"My college application's done—can I come see you, Zee?"
Elora hit send before she could second-guess the phrasing. The subject line was casual. The body was shorter. She imagined the inbox count on the other end, the CEO who never showed surprise.
She had practiced that one sentence in the mirror, in bus stops, while boiling pasta. It sounded honest. It sounded small.
Across town, a laptop pinged in a tidy home office. Theodore Carlier's hand paused over the trackpad.
"Come," he typed.
He stared at the single word like a decision set in steel. He hit send without adding a qualifier, without a time, without a request for context.
Ellis, walking past the office with a coffee, almost jogged back when he saw the outgoing message.
"Zee?" Ellis said, reading the screen over Theodore's shoulder. "Is that... who I think it is?"
Theodore did not look away from the monitor. He folded his fingers. The studio lights in the reflection cut across his jaw.
"Yes," he said. "Come."
"You're sure? Your calendar is...packed. Also, Sigrid's team is pitching a collab next week. And there's a livestream schedule with a gamer who is—"
Theodore closed the laptop with the lid making a soft snap. He stood.
"Clear everything after six," he said.
Ellis blinked. "After six tonight? You want me to cancel meetings? Inform PR? Tell Hannah to push back the livestream?"
"Do it," Theodore said.
Ellis's mouth made a
