Chapter 15
Day forty.
StellarTech dropped a big announcement about a major exec shakeup.
Michael quit as CTO.
Officially, they claimed it was for "personal growth."
But everyone knew the truth—the system had been dead for two weeks, six big clients bailed, and the stock crashed 34%. The board pulled an all-nighter, five hours straight, and in the end, they voted to kick Michael out.
Susan was the one who told me.
"Guess who called me?" she said, strolling into the office and tossing her phone onto the desk.
"Richard," I said.
"Yep. The old man called me himself. Asked if I could help get you back," Susan said.
"What are the terms?" I asked.
"CTO and a seat on the board. Triple your salary. Patent licensing fees to be negotiated separately," Susan said.
I kept my eyes on the screen, fingers flying over the keyboard.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"And—he said Emily wants to meet you. Face-to-face. Not about the company. About you two," Susan said.
I didn't say anything.
"Alex," Susan said, sitting down across from me. "I know you're not going back. But Richard's not someone you want to mess with. He's asking nicely now, but if that doesn't work—"
"He'll start making threats," I said.
"That's right," Susan replied.
"Let him bring it," I said.
I finished typing the last line of code and looked up.
"Susan, can you look into something for me?" I asked.
"What is it?" she replied.
"I want to know if there's something inappropriate between Michael and Emily," I said.
She looked at me, her expression shifting.
"You think—" she started.
"It's not a suspicion," I said. "I'm certain. I just need proof."
Susan opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Five seconds of silence.
"When did you start being sure?" she asked.
"The day of the vote. The way she looked at Michael. No colleague looks at another like that," I said.
"You never said anything," Susan said.
"No point talking about it without evidence," I replied.
Susan stood up.
"I'll look into it," she said.
She walked to the door and paused.
"Alex," she said.
"Yeah?" I replied.
"If it turns out to be true—what are you going to do?" she asked.
"We'll settle it in court. If she's the one who messed up, the split goes my way," I said.
She nodded.
"I'll have something for you in three days," she said.
The door clicked shut behind her.
I turned back to my screen.
But I couldn't focus on the code anymore.
My mind kept replaying that moment from the vote—Emily raising her hand, the look she gave Michael.
It wasn't about support.
It wasn't about business judgment.
It was—