The group of visitors took their leave.

Sylvie pulled out her phone and sent a quick message, telling Jason, “You all go ahead and eat together-Jarrod ordered enough for everyone.”

Jason grinned, immediately replying, “Well then, I won’t stand on ceremony. Looks like I get to enjoy Mr. Silverstein’s care package thanks to Ms. Fielding’s good graces.”

Sylvie gave a small laugh and returned to her conversation.

Jason came over, handing out lunch boxes to Elodie and Esmeralda.

“You must be starving. Dig in-Mr. Silverstein’s got a soft spot for people.”

Esmeralda’s expression remained stiff. “Is it really okay for us to eat Mr. Silverstein’s lunch for Ms. Fielding?”

Jason chuckled. “Mr. Silverstein dotes on Ms. Fielding, sure, but he’s thoughtful- he made sure everyone was taken care of.”

He waved a few more colleagues over to grab their meals.

Esmeralda gave a mocking snort. “First wife eating the mistress’s leftovers-now I’ve seen everything.”

Before she could say more, Elodie picked up a tender strip of roast beef and popped it into Esmeralda’s mouth, her voice calm and gentle. “Didn’t you say you were hungry? Eat.”

Esmeralda’s mouth watered on instinct; she chewed twice, then glanced at Elodie’s nonchalant, serene face.

A grin split her lips. “Can’t deny it-free gourmet food always tastes better.”

Elodie allowed herself a faint smile before returning her focus to the lines of code on her laptop.

By the time things wrapped up at Nexus Analytics, it was nearly two.

Sylvie slipped away a few minutes early, hurrying to catch the elevator upstairs.

Jason watched her go, then said, “Mr. Silverstein must be on his way. No worries -we’re pretty much done here anyway.”

He pulled out his phone. “We’ve set up a work chat for this project-helps streamline communication. Ms. Mercer, Ms. Thorne, I’ll add you both.”

Elodie nodded her agreement, and Jason politely escorted them downstairs.

Once outside, Esmeralda opened the group chat for a look.

She immediately let out a low whistle. “Why is Jarrod in the chat too?”

Elodie paused for a beat. “Probably because this project’s a big deal. He’ll need to oversee things later.”

Esmeralda pursed her lips. “Sure, work is one thing-but how else is he supposed to keep an eye on Sylvie if he’s not in the loop?”

This time, Elodie had no rebuttal.

She hadn’t checked the chat herself, but as soon as they got in the car,

Esmeralda eyed her phone suspiciously. “Jarrod and Sylvie… are those matching profile pictures?”

She handed her phone to Elodie.

Elodie glanced at the screen as Esmeralda tapped open the group members list. Jason’s name was at the top as the group creator, followed by Jarrod and Sylvie.

Jarrod’s profile pic was a cool blue crescent moon; Sylvie’s was a scattering of stars in the same hue. The two images, stacked one above the other, looked remarkably coordinated-moon and stars, intimately intertwined.

For a moment, even Elodie was surprised.

Jarrod, always so aloof and stoic, using a couples’ avatar with Sylvie?

“Looks like it,” she said quietly, offering no further comment.

After work that evening, Elodie collapsed onto her couch and rested for a while until she felt some energy return.

Out of habit, she took a few pills, then opened her laptop.

That’s when she saw Jason had sent her some feedback.

Apparently, Sylvie had raised concerns about the timeline and a few technical requirements—she felt they weren’t feasible and wanted to discuss further.

The Silverstein Group had agreed.

Brows furrowed, Elodie typed: [What does Mr. Silverstein think?]

Jason replied: [Any major decisions for Nexus Analytics go through Mr.

Silverstein. He hasn’t given a detailed response yet. If you don’t want to wait around, Ms. Thorne, maybe add him directly and ask?]