Elodie truly didn’t understand. Her mind was already a tangled mess from everything that had happened, and when she saw him standing there, her eyes flickered with both suspicion and confusion.

“What are you doing here?”

Jarrod finally glanced, unhurried, at the surgical light glowing overhead.

“Why? Am I not allowed to be here?” His reply was calm, as if he hadn’t caught the implication in her tone at all.

Elodie frowned. The rhythm of her already restless heart was thrown off even more by his nonchalance. “Mr. Silverstein, you know perfectly well what I mean.”

She had no patience for his games.

Only then did Jarrod really look at her, his gaze lingering as if he were properly observing her for the first time in ages. He noted, in that brief study, how much thinner she’d become her jaw sharper, cheekbones more defined, the tension in her face unmistakable.

He let his eyes rest on her for a second longer before answering, “I came to keep you company.”

Elodie’s frown deepened. “And how did you even know my uncle had surgery today?”

Jarrod’s tone was almost lazy. “Your grandmother saw you post a picture of the hospital entrance on your social feed. She couldn’t reach you, so she asked me to check in.”

At this, Elodie’s brows knit together. Well, that at least made his presence here make sense.

She hadn’t expected that connection.

“Tell your grandmother I’m fine, there’s no need to worry. I won’t take up any more of your time, Mr. Silverstein.” Her words were polite, but her voice was ice-cold.

Jarrod tilted his head, studying her for a long moment. His eyes were clear, his tone level. “Elodie, when are you going to stop pretending you’re fine?”

He said it evenly, like a bystander making a simple observation. There was hardly any concern in his voice-just the sense that he found her stubbornness unnecessary.

Elodie had no energy to argue with him today.

She didn’t answer, just moved to a chair farther down the row.

A space opened up between them-an invisible wall.

Jarrod didn’t seem to mind.

A heavy silence settled between them, calm as still water.

He didn’t move. At one point, his phone buzzed several times. He ignored every call.

Elodie turned her head, regarding him with sharp eyes. “You don’t need to use your grandmother as an excuse. If you don’t want to do something, not even a gun to your head could force you. You could easily have fobbed her off, but instead, you came here, under the pretense of ‘keeping me company.’ Let’s not dance around it just say what you really want.”

Jarrod looked at her, sizing up the steel in her gaze.

He was silent for a long moment.

Finally, he let out a quiet “Mm,” dropping the pretense. “When will VistaLink Technologies be willing to discuss a patent license with Nexus Analytics?”

Of course.

Elodie’s suspicions were confirmed. She’d known better than to believe Jarrod had shown up out of pure kindness.

There was profit to be had. VistaLink Technologies was still keeping Nexus Analytics at arm’s length over the deal. Jarrod just wanted a firm answer.

“The market moves fast. Every change is a race against time, and VistaLink can’t say exactly how long Nexus Analytics will have to wait.” Jarrod watched as Elodie’s irritation faded, replaced by a stony calm. If nothing else, he’d managed to distract her from worrying about the surgery.

He studied her for a moment, his voice soft and almost teasing. “You can be angry with me all you want, but you have a stake in Nexus Analytics too. As one of the major shareholders, the sooner this is settled, the sooner your payout multiplies tenfold. Business is business, isn’t it?”

Of course she understood that.

For a moment, Elodie almost thought Jarrod was here for Neural Intelligence.

But as for Nexus Analytics-she wasn’t stupid enough to turn down money. Now that the marriage was over, she had no reason to fight him out of sheer spite. Nexus Analytics was strong enough that even if she withheld the patent, Jarrod could just as easily recruit top talent from around the world and build a new system in two years or less. It would cost him more, and they’d trail the market for a while, but it wasn’t impossible.

Nexus Analytics could afford the wait. The smaller, newer companies-like Neural Intelligence couldn’t.

Better Jarrod pay her for the rights now than sink that money into developing his own alternative later.