POV: Sloane
When the news came that I had won the client, I sat still for a long time. It didn’t feel real at first. The account had been the biggest one on the list, the kind that could change everything. I thought of the nights I stayed awake perfecting the proposal while Daisy slept in the next room. My phone buzzed again and again with messages of congratulations, but I didn’t smile. I only thought of Adrian’s face when he found out.
He called that same afternoon. His voice was sharp, pretending to sound calm. “You think this is over, Sloane?” he said. I told him it wasn’t a competition, but he laughed. “You stole my ideas,” he said. “You used what you learned from me.” I told him I built Harper Solutions from nothing. He didn’t believe me.
After the call, I sat in silence. His wor
