How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Jarrod walked in just in time to see the whole scene unfold. His expression shifted slightly, and in a few quick strides, he pulled the trash can over to Elodie's side, placing it within easy reach. He crouched by the bed, unfazed by the possibility that she might get sick on him, and gently rubbed her back.

"Still feeling awful?" he asked quietly.

Elodie had, in fact, thrown up.

She felt terrible. Each time she retched, her stomach cramped painfully, and her throat burned. Tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes from the discomfort.

Jarrod grabbed a tissue and wiped her mouth, his long fingers brushing away a tear from her cheek.

His lips tightened. "Lie back and rest for a bit. I'll get the doctor to take another look soon."

Elodie managed to catch her breath, surprised by how strongly she'd reacted to the ether. After so many hospital visits, she'd become something of an encyclopedia on medical issues, but this caught her off guard.

"Drink some water." Alexander handed her a glass, his concern making his words come out a little sharper than intended. "Mr. Silverstein, I did a little digging on the way here. No matter how you spin it-whether VistaLink Technologies lost the contract or Elodie almost got hurt this all comes back to your side. What if Mr. Aldridge hadn't arrived in time? What then?"

Jarrod didn't try to deny it.

"It won't happen again," he said, meeting Elodie's eyes. "I promise."

Elodie sank into her pillow, too drained to argue or care about blame.

Alexander looked like he wanted to press the issue further.

Jarrod tucked the blanket around Elodie, his usually reserved gaze holding a rare hint of determination. "Like I said, VistaLink didn't lose the bid. The submission deadline was right before the opening. When we couldn't find Elodie, I had Andrea add Nexus Analytics to The Silverstein Group's proposal. We went in as a joint bid."

Elodie blinked in surprise.noveldrama

Alexander froze for a moment as the implication hit him.

He knew exactly why Nexus Analytics had been included-Jarrod was a shareholder there, which meant he could get directly involved in the pint bid. With Nexus Analytics linked, VistaLink Technologies, their parent company, could take the lead in the following stages.

Alexander gave Jarrod a searching look. "So, before you found Elodie, you rewrote the proposal on the fly?"

To be able to think so clearly and act so decisively in such a crisis-he had to admit, it was impressive.

Jarrod's face remained impassive.

Even though The Silverstein Group submitted right at the deadline, their name alone guaranteed the selection committee would pay

special attention. They weren't¶ikely

to get lost in the shuff were toet

the two strongest

contenders-Eldrion Global and VistaLink-both disqualified, The Silverstein Group's win was

practically sealed.

He knew how much this contract mattered to Elodie. When she went missing right before the bidding, VistaLink was bound to lose out. He'd made sure to backstop her, just in case.

As for Watts... clearly, they hadn't seen this coming.

Elodie glanced over at Jarrod, silent, her emotions still reeling from the

rollercoaster of the past hour.

"Mr. Silverstein, you really do think of everything," Alexander said, his tone a mix

of grudging admiration and something more complicated.

Just then, the doctor entered, holding a report. "Ms. Thorne's test results are back. There are still trace amounts of ether in her system, but not enough to cause serious harm. It was just enough to trigger some reactions-dizziness, headache, things like that."

Elodie's heart tightened as she listened.

The doctor turned to her. "However, I did notice a few unusual indicators. I'd recommend scheduling a more comprehensive physical, just to be safe."

"We'll do it. Can you arrange it now?" Jarrod answered before Elodie could say a word.