Evangeline didn''t need to open the photo to know what it was: some self-satisfied picture of Poppy and Soren, meant to unt their intimacy.


    Without a second thought, she deleted and blocked Soren''s contact. She had only kept his number to discuss the shares and tie up any loose ends from the divorce. If this was all theirmunication was going to be, there was no point.


    Knowing Soren was with Poppy, however, cleared up her dilemma. She packed her things and decided to head back to her apartment.


    "I''ll drive you," Finn offered.


    "No, it''s okay," she said. "I can take my own car to the officeter. You go on and take care of your business."


    After Soren had taken her car a few days ago, iming it needed repairs he couldn''t fix, he had tried to give her a new one. She had refused and contacted Gregory to get her old car back. It wasn''t just that it was a gift from her mother and she was used to it; she was done being indebted to Soren.


    Finn didn''t insist. He walked her downstairs. "I''ll see you after work, then."


    Still shaken from the rooftop incident, Evangeline wasn''t keen on seeing him so soon. It wasn''t that she was still angry, but she''d had a stark reminder that Finn was a Lockridge, and the Lockridges were all a little mad. Apart from their mutually beneficial arrangement, getting too close was a bad idea.


    "I''m busy tonight. Maybe tomorrow," she said evasively.


    Finn studied her face, easily seeing through the flimsy excuse. He didn''t call her out on it. Instead, he gently cupped her face and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.


    "Alright," he said, his lips curving into a slight smile. "I''ll call you tomorrow." Evangeline gave a nomittal nod.


    Back at her apartment, she changed into clean clothes, applied some light makeup, and drove to the office. As she arrived, she saw Theo Shaw pacing anxiously by the entrance.


    "Director Shaw, what are you doing out here?" she asked.


    Theo''s face lit up when he saw her. "Evangeline! I was waiting for you. The feedback on the new product has been fantastic, and the orders are rolling in. We''ve already told the factory to ramp up production."


    "That''s great news," Evangeline said, though she had a feeling there was a ''but''ing.


    Theo nodded. "It is. But while our initial orders are strong, our market share is still negligible."


    Evangeline understood his concern. In Serenity City-and indeed, across the country-Fawkes Enterprises had a distributionwork that dwarfed theirs. Right now, they weren''t even trulypeting. Once Fawkes decided to apply real pressure, UME could be crushed. They needed to strike first and build a foothold before that happened.


    ...


    Soren sneezed violently.


    He blinked his eyes open, finding himself on the sofa in his office. A thin nket was draped over him. He must have fallen asleep.


    Bright sunlight streamed through the blinds, making him wince. He fumbled for his phone and saw with a jolt that it was almost noon.


    "Soren, you''re awake. You should eat something."


    Poppy walked in carrying a tray of food from thepany cafeteria and began arranging it on the coffee table.


    "When did I fall asleep?" Soren asked, rubbing his temples.


    "You only got a few hours," Poppy said, her voice soft with concern. "I''m so sorry I kept you here all night."


    Soren didn''t answer. From the moment he''d woken up, he''d felt awful. His throat was sore, and his head was pounding. His temples throbbed, and his heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of his chest.