Elodie was caught off guard by his words, frozen in place for a split second.

She cast him a cool glance, noticing that beneath Jarrod’s laid-back gaze, there was a flash of sharpness-something quietly probing.

“A grown woman, and you still can’t take care of yourself?” Jarrod looked at her, the corner of his mouth curling in a faint, ambiguous smile.

The comment was odd-somewhere between concern and mockery, tinged with a subtle hint of derision.

Elodie didn’t bother to guess what was going through his mind.

“Don’t trouble yourself.” She turned to leave, but then suddenly remembered-her old laptop was still sitting in her study, broken and forgotten. She paused, then asked, “I need to grab something from the other room. Is that alright?”

Jarrod was already at the kitchen island, pouring himself a glass of water. “What do you need?”

“My laptop.”

He paused, searching his memory, and then seemed to recall.

“I think I threw it out.”

Her expression shifted. “That belonged to me.”

“Want me to have someone dig it back out for you?” Jarrod’s eyes flicked to her now-stubborn look, his tone casual and unreadable.

She couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious.

But Elodie could feel the condescension in his words.

He’d just bought back the house, and already he was tossing out her things? Apparently, he couldn’t wait a single moment to get rid of anything that belonged to her.

She barely used that laptop-there was nothing important on the hard drive-but still, Jarrod’s habit of making decisions without asking her grated on her nerves.

She pressed her lips together, tension flickering and fading from her posture. “Forget it. I’ll leave you to it.”

“It’s late. Let me drive you,” Jarrod offered, his gentlemanly manners unbroken.

Elodie checked the time, not bothering to look back. “No, thanks. I’ll walk.”

But Jarrod had already slipped on a different jacket and was heading her way, hand outstretched for the car keys.

Elodie opened her mouth, ready to refuse him firmly.

Before she could speak, his phone buzzed.

Jarrod glanced at the screen; whatever he read softened his features for a

moment, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

He hesitated, looked up at Elodie, and then locked his phone.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” he asked suddenly.

Elodie caught the subtle shift in his demeanor, her own expression unreadable as

she turned and opened the door. “I’m sure.”

She didn’t care what was going on with Jarrod.

She got in her car and drove off by herself.

She had no intention of letting Jarrod see her home. Still, she hadn’t missed the flicker of change in his expression a moment earlier. It was obvious: he’d been about to drive her, but something on his phone made him suddenly ask again, as if hoping she’d refuse.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t her problem.

The next morning.

Elodie arrived at VistaLink Technologies and met with Alexander and the others to finalize their partnership with Nexus Analytics.

As soon as the meeting ended, she saw Ivan’s name pop up on her phone.

She stared at the familiar number, then, without a flicker of emotion, declined the call.

Ivan, apparently surprised she hadn’t picked up, called again. And again. Elodie rejected every call.

She had a pretty good idea why Ivan was reaching out-he’d probably heard that VistaLink had chosen Nexus Analytics as their manufacturer, and wanted to ask her about it.

Ivan likely assumed she’d side with him over Jarrod, that she’d choose him if forced to pick between the two.

But Elodie wasn’t choosing between men. She was picking the best solution for the project, plain and simple.

Esmeralda, carrying her coffee, strolled over and glanced at Elodie’s screen.

She grinned, giving a thumbs up. “I thought you’d have blocked him by now.”

Elodie shook her head. “No need.”

Not everything in life was black or white, good or bad. Especially with Ivan-there was no bitter grudge between them. He’d treated her well once, and they’d both made their own choices. That was all.