Diego's expression went tight. "Lila wouldn't do that."

He'd always known the woman across the desk was beautiful—the kind of beautiful that didn't announce itself and didn't need to. But something about her today was different, and he felt an unexpected, unwelcome urge to reach across and pull her out of that chair.

"Friendly reminder, Mr. Ramos—three minutes left. Sure you want to spend them on small talk?" Her voice cut through it, brisk and anything but polite.

"What's your angle here?" The words came out tight, slow and measured, like he was holding something down. Under her steady gaze, the irritation went out of him. "We want your firm on Ramos Enterprises' security. Can we discuss it?"

Audrey straightened her collar, pushing down the wave of sadness rising in her chest. "As a goodwill gesture, we'll cover your immediate needs today. Anything long-term goes through our deputy director, Reid Medina. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another meeting."

She rose and walked out, leaving Diego with nowhere to put his anger. She'd taken those systems down on purpose. She had to have.

Almost without deciding to, he caught her arm in the corridor and backed her against the wall. "Audrey—"

The door swung open. Jason came in fast and stopped dead. "Mr. Ramos. We have a situation."

"What?" Diego turned, ice-cold.

Jason stammered, staring at Audrey like he couldn't unsee it. "It's Lila. She tried to hurt herself. She's at the hospital."

"What?" Diego's whole bearing sharpened. He shot an accusing look at Audrey, then turned back to Jason. "Stay here. Finish the security negotiation." He was already moving toward the elevator.

Lila had been struggling with depression for years, and today had pushed her under. Had she found out he'd gone to see Audrey?

He needed to get to her.

"Yes, Mr. Ramos." Jason nodded, the weight of it settling on his shoulders.

Audrey watched him go, and the wall she'd spent two days building came down all at once. She slid to the floor, tears spilling over before she could stop them.

Whatever she did, somehow it was always her fault. She was starting to understand how that worked: when a man has already decided he doesn't want you, everything you do is the wrong thing.

A soft knock. "Ms. Griffin? May I come in?" Reid's voice, careful and kind.

She wiped her face, pulled herself together, and got back behind her desk. "Come in."

Love was a bad investment. Work, at least, paid out.

"Ms. Griffin, do we want the Ramos Enterprises job?" Reid asked carefully.

Their calendar was full. Taking it meant overtime for half the floor. And Ramos Enterprises' architecture was top-tier—beating the current build would take Audrey herself, and Reid couldn't tell whether she had the stomach for it.

"Like I said. Standard procedure. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"Understood." Reid hurried out with the files.

He was still annoyed when he got back to his own office, and he didn't bother rolling out the welcome mat for Jason. "Ms. Griffin has approved emergency support, out of consideration for her history with Mr. Ramos. Beyond that, we're booked. If Ramos Enterprises wants a full rebuild, you go on the list, and I can't tell you when we'll reach you. Emergency call-out is two hundred thousand. Sign here if that works for you."

He slid the form across the desk and didn't move.

They thought they could push Ms. Griffin around. Not anymore.

Jason felt a headache starting behind his eyes. They were being difficult on purpose, and everybody in the room knew it. This was Diego's mess. Why was he the one mopping it up?

He signed anyway, and decided on the spot that any further dealings with SecureTech belonged to Diego personally.

Once the payment cleared, Jason looked up. "Who are you sending with me?"

Their firewall could go down any minute.

"Ms. Griffin is handling this one herself. Go ahead. We'll be right behind you." Reid gestured for a secretary to walk him out, then went to tell Audrey.

She was the only person alive who knew that system end to end. It had to be her.

SecureTech had become the biggest firm in the world because every build was bespoke, every client had a named specialist, and nobody ever got handed off to a call center.

On his way to the elevator, Jason's phone buzzed. He read the message and called Diego. "Mr. Ramos, the birthday gift you ordered has arrived."

---

Across town, Lila Stone was a wreck.

"Why did you save me?" she whispered. "I heard about the company. It's Audrey, isn't it? If I hadn't come back, she wouldn't be doing this to you. I don't want you hurt because of me." She covered her face and sobbed.

Diego's brow furrowed. He thought of how cold Audrey's eyes had been that afternoon, and the irritation flared again. He stroked Lila's hair. "It's not your fault. I'll handle Audrey. You focus on getting better."

"Really?" Lila looked up, eyes swimming, and burrowed into his chest. "As long as you're all right, that's all I care about. Don't be hard on her. She can do whatever she wants to me, as long as it doesn't touch you."

