I forced myself to focus.

My notebook was open, pen in hand, the company's letterhead staring back at me like an anchor. My pulse had only just begun to settle, but I kept my breathing even, shoulders squared, expression unreadable.

This was the Meridian Development Initiative. The kind of project that could define a career, the kind of deal that made names permanent on office walls. There was no room for emotion. No time for the kind of thoughts clawing at the edge of my composure.

Not here. Not now.

Still, when I glanced up, my eyes found her again.

Val.

Across the wide mahogany table, where the teams from each firm sat clustered, she looked every bit the professional — immaculate charcoal blazer, hair pinned up, expression calm. Her badge read Celestia V. Moreau — Deputy Project Director / Lead Business Strategist.

The sight of it twisted something inside me.

I wasn't sure which was worse — seeing her there, or realizing how she looked right there.

Like she belonged.

I looked away before she could notice.

Focus, Kai.

---

"Good morning, everyone."

Director Hansley's voice carried easily through the wide conference room, smooth and practiced. The older woman stood at the front, silver streaks glinting in her dark hair, posture commanding. A projector hummed behind her, casting the city crest and the title Meridian Development Initiative – Pre-Proposal Conference across the screen.

"On behalf of the Urban Development Council, I'd like to welcome each of your firms," she said. "You're here because your companies have been shortlisted to submit proposals for what will be one of the largest mixed-use development projects in the region — the Meridian District."

She paused to let the weight of that land, scanning the room before continuing.

"The purpose of this session is to outline expectations, address preliminary inquiries, and ensure that all participating entities proceed with full transparency. This procurement will follow a two-phase selection process. Today's agenda includes the initial briefing, followed by a mandatory guided site tour. Final proposals are to be submitted no later than three months from today's date."

I underlined three months in my notes. Hale gave a small nod beside me.

We'd done our prep. We knew the specs backward and forward.

Hansley gestured to her team. "Representatives from the Council and Environmental Board will be on-site to handle compliance queries. Questions regarding budget structuring, scheduling, and risk allocation will be open for discussion shortly."

Her tone softened just slightly. "We expect this project to demonstrate innovation, sustainability, and economic viability. That means your numbers, your designs, and your projections need to work — in the real world."

Around the room, murmurs and quiet taps of pens followed.

Weldane Mechanics sat across from us again — Elias Ford, their ever-composed Project Director, that same smug calm still plastered across his face. Beside him, a new face: Evans Wesley, their Finance Manager, neat suit, sharp glasses, and a kind of focused intensity that said he lived for numbers more than people.

Two seats down from him was her.

Val's gaze was trained on Hansley, attention unwavering. She didn't fidget, didn't glance around, didn't even blink for long stretches. It shouldn't have surprised me. I'd spent years beside that same focus — the quiet, deliberate way she dissected information before anyone else even understood the question.

But now, that focus wasn't mine to lean on.

It was aimed against me.

---

"Now," Hansley said, closing the introductory file, "we'll open the floor to early clarifications. I'll remind everyone to identify your name and company before you speak, for the record."

The first few questions were predictable — scope of infrastructure, sustainability credits, transportation logistics.

Then the discussion shifted, as it always did, toward the numbers.

Budget. Feasibility.

My territory.

Evans from Weldane Mechanics raised his hand first. "Evans Wesley, Finance Manager, Weldane Mechanics," he said smoothly. "Regarding cost allocation for environmental mitigation... given the site's coastal proximity, have the Council's preliminary projections accounted for potential regrading, or should that be factored independently into each proposal?"

Good question.

Smart, technical, calculated to show they'd done their homework.

Director Hansley gave a diplomatic answer, and Evans followed up with a quick suggestion, one that subtly implied Weldane had the resources to absorb those costs better than most.

I caught Hale's side glance. He didn't say anything aloud, but I knew that look.

It said, You've got something better, right?

I exhaled slowly. "Kai Tanaka, Lead Financial Analyst, Gray & Milton," I began, voice steady.

Several heads turned.

I met Hansley's eye. "While the coastal regrading costs are important, the greater variable will be long-term runoff control and sustainability maintenance. If we rely solely on preliminary data, we risk underestimating by nearly eight percent over the lifecycle of the project. I'd suggest factoring independent environmental amortization schedules to ensure post-construction compliance remains within budget."

There was a brief silence, then a murmur of approval from a few seats.

Even Hansley gave a small nod.

Evans leaned back slightly, his smile tightening.

Hale smirked. "Good point, Tanaka," he said quietly beside me.

I just nodded once, not taking my eyes off the table. The adrenaline felt sharp, familiar, the rush of a clean strike in a field you knew best.

And then—

"Celestia Valentina Moreau, Deputy Project Director, Moreau Dynamics."

Her voice cut cleanly through the low buzz of the room.

I didn't have to look up to know every muscle in my jaw just locked.

I did anyway.

She was calm, her expression professional, but not cold. The kind of voice you'd expect from someone who'd been born for boardrooms.

"If I may add," she said, turning her attention toward the front, "the amortization model Mr. Tanaka mentioned would indeed provide better cost accuracy. However, given the projected duration and environmental volatility of the Meridian site, Moreau Dynamics recommends integrating those calculations into the initial risk register, rather than separating them post-compliance. That adjustment minimizes funding lag during phase transitions, allowing the project to maintain liquidity without disrupting schedule flow."

A small pause.

Hansley looked genuinely impressed. "That's… a sharp observation, Mrs.—"

"Miss," she corrected politely, her tone still even. "Moreau."

There was no smile when she said it. Just precision.

And that — somehow — was worse.

The room buzzed again, quiet notes scribbling, a few heads turning between us. Hale shot me a glance that said everything without a word.

My chest felt tight.

It wasn't just that she'd topped me. She'd done it with ease. With that same unflinching intellect that had once pushed me to study harder, stay up later, learn faster — not to outshine her, but to stand beside her.

Now, she was across from me.

And it hit harder than I expected.

I forced a small nod, jotting something meaningless in my notebook just to keep my hand from clenching.

Of course she'd give the perfect answer. Of course she'd think of the financial ripple before I did. That was Val. That had always been Val.

Only now, it didn't feel like admiration.

It felt like betrayal wrapped in eloquence.

She didn't look at me, not once.

Not even after Hansley thanked her.

She simply folded her hands, eyes forward, calm as ever.

And that calm… burned.

Because if she could sit there, beside the people I was here to beat, and speak like that — unflinching, confident, detached — then maybe her father hadn't forced her into this.

Maybe she'd chosen it.

The thought dug deep, sharp and quiet, the kind of hurt that doesn't explode, it seeps.

I tried to steady my pen again, but my grip had gone tight.

This wasn't the classroom anymore.

This wasn't us whispering equations at 2 a.m. or arguing over coffee about market elasticity.

This was a battlefield in suits.

And for the first time in years, she was standing on the other side.

---

To be continued...

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.