His Betrayal, Her Rebirth

huckles from my colleagues, Mr. Thompson' s skeptical frown

ing on me, "our big pitch for the Veridian account next week? The product th

on everyone else' s faces. I remembered my own professional dismissal of her words, my confide

stered response I' d given before. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. "A fatal design flaw, you said

cond. It was a flicker of surprise, so small th

ring quickly. "The feeling, the outcome, that' s w

emory, then. More like a very strong hunch." I looked at Mr. Thompson. "My strategy is based o

s right. We operate on facts here. Chloe, we appre

ed. I saw the way a few of the junior staff l

aning against the partition. "Hey, you were

ective of me. Now, I saw the opportunism glinting in his eyes

from my screen. "She made an extraordinary claim with

magine how good that would make the agency look. Ca

g' ," I countered, finally turning to look at him. His face was a mask of casual concern, but I kne

. The victory felt hollow, a temporary reprieve before the real storm. At the cele

red, my voice deliberately casual. I had to

orried expression. "Oh, I don'

s turne

on asked, a hint of genuine cu

oice low and serious. "A kitchen fire. It feels..

watched the faces around me. Skepticism was warring w

a gruff man named Peterson, scoffe

book. But... there are other places. No sense in taking a risk,

to creep back in, but I pushed it down. This was not the end. This was part of

I didn' t scroll for the news. I already knew what I woul

The Gilded Spo

ight again! T

unting her "vision" with feigned humility. People who had barely gi

an news broke. The recall. The s

But this time, I wasn't in despair. I was watching a

ed to hear the conversation. When she came out, she had a self-satisfied glow. S

k caught up to me

ble," he said, his voice filled with gen

u really believe that, Mark? Or

k. "What' s that supposed to mean? I' m just

, my voice cold. "There' s the agency, and there' s

e. I knew their plan. And I finally understood. To change my fate, I couldn't just react. I had