Chloe Hartwell came to Stellar Path Technologies on a Tuesday, wearing a dress the color of innocent blushes and a smile sharp enough to draw blood.
I saw her through the glass walls of the conference room, her hand resting on Cici's arm, her head tilted in that practiced gesture of vulnerability that had fooled the world for twenty-seven years. She looked like a visitor. She moved like a predator testing the fence.
Cici found me in my office three minutes later, slamming the door hard enough to make the framed patent on my wall rattle.
"She's here on behalf of Sterling Group," Cici said, her face flushed the deep red she only turned when she was furious. "She's offering our senior engineers thirty percent above market to jump ship. She's calling it a 'strategic talent acquisition.'" Th
