Chapter 2

She held out her hand. "Ms. Langley, it's a pleasure. I'm Sloane Mercer from Starline Media."

My mom shook her hand, but her eyes drifted back to me. "Your company sent you?"

My throat went dry. "...Yes."

Derek froze for a few seconds, his eyes darting between me and Vivian, as if he had finally caught the scent of something big.

He was the first to recover, and his smile was warmer than anyone's. "Well, well, so Ethan knows Ms. Langley? What a coincidence."

My mom glanced at him and didn't respond.

Sloane didn't say anything either. She simply took her seat, perfectly calm.

But I could feel it. The air around her had turned even colder.

The thing she hated most was mixing business with personal life.

The moment I sat down, my back broke out in a sweat.

My mom, on the other hand, was completely at ease. "Don't just stand there, everyone sit. Let's eat something first. We can talk over dinner."

The server began bringing out the dishes.

At first, the atmosphere was fairly normal.

Sloane laid out the requirements, walked through the strategy, and broke down past case studies with total clarity.

My mom asked a question now and then, each one right on target.

When they got to the rollout plan and the budget structure, Derek suddenly cut in. "Ms. Langley, rest assured. Since we've got Ethan's connection here, a lot of things should be easy to work out."

The private room went quiet in an instant.

I tightened my grip on the pen in my hand.

Sloane looked up at him. Her voice wasn't loud, but it sent a chill through everyone. "Manager Coleman, we talk about the project here. Not connections."

Derek gave a couple of forced laughs. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

My mom smiled too, but only faintly. "I don't do personal favors. I only look at proposals."

Derek's face went a little stiff, and he quickly ducked his head to sip his tea.

I let out a breath.

But I'd barely let out half of it when my mom picked up a barbecue rib and set it on my plate.

"These were your favorite when you were little. Don't just focus on work."

I was speechless.

Derek's eyes lit up.

Sloane set down her fork and looked at me.

Her face showed almost nothing, but her tone was cold enough to sting.

"Ethan, you never mentioned that you and Ms. Langley knew each other."

I opened my mouth. "I only found out when I walked in that today's client was—"

Derek jumped in at once. "Come on, Ethan, that's not very fair of you. If we'd known she was one of our own, all that early back-and-forth wouldn't have been such a struggle."

"Ms. Mercer has had the whole team working themselves to the bone these past two months, and it turns out one word from you could've settled everything."

He was clearly stirring the pot.

Pushing me toward the label of someone who got ahead on connections.

I was about to speak when my mom raised her eyes to Derek. "Where exactly did you hear that one word from him could settle anything?"

Derek choked on his words.

My mom's tone stayed mild, but her words carried weight. "If a word from him were really all it took, I wouldn't have needed to call you all here to talk face-to-face today."

Derek had no choice but to smile apologetically. "Yes, yes, of course. I misspoke."

Sloane didn't look at him.

She looked at me, her gaze deep.

I couldn't tell whether what I saw there was disappointment or suspicion.

"Go on," she said evenly.

I barely tasted anything that whole meal.

All I knew was that the thing I feared most had happened anyway.

In her eyes, I had become someone who might have gotten ahead through connections.

Halfway through dinner, I stepped out to take a call.

It was my mom.

"Come out for a minute."

I stood at the far end of the hallway, badly irritated. "Mom, why didn't you tell me sooner that this project was yours?"

My mom laughed on the other end of the line. "You didn't ask."

"Besides, the Southside Complex is being handled by a brand company under the group. I'm just helping review it. When your bid materials came in, I saw your name on the project team list. I assumed you knew."

I closed my eyes for a moment.

"I didn't know."

"My boss didn't know either."

"She hates it more than anything when people play the connections game."

My mom paused. "You mean the woman you work under?"

I went on guard. "Don't jump to conclusions."

"Do I even need to guess?"

My mom drawled, "Ever since you were little, your ears turn red whenever you're nervous. When you walked in just now, they were redder than a tomato."

I had nothing to say.

Then she asked, "You like her?"

I didn't answer.

She laughed. "Good taste, at least. She seems very steady."

"Mom, this isn't the time to talk about that."

"Then when is?"

She lowered her voice a little. "Ethan, you're twenty-six, not sixteen. If you like her, stop standing in the background like a shadow."

I leaned against the wall and didn't reply.

Of course I knew that.

But between Sloane and me, it had never been only a question of whether I had the nerve to say it.

She came from a good family, had a great education, and had a great career.

She'd seen far more of the world than I had.

And she had once said something in public.

"The people I can't stand most in this life are the ones who mix feelings with work."

Back then, everyone assumed someone had been pursuing her too hard.

Only later did I learn that wasn't it.

That winter, after the company's year-end party, Sloane had too much to drink.

I took her home.

In the car she lost her composure, which was rare for her. She kept her eyes shut, her brows knit tight.

When we got to her building, she suddenly grabbed my sleeve and said quietly, "Never trust a partner who talks about love. In the end, the ones who get burned are always the ones doing the work."

It was only later that I heard the story from some of the veteran employees.

At her previous job, she had dated her startup partner for a year.

Then he traded her proposals, her contacts, and her clients for investment, and when they fell out, he dumped all the blame on her.

She nearly ended up liable for breach of contract.

After that, she sealed herself off completely.

She was guarded about love, and even more guarded at work.

So how could I dare to say it?

I was lost in thought when the door to the private room opened.

Sloane walked out and caught me standing in the hallway with my phone in hand.

Her eyes swept over me, her tone even. "Clause seven of the supplementary agreement. Did you bring the data I asked you to prepare?"

I nodded right away. "Yes. It's on my laptop."

She gave a short hum and turned to leave.

I couldn't stop myself from calling out. "Ms. Mercer."

She stopped.

My Adam's apple bobbed. "I really didn't know Ms. Langley was the client this time."

With her back to me, she said nothing for a few seconds.

The hallway lights were bright, and they made her profile look a little cold.

"Whether you knew or not doesn't matter."

"What matters is whether this connection has compromised the project."

I answered immediately. "It hasn't."

Only then did she turn around and look at me. "Then let the results speak."

With that, she went back into the room.

I stayed where I was, a heavy feeling settling in my chest.

She hadn't outright decided I'd done something wrong.

But she hadn't believed me either.

When I returned to the room, the atmosphere had changed.

Derek was sitting right next to my seat, chatting and smiling with my mom.

"Ms. Langley, Ethan keeps such a low profile at the office. I'd never have guessed his family was this well-off."

"Then again, people with that kind of background really don't have to grind like the rest of us."

Anger flared in me the moment I heard it. "Derek, watch what you say."

He spread his hands. "I'm complimenting you."

My mom looked up, her expression cooling too.