"Would either of you care to explain what the flying deuce that was?"

Henry stood glowering behind his table, his knuckles kneading the wood, stretched white with rage.

Beside Laura, Charlie stood unwavering, mute as a fool's mule.

She did what she was told. She gave him the stats – it wasn't her fault he didn't know how to use his brain.

But in that heated instant, no words formed in Laura's mind.

Henry fumed. "I entrusted you with this simple task, and you've gone nary a week before messing it up. If you cannot give a new employee proper training, Rain, then I have to assume that reflects on your qualities as a leader."

Laura flinched, the unfamiliar address of her family name driving another nail into her coffin.

"And as for you, Charles. Where did you grow the nerve to show such disrespect to your team leader? I do not care how life abused you before. This is the new path you have chosen. And this is how you're thanking me?"

The ass remained silent.

Henry released a deep sigh, as though to purge his residual anger.

"One last chance. That's all I have for you. Now get out."

Laura bowed her head and turned to leave. Charlie followed suit, but his father bellowed at him from behind.

"Not you."

♥

Ice nudged against lemon as the tea settled into the glass. Laura scrolled through her tablet, the images beaming across the marble table in the bustling café.

"So this is what your app will look like once it's complete?" The sleek man before her stirred his drink, eyeing her slides behind his tortoiseshell spectacles.

She nodded. "Yes, Mr. Glass. PillBox is ninety percent done – we're almost ready to launch."

"Please, this isn't the first time we're speaking. Call me Alan." The chief marketing officer of BeeBuy studied her screen intently, the crease of his forehead sinking with his brows. "You and I know that the business of pharmaceuticals isn't the sexiest, so we need to find a way to make users excited. What can you offer?"

Laura swallowed the lump of doubt that clogged her throat. "To be perfectly candid, we're working with a team of freelancers for the first version. We're rolling out limited capabilities for now, but we can explore something deeper after that."

Her eyes trained on Alan. She'd met enough bigwigs to recognise their signs. When they clasped their hands together and nodded at her, she had them. But when they pursed their lips and leaned back, she had nothing.

Alan pursed his lips and leaned back.

"Look, Laura, we go way back with Spectre, but times are different now. We can offer capital funds and a solid database, but if you don't bring something more than just a medicine app, I'm afraid we'll have to take our money elsewhere."

Laura nodded in understanding, but her eyes stared down the melting ice in her glass with bitter regret. She should've dragged Alan out to dinner and wine. The alcohol might have loosened his  pockets even a tiny sliver.

"So, I heard Spectre's boy has returned from his gallivanting." Alan retrieved his espresso from the table, his fingers curling with sophistication as he sipped. "And he's giving you a hard time, I presume? That boy has a knack for doing the exact opposite of what is demanded."

The anger needled at her as she muffled its cries. She wanted to scream in agreement – to rant and rage about that aggravating asshole – but she resisted. Complaining to a client was lethally unprofessional, even if said client had just refused to reward their years of friendship with a paltry penny from their treasure trove.

Laura simply smiled. "I will be training him to take over the department."

Alan erupted into a guffaw that broke his poised veneer. "Well! Henry, Henry, Henry. Slapping the shackles on his son before he can run away again. Where does that leave you, then, my dear?"

The hint of trouble between the Spectres teased her, but she shook her curiosity away and flashed him a gentle smile. "Spending time with friends like you."

"Yes, tea is always a treat. Laura, I do hope you'll give your app another look-over. It's a shame, but PillBox just isn't where it needs to be right now."

BeeBuy's rejection clawed through her mind long after their meeting, tearing apart her resolve as she returned to the office with her tail tucked between her heels. Alan was the third client this month to turn her away, making the same demands for some digital miracle that Spectre couldn't deliver.

Or wouldn't. Spectre was an empire of legacy that Laura willingly toiled away her life for, but she wasn't prepared for this quicksand of stubborn tradition. When their rival pharma company, Flaco, swept the industry with a snazzy digital marketplace, Henry had tossed her mere pennies to hire a freelance tech team.

Now, with this whole Charlie situation, he sure as hell wouldn't be raining cheques on her.

She rounded to her desk and dropped onto the chair, thudding the final nail into the coffin of her career.

"Hey, Laura," a gentle voice wafted into her ears.

Ordinarily, she would have welcomed the allure of an English drawl, but as it so happened, she found her patience for this one entirely bankrupt.

Her eyes darted up, daggers out.

Charlie fidgeted beneath her sharp glare.

"What?" she snapped.

"Do you have a moment to spare?"

"No." She reached into her drawer and yanked out her sparring gloves. It was only five, but her brain was already clogged to the corners and crying for release.

"Laura, please, if you could hear me out –"

"What was it you said? Stay out of your hair –" Laura snatched up her bag and stared his arrogant face down. "And you stay out of mine."

♥