Chapter 31

A quiet voice came from inside the room. “Come in.”

Elodie pushed open the door. Jarrod had just finished showering and changed into fresh clothes; he stood with his back to her, scrolling through his phone.

She stepped inside and noticed his suit jacket lying haphazardly on the rug beside the futon. Instinctively, Elodie stooped to pick it up.

Just then, Jarrod turned around. His gaze flicked to the jacket in her hands, and his brows drew together. “Don’t touch my things again.”

For years, Elodie had always been the one to iron his clothes by hand. Jarrod assumed she was about to take his jacket away to deal with it.

Elodie pressed her lips together and tossed the jacket onto the futon. “When are we_”

“Get some sleep,” Jarrod cut her off, barely glancing her way as he checked his watch and strode quickly out of the room. Whether Elodie had something important to say didn’t seem to matter to him.

His abrupt departure caught her off guard.

She’d lost her chance to talk to him about the divorce.

As for what could make him leave in such a hurry-other than Sylvie, she couldn’t think of a single person.

Downstairs, a car horn sounded.

Elodie’s phone chimed. Alexander had sent her a voice message.

“Come with me to a gala the night after tomorrow. The room will be full of industry heavyweights. It’ll be good for you to make some connections.”

She replied with a simple “Okay,” then grabbed a change of clothes from the wardrobe and settled down to sleep in the guest room.

The next morning, Jarrod’s grandmother was furious to learn he’d left in the middle of the night. Elodie spent a good while calming her down before making her way to VistaLink Technologies.

She was now familiar with almost everything at the company. After combing through the mountain of documents, she’d even managed to organize a set of strategic guidelines, which she handed off to Galen, the head of the tech team.

Galen was stunned to receive such a high-level technical brief from someone who’d only had a few days with the files. “She did all this herself?” he blurted, barely able to believe it.

Alexander just smiled, a knowing glint in his eyes. “This is nothing. You have no idea how in demand she was back then. The top universities-here and abroad- were all fighting over her. If I worked another five years, I still might not catch up to what she was doing a few years ago.”

Galen looked skeptical. “Come on, Mr. Sterling, you’re at the top of the game here. Is she supposed to be superhuman?”

Alexander just laughed, offering no further explanation.

If Elodie weren’t such a once-in-a-generation talent, his own father would never have been so furious about her quitting for marriage that he needed blood pressure meds.

What a waste.

Some people really can’t tell a diamond from a pebble.

The gala required formal evening attire, but Elodie didn’t own a single designer gown. She’d spent three years revolving around Jarrod, and with their secret marriage, there was never a reason-or an occasion to dress up. The only gown she had was a birthday gift from Jarrod’s grandmother last year: a deep emerald satin mermaid dress.

When she received the gown, Jarrod had gotten a matching suit-his cufflinks set with green stones to match her dress, a his-and-hers set.

But Elodie never had a chance to wear her dress, and Jarrod never touched his suit.

Without makeup, Elodie’s face was pale. She dabbed on extra blush to hide her exhaustion, then slipped into the dress and headed to the gala.

When Alexander saw her, he couldn’t hide a flicker of surprise and appreciation. “You actually look human for a change. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Elodie smiled. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Alex.”

“Anyone with eyes could tell you that,” he quipped, offering his arm. “Do your best tonight. These are all major players. Build the right connections, and you’ll have a strong foundation.”

She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, taking a steadying breath. “I know how important tonight is.”

Even if she was the brain behind U.N2, tonight she represented VistaLink Technologies.

Alexander was riding high in the industry right now, and with his father-Dr. Charles Sterling, the renowned aerospace scholar-no one would dare snub him.

Between greetings, Alexander made a point of introducing her. “This is Elodie- the new tech genius we just brought on at VistaLink Technologies.”

The smiles people gave her were polite, but there was a glint of appraisal in their eyes.

Invitations to this event were rare; only the top tier made the cut. For Alexander to bring a young woman as his guest struck many as a questionable choice.

Such a valuable resource-was he really going to hand it over to a woman?

And nobody had heard of her before. How could she be so remarkable? Or was Alexander just boosting his date’s credentials?