But he couldn’t sit still any longer.

He turned to Esmeralda Mercer beside him. “What’s going on? Who are you partnering with?”

Esmeralda didn’t even bother to look up. “What’s it to you?”

Grady frowned. “Esmeralda, I’m your brother. You’re part of the Mercer family- don’t you think you should share at least a little inside info? The VistaLink Technologies project looks really promising. I’ve decided to invest a bit, maybe come on as a partner down the line.”

Esmeralda gave him a look that said she could hardly find the words.

Grady pressed his lips together, then continued, “But let me be clear-a good project can’t have any stains on it. I know you’re close with Elodie, but you need to think about the bigger picture. You should really take her off the team. Just trust me on this-I’m only looking out for you.”

Esmeralda let out a cold laugh and smacked her fork on the table. “The moment the feast is ready, you can’t wait to dig in, huh? Now you want to swoop in with more investments? Must be sleeping with your head too high these days.”

“Esmeralda, what’s with that attitude?” Grady snapped, annoyed.

“Some things are confidential, so I can’t go into detail. But I suggest you stop aiming your fire at Elodie or you’ll end up embarrassed. Mark my words.” Esmeralda couldn’t be bothered to argue further. Before leaving, she gave Grady’s shoulder a friendly pat and grinned. “And don’t even dream about getting a piece of the pie. Soup’s off the menu too, got it?”

The truth was, Esmeralda knew Grady used to have a thing for Elodie.

But then Elodie had gotten married and revolved her world around Jarrod. When Grady found out she’d become a stay-at-home wife, his attitude toward her went sour overnight.

That’s where his prejudice took root.

Grady just couldn’t understand why Esmeralda was so protective of Elodie.

After all, in his eyes, Elodie brought nothing to the table!

Why were Esmeralda and Alexander so willing to let Elodie “leech” off them? He grew restless.

He started calling around, reaching out to Naylor, Whitaker, Maurice-anyone who might have the inside track.

VistaLink Technologies.

Elodie hadn’t had a moment’s rest all morning.

With the funding finally in place, there was a mountain of logistics to handle.

As for the house-

She hadn’t bothered to sort through it.

Most of the stuff there belonged to Jarrod anyway.

She didn’t care, and she certainly didn’t want any of it.

Eventually, it would all end up in the trash.

She’d warned him already; if he didn’t handle it, that was his problem.

By afternoon, Elodie had just finished reviewing the latest round of reports when she saw Alexander returning from outside.

She looked up. “Did you iron things out with Nexus Analytics?”

Now that they’d decided to move forward with Nexus Analytics for the next phase

of manufacturing, the contract details needed to be hashed out.

Alexander dropped the contract on her desk and gave a dry laugh. “Just as we thought-Nexus Analytics is assigning Sylvie to handle our manufacturing partnership. Jarrod’s really grooming her, huh?”

Handing Sylvie the reins for VistaLink Technologies’ manufacturing arm-that was a statement.

He really did value Sylvie that much.

Elodie paused, but she wasn’t surprised.

Anyone with half a brain could see that once this project went public, Sylvie, as Nexus Analytics’ lead, would have both her track record and resume skyrocket. “That’s his business,” Elodie said, scanning the contract and confirming the terms. “As long as our R&D team isn’t getting infiltrated, I don’t care.”

Alexander clicked his tongue. “Seriously, what do you think is going through Jarrod’s head? Shoving his mistress into his ex-wife’s project—who’s he trying to provoke?”

Elodie considered for a moment. “If he cared about my feelings, we wouldn’t be here. So, honestly, he doesn’t care what I think.”

But truthfully, none of it bothered her anymore.

Before long, Esmeralda arrived at the office.

She walked in with a scowl, clearly troubled by something.

Elodie reached over and pinched her cheek. “What’s up with you?”

Esmeralda let out a long breath, brows still knit. “You’re really selling your house, right?”