ire stared nkly at the stack of untouched files on her desk, her thoughts elsewhere. The day had been a blur of phone calls and hospital visits, and the weight of Matthew''s condition sat heavily on her chest. The relentless buzzing of her phone snapped her out of her daze.


    She nced at the screen and felt her stomach twist. The caller ID wasn''t a number she recognized, but something about it screamed trouble.


    "Private number," she muttered, her gut telling her exactly who was on the other end. Eligos.


    For a moment, she considered ignoring it. She had enough on her te without dealing with his games. But the phone buzzed persistently, almost taunting her. With a sharp inhale, she swiped to answer. "What do you want?" ire snapped, skipping any semnce of politeness.


    A low, amused chuckle echoed from the other side. "Ah, ire. Always so direct. It''s one of your more charming qualities."


    She rolled her eyes. "Save the ttery, Eligos. I''m not in the mood."


    "Clearly," he replied, his voice dripping with faux concern. "You sound... tense. Let me guess. All those hospital visits taking a toll? Poor Matthew. Such a tragedy."


    ire''s grip on the phone tightened. "Don''t you dare talk about him."


    "Why not? He''s practically family to you, isn''t he?" Eligos''s tone turned colder, sharper. "Tell me, ire, how does it feel knowing your trusted right-hand man is lying helpless because of you?"


    Her jaw clenched, her heart pounding in her ears. "What are you talking about?"


    "Oh,e now," he said, feigning innocence. "You think his ident was random? Nothing in your world ever is. You should know that by now."


    ire''s breath caught. The insinuation was clear. "You... you did this."


    "I didn''t do anything," Eligos replied smoothly. "I merely... nudged things in the right direction." "You''re a monster," ire hissed, her voice shaking with fury.


    "And you''re predictable," he shot back. "Running to the hospital every day, pouring your heart out to a


    man who can''t hear you. Touching, really. But you should be focusing on what''sing next. This is only the beginning, my dear."


    "I don''t have time for your cryptic threats," ire said, her voice steady despite the fire burning in her chest. "If you think I''m going to crumble because of this, you don''t know me as well as you think." Eligos chuckled again. "We''ll see about that."


    The line went dead before she could respond.


    ire mmed her phone onto the desk, her hands trembling. Her mind raced. Andrea? What did he mean by that? She hadn''t seen Andrea in years—until their unexpected encounter days ago. Why would Eligos even care about him?


    Before she could spiral further, Sandra poked her head into the room, holding a clipboard. "Ms. Peterson? You okay?"


    ire blinked, quickly masking her emotions. "Yeah, I''m fine. What''s up?"


    "You have a meeting with Mr. Andrew, Ms. Peterson in 30 minutes."


    ire shut her eyes close and inhale deeply. "Can''t we just cancel it for today?"


    Sandra shook her head. "Unfortunately, we can''t. We have been postponing his meeting for a while now."


    "Then make up some excuse. I am not in the mood to talk about business right now."


    "ire, if you reschedule one more time, he might walk," Sandra had said just yesterday, standing in the doorway with her no-nonsense expression.


    "Let him," ire had muttered under her breath, but Sandra''s pointed look made it clear that wasn''t an option.


    Now, as the clock ticked closer to the hour, ire sighed and pushed herself up from her chair. She smoothed her navy zer and adjusted the cuffs of her blouse. She needed to y nice, at least for the first ten minutes.


    The conference room at Metacortex


    was as modern as the rest of the building-ss walls, a massive oak table, and a state-of-the-art screen mounted on one end. ire entered to find Mr. Andrews already seated, his leather briefcase neatly ced on the table and his tablet propped up in front of him.


    "Ms. Peterson," he said, standing and offering a firm handshake. His cologne was overpowering, a mix of cedar and something that reminded ire of floor polish.


    "Mr. Andrews," ire replied curtly, forcing a polite smile. She gestured for him to sit and took her ce across from him.


    "Thank you for finally making the time to meet," he said, his tone somewhere between gracious and condescending.


    "Apologies for the dys," ire replied, keeping her tone professional. "It''s been a hectic few weeks." "Understandable," he said, though the tight smile on his face suggested otherwise. "Shall we get down to business?"


    ire nodded. "Please."


    The first fifteen minutes of the meeting went smoothly enough. Mr. Andrews outlined his proposal for a partnership between Metacortex and hispany, an up-anding tech firm specializing in Al-driven analytics.


    On paper, it was a decent


    idea-innovative, even-but ire found it hard to focus. Her thoughts kept drifting to Matthew, still lying unconscious in the hospital, and the nagging feeling that Eligos was lurking somewhere, watching her every move.


    "And of course," Mr. Andrews was saying, "our software could integrate seamlessly with Metacortex''s


    existing infrastructure. The potential for scbility is tremendous."


    ire nodded absently. "Interesting."


    Mr. Andrews leaned forward slightly, his expression sharpening. "I assume you''ve reviewed the


    preliminary projections I sent over?"


    ire blinked, caught off guard. "I''ve skimmed them," she lied, making a mental note to actually look at themter-assuming this meeting didn''tpletely derail.


    Mr. Andrews gave her a pointed look. "I see. Well, I''d encourage you to take a closer look. The data speaks for itself."


    ire resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I''m sure it does."


    "Anyway, Ms. Peterson, I heard that you have a trusted person who does your work. Am I right?"


    ire raised her brows. "What does that mean, exactly?"


    "I mean, I just need to know who am I doing business with. Cause I can''t have a person who is not official doing my work."


    ire''s patience snapped. "And what exactly are you implying?"


    Andrews smiled, clearly enjoying the shift in tone. "I''m simply suggesting that perhaps your attention is... stretched. Metacortex deserves your fullmitment. After all, this partnership could be pivotal for both of


    us.


    ire leaned forward, her voice cold. "Let me make something very clear, Mr. Andrews. My focus andmitment are not for you to question. Metacortex is mypany, and I decide where my priorities lie." Andrews''s smile faltered, but only for a second. "Of course, of course. I didn''t mean to offend. I''m simply pointing out potential concerns."


    "Concerns that are none of your


    business," ire shot back, her tone sharp. "If you''re here to discuss a partnership, then let''s stick to that. If


    you''re here to critique how I run mypany, this meeting is over.


    The room fell into a tense silence. Andrews stared at her, clearly weighing his next words. Finally, he


    shrugged, the smirk returning to his face.


    "Fair enough," he said, though his tone was anything but conciliatory. "I just hope you''re not letting personal matters cloud your judgment."


    That was thest straw. ire stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Andrews. I''ll have my team review your proposal, and we''ll be in touch."


    Andrews stayed seated, clearly unfazed. "Of course. Take your time. But don''t take too long, ire. Opportunities like this don''t wait forever."


    She didn''t bother responding. Instead, she turned on her heel and strode out of the room, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor.