"Plus, the charity announced your joint donationst night. Talk about aplete turnaround in public opinion. You two are incredible." Esmeralda smacked her lips, feigning surprise. "Decided to be a decent human all of a sudden?"


    Elodie wasn''t surprised. Years in PR had taught her exactly which levers to pull for what effect.


    Her mind drifted to the whole birth control incident. Even she felt a little dazed- people really wereplicated, weren''t they? No one was ever just good or bad.


    "As long as things have settled down, that''s what matters. What he thinks isn''t important." Elodie grabbed a napkin and brushed a few pastry crumbs from Esmeralda''s mouth, dismissing any further thoughts about Jarrod.


    "Esmeralda, do I have anything else on my schedule today?" She shifted gears, opening herptop and firing off the question.


    With the situation handled, Esmeralda didn''t dwell. She swallowed herst bite and replied, "Yep-you''ve got thepetition stuff, and your new title as Chief Engineer for the U.N2 project. Big deal right now. The Aerospace Agency wants to meet, and there are a few higher-ups who''d like to see you, make some ns for what''s next. There''s also a dinner at six. Mr. Aldridge will be there too, since you two took first and second ce."


    Elodie was already in prep mode, ready to take on the next challenge.


    These steps were simply necessary.


    She nodded. "Alright, we''ll head over together. Alex needs to follow up on Phase Two of the project."


    "Perfect, I''ll tag along for the VIP dinner."


    With her projects mapped out and the rest of the yearing into focus, Elodie felt a rare sense of rity.


    By five o''clock, she and Esmeralda set off ahead of the others.


    The restaurant was discreet, tucked away atop a hill with panoramic views and a chef''s table experience.


    As they parked, a voice called out from nearby. "Elodie."


    She turned to see Watts getting out of his car and striding over, Lily Lockwood


    trailing behind him. Lily looked impossibly young, all porcin skin and cherubic cheeks, lips pressed in a thin, determined line as she stared at Elodie.


    The girl had never been good at hiding her feelings.


    Elodie offered Lily a brief nce


    before focusing on Watts. He


    seemed unchanged-rxed as ever-but this time, there was a new intensity in his eyes, something quietly burning. "Looks like we''ll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on. Hope I won''t be too much of a nuisance?” he joked, his tone easy.


    Elodie tugged Esmeralda along, ignoring her exaggerated waggling eyebrows.


    "Not at all. You''re far too modest, Mr. Aldridge."


    "That''s a relief. Honestly, I was a little nervous on the way here. Standing gnext to someone as talented as you, I can''t help feeling out of my league." Watts strolled beside her, smiling openly, gaze lingering on Elodie''s face, his


    warmth undiminished.


    Esmeralda shot Elodie a look so loaded it might as well have said, "I approve- he''s adorable."


    Elodie nudged her in the side, not too hard, but enough to make Esmeralda yelp before she cleared her throat and tried to look serious.


    Lily, taking in the scene, scowled and shot Esmeralda a dirty look.


    They were led by the waiter to a private dining room with sweeping views.


    Inside waited several familiar faces-department heads she''d met before, and the project leads assigned from above.


    Among them was Klein Whitaker, and—


    The event''s top sponsor: Jarrod.


    He was sprawled in a deep gray suit,


    one leg crossed over the other, lounging back with an air of studied indifference. At the sound of their arrival, he lifted his gaze, slowly, his eyesnding squarely on her.


    He caught sight of Watts walking beside her and tilted his head slightly, just so.


    Elodie pressed her lips together, carefully avoiding his eyes.


    Klein waved cheerfully. "Ms. Thorne, Watts, Lily, Ms. Mercere, have a seat."


    But even something as simple as choosing where to sit suddenly seemed loaded with meaning.


    At this point, who in the room didn''t know about Elodie and Jarrod''s marriage?


    Watts arched an eyebrow at Jarrod, then grinned at Elodie, as if the tension amused him. Tilting his head, he called out, half-teasing, "Hey, Elodie, best view''s over here. Want to sit with me?"