Chapter 85
SIENNA~
I wasn’t actually desperate to work at Cole. Not really.
The company was impressive, sure. Johnny Gray’s operation was one of the best in the pack territories but I had options. Dante was already arranging for me to meet Professor Nolan.
That door was opening, and it was a bigger door than Cole could ever be. No, this wasn’t about the job. This was about not making an enemy out of Johnny Gray. Simple as that.
We might end up as colleagues someday. Senior and junior in the same field, crossing paths at conferences, collaborating on projects.
In this world, in these circles, having one more friend was infinitely better than having one more enemy. Especially an enemy as connected as Johnny. So when he drew that line ‘Elodie is my friend’
I didn’t push back.
I didn’t argue. Didn’t let my irritation show even though I could feel it prickling under my skin. Today his attitude was so much better than it had been at that banquet. Warmer. More open.
Was it even sincere? Hard to tell. Maybe he was just being professional. Maybe he had decided I wasn’t worth the hostility. Or maybe… and this was entirely possible that he was just pretending. Keeping his enemies close, as they say.
But there was time. Plenty of time to figure out which version of Johnny Gray was real. We might not become good friends, but we didn’t need to be. Being cordial was enough. Professional respect was enough. I could work with that.
“I understand,” I said, keeping my voice light. “And I won’t push you, Mr. Gray. There’s no need to worry p>
His shoulders relaxed slightly. Good. He’d been tense, probably expecting me to make this difficult. I wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.
“Thank you for understanding, Miss Brown.” He smiled, and I smiled back. From a distance, I was sure we looked perfectly pleasant. Just two professionals having a nice conversation at an industry event. No tension. No ulterior motives. Just networking.
I was good at this. At making things look easy and effortless even when they weren’t. At smoothing over awkward moments and making people think I was reasonable, accommodating, nice.
That’s how you won in these circles. Not by forcing things. By making people want to help you. And if Johnny didn’t want to help me right now because of his loyalty to Elodie? Fine. That could change. Loyalties shifted all the time in this world.
I just had to be patient. Then suddenly I saw Elodie.
She’d come out of the restroom and stopped dead in her tracks. Just standing there in the hallway, staring at us. At me. At Dad. At Aunt Lauren. At Johnny.
Her face did something complicated. Surprise, maybe. Or hurt. I couldn’t quite tell from this distance, and honestly, I didn’t care enough to analyze it. But I felt Aunt Lauren shift beside me. Felt her satisfaction radiating off her in waves. She’d noticed too. And she was pleased. Of course she was. This was exactly the kind of moment she lived for, Elodie seeing us talking to Johnny, seeing Dad claim both his daughters in one breath while making it abundantly clear which one actually mattered. Seeing herself on the outside. Again.
I kept my expression neutral. Didn’t let anything show. This wasn’t personal. This was just… the way things were.
“We have some matters to attend to,” I said to Johnny, my voice perfectly pleasant. “So we’ll be leaving first. Let’s talk next time p>
I said professionally and politely, giving him an easy out. Johnny shook my hand, then Dad’s, then Aunt Lauren’s.
“Alright. Let’s talk next time p>
I didn’t look at Elodie again. Didn’t acknowledge her standing there in the hallway. What would be the point? We both knew where we stood. Had known for years. I turned and walked away, Dad and Aunt Lauren falling into step beside me.
Behind us, I could feel Elodie’s eyes on my back as we all walked away.
_______________
ELODIE’S POV~
It was almost noon when people started circling Johnny.
The big names. Industry leaders. All of them with the same idea… let’s do lunch, let’s talk business, let’s pretend this is casual when we all know it’s not.
“Mr. Gray, there’s this place nearby p>
“We’d love to have you join us p>
“Mr. Gray if you’d do us the honor of joining p>
I hung back, giving them some distance while messing with my tablet. Pretending I wasn’t listening.
But I heard Dante’s name. Multiple times.
He’d be there. Of course he would.
All the major players were going to the same restaurant. Same private room, probably. That’s how these things worked. The important people always ended up in the same places, making the same decisions that shaped everything.
This lunch would matter. Whatever they discussed, whether it was the AI trends, partnerships, future developments, it would set the direction for months. Maybe longer.
And the relationships built over that meal? Those could turn into real opportunities. Real collaborations.
I could see Johnny was interested. The way he was nodding, asking questions.
Then he looked at me.
Didn’t say anything. Just looked.
‘You coming?’ That’s what his look meant.
My stomach dropped.
Did I want to sit in a room with Dante? With Sienna? With Logan pretending I didn’t exist? And Lauren’s judgmental stare?
Hell no.
But I couldn’t say that.
This was work. This was important. And I was so tired of hiding.
“I’ll go p>
It came out stronger than I felt.
Johnny simply raised a brow a little and didn’t argue. Just nodded like it was already decided.
We started moving with the group. My heart was pounding but I kept my face blank.
Dante and I had been strangers all morning. That’s fine. That’s what we were now, apparently.
But I wasn’t going to run away from him. Wasn’t going to make myself disappear just because it was uncomfortable.
The group headed toward the entrance where Dante was standing with some French pack alpha. He looked up when we got close and he saw me.
And did nothing. His face showed absolutely nothing.
Just that usual calm, empty look.
My wolf whined and I told her to shut up.
Then I saw Sienna and her face did this thing, this eyebrows pulled together, lips tight gesture before she smoothed it out and looked away.
Like I wasn’t worth her attention.
Whatever.
Logan and Lauren came over too and the way they looked at me or didn’t look at me said everything.
Nobody said hi. Nobody acknowledged me at all.
Just this heavy silence that felt like judgment.
I stood there holding my tablet too tight.
Dante was so close I could smell him and it made everything worse.
Sienna touched his arm and I looked away.
“Reservation’s set,” someone said. “Let’s go p>
Everyone started walking.
I followed because I said I would. Because turning back now would prove them all right.
Johnny walked next to me. “You sure p>
No.
“Yeah. I’m sure p>
It was a lie.
But I kept walking anyway.