contributions overlooked," Jake insisted, glaring back at the CEO, though his anger was clearly directed at me. "Sarah has her own brilliant ideas. We will succeed on our own. We don't need her." He gestured dismissively in my direction.

A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips. Brilliant ideas? I remembered the nights I spent dumbing down my own code, creating simpler "modules" that Sarah could pretend to understand, all so Jake could praise her "progress" and keep her happy. The sacrifices I made for him, for them, were a bitter poison in my memory.

He was already starting the same narrative. Painting Sarah as the unrecognized genius and me as the obstacle. I recalled the fights we had in our past life, when Sarah would demand access to my core programming, claiming she could "improve" it. I had refused then, protecting my work. Jake had called me selfish. It seemed he still held that grudge.

The room was buzzing with whispers now. "Did you see that?" "He just defied Henderson." "Why would he turn down Chloe Miller?"

I stepped forward, my voice calm and collected. "Mr. Henderson, it's alright."

He turned to me, his anger softening into concern. "Chloe, this is unacceptable."

"It's just a professional disagreement," I said smoothly, forcing a placid expression onto my face. While everyone was focused on the drama, my eyes scanned the crowd. And then I saw him. Alex Reed. He was a quiet software engineer from another department, someone I'd only exchanged polite greetings with. He was standing near the back, his fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with a suppressed anger that was clearly directed at Jake. He was angry for me. My silent supporter from the past life was already here.

Jake, seeing he was losing the room, took a breath and tried a different tactic. "Mr. Henderson, sir," he said, his voice now a model of reason. "I am not trying to be insubordinate. I am simply proposing a different path. A little friendly competition. Let Chloe form her team, and Sarah and I will form ours. Let the best team win. The success of the company is all that matters, right?" His eyes met mine, a clear, challenging glint in them.

Mr. Henderson looked at me, then back at Jake. He let out a long, frustrated sigh. He was a man who hated messy conflicts. Jake had given him an out, a way to avoid a bigger scene.

"Fine," the CEO said, his voice dripping with disappointment. "Two teams. You'll compete. The deadline remains the same. The winner takes all." He turned and walked off the podium without another word, the meeting abruptly over. The storm had been averted for now, but I knew a hurricane was coming.