Tara smiled. “I know you''re working onunching your own techpany, and you''re still struggling to find the right person to head up R&D.


    "Sofia''s one of the top talents in the country. I thought maybe we could bring her over to Iron Financial."


    Zach paused for a second. He''d considered the possibility before, but Sofia being kicked out of Ratcliff Global so abruptly always felt off to him, like there was more to the story.


    Noticing his hesitation, Tara looked up at him. "You don''t think she''s a good fit?”


    "It''s not that," Zach said, not wanting to kill her enthusiasm. He hesitated, then admitted, "She''s been having issues with Sebastiantely..."


    "So what is it? Are you worried about crossing Ratcliff Global, or do you think they''re setting us up?"


    Tara slipped her arm through his as they walked toward the elevator. "If it''s about offending them, that''s not our problem. She''s the Meyer family heiress; they''ll back her up."


    "And if it''s a setup..." She stopped, lowering her voice. "Actually, it was Reese who ended her own pregnancy and pinned it on Sofia. Sebastian found out, got angry, and that''s why Sofia was forced out of Ratcliff Global."


    Zach went quiet, remembering the sess Sofia''s Mindwave project had brought him. His expression softened.


    "You''re amazing, worrying about my business even while you''re pregnant. If that''s how it is, let''s go talk to her together."


    Downstairs in the café, Sofia had been waiting a while. She was just about to call Tara when she spotted Zach and Tara walking in together.


    A flicker of nerves crossed her face. "Mr. Wiles, I didn''t expect to see you here."


    Tara gave her a reassuring look and sat across from her, still holding Zach''s arm. "Ms. Meyer, you can rx.


    "We heard you left Ratcliff Global, and we''d like to invite you to join Iron Financial. What do you think?"


    Sofia let out a quiet breath, relief washing over her. She nced at Tara, who gave her the tiniest nod. Sofia smiled. "I''d love that. I''m just curious what kind of role you have in mind for me."


    Zach didn''t waste time. "I''m setting up an Al developmentpany, and I''d like you to lead the R&D team. You can set your own sry and benefits.


    "To be straight with you, ckOak has been hit hard recently because of Reese. I just have one condition: I want


    S tounch a new product


    and grab the market before ckOak gets back on its feet."


    Sofia frowned. ckOak was a big name in Al. Even if they were struggling, it wouldn''t be easy topete with them in a short time.


    nedito


    Zach seemed to catch her hesitation and gave her an encouraging smile. "I know building a new system takes time Butt''m serious about this won''t let Reese off easy, and I'' make sure you have the time you need for this project."


    Sofia was caught off guard.


    She''d heard from Sebastian that Zach and Reese used to be close. She never thought Zach would go after Reese like this.


    She''d actually met up with Tara today to talk strategy, now that Reese had been suspended from ckOak. She''d hoped they could finally push Reese out of the Al world for good.


    No wonder Tara brought Zach along.


    As Sofia was contemting, Tara jumped in. "Ms. Meyer, this is a huge opportunity. If you can take enough market share from ckOak, you''ll be right at the top of the industry."


    "Alright. I''m all in."


    Sofia didn''t think twice. In fact, she felt a surge of excitement.


    Before the giarism scandal with Reese drove her out of Clever Cloud, she''d studied Reese''s research closely and knew how talented she was. After leaving Clever Cloud and now Ratcliff Global, people keptparing her to Reese. Some even


    said Sebastianped her because


    of Reese, like her name was just mud now.


    With Zach backing her up, things could finally change. If she could beat ckOak and prove herself, maybe Sebastian would even want her back at Ratcliff Global.