He patted her back. "You've always been too kind. Get some sleep. I'll go once you're out—there's still work waiting."

Lila curled obediently under the blanket, a small smile tugging at her mouth. As long as Diego still cared, that was enough.

Audrey could meet with him all she liked. In the end, she'd be the one stepping aside.

---

Audrey arrived at Ramos Enterprises with her laptop under her arm.

Three years of marriage, and this was the first time she'd set foot in the building. She almost laughed. She'd never once come here as Mrs. Ramos.

Jason walked her up to IT himself.

The company was usually buttoned-up to the point of dullness. Today it was chaos.

Inside IT, everyone was hunched over a screen, typing fast, patching holes. The tension was thick enough to chew.

The department head—a man in his forties with a buzz cut—was sweating through his shirt as he circled the room, glancing at the door every few seconds, waiting for Jason to come back with the expert.

Then he saw a woman who looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine, carrying nothing but a laptop, and his hopes crashed.

Doug Keller walked over, skepticism all over his face. "Jason. This is who you brought?"

One look and anyone could tell she was decoration. Could she really handle an architecture like theirs?

"Jason, this isn't a joke."

His voice carried. Heads came up around the room. Whispers started.

"She doesn't look as competent as our interns."

"This is a joke. We might not close the breach, but at least we're holding. She'll finish the job the attackers started."

"I have my doubts."

"Jason, you know what security means to this company. If the firewall goes, the losses are more than we can absorb." Keller's voice took on an edge. "This is IT. Are you sure you haven't brought her to the wrong floor?"

Keller's dismissal set the whole department buzzing, and every head turned toward Audrey with the same unfriendly look. A pretty face, in a room full of people who thought they were the best in the city.

"Watch your mouth, Mr. Keller." Before Jason could answer, Audrey's eyes cut to him, her smile cold. "Skill isn't something you announce. It's something you show. If this company could handle a problem this small, you wouldn't have called anyone."

"Why, you—" Keller went red.

The programmers bristled. Every one of them believed they were elite.

Audrey didn't waste another word. She flipped open her laptop. "Reid. Coffee."

Reid stepped up, handed over the iced coffee, and moved out of her light. "Here you go, Ms. Griffin."

The machine woke in under three seconds. Her hands moved fast and without hesitation. Within moments, monitors across the room flickered, numbers recalibrating and shifting on their own.

"Stop her!"

Keller lunged, panic in his voice. He was certain she was about to wipe them.

He grabbed a cup of cold water off the nearest desk, ready to pour it into her laptop. "Somebody stop her!"

Two techs tried. Their keyboards were dead.

On the walls, the numbers kept spinning, faster and faster.

"Mr. Keller." A hand closed on his shoulder from behind. "Wait. Look at the screens before you do something stupid." The tech lead was frowning.

Keller scanned the monitors. His eyes went wide. "Did we just—did that bug close?"

He looked at Audrey. She was typing one-handed now, sipping her coffee.

Just then, Diego Ramos walked in with a small box in his hand and took in the room.

Under the fluorescents, Audrey looked serious and completely unshakable, her focus locked on the screen. The confidence didn't grate on him. It pulled at him.

Something long dormant stirred in his chest.

"Mr. Keller, this is emergency support only. Get a competent firm to build you a new system inside a month. After that, we're not liable for anything you lose." Audrey hit one last key, closed the laptop, and turned to go.

And came face to face with Diego. She stepped back on instinct and nearly caught her hip on the edge of a desk.

"Careful—" He reached out without thinking and pulled her in.

The clean, familiar smell of him registered before anything else, and for one traitorous second her body remembered exactly what it was like to be held by him.

Color crept up her neck. She got her composure back and put professional distance between them. "Thank you, Mr. Ramos."

And even now, he lingered in her head. It infuriated her.

Diego frowned at how deliberately far away she'd stepped.

"The gift I ordered. Happy birthday." He held out the box.

Audrey hesitated. She was surprised he'd remembered at all. It didn't soften anything. "Thank you, Mr. Ramos. That isn't necessary."

The room went still. Had the CEO just given someone a present?

Jason quietly cleared everyone out, leaving the two of them alone in the open floor.

When Diego kept holding it out, Audrey sighed and opened it. Inside was a delicate bracelet, interlocking loops set with small diamonds, and a charm shaped like a little dog.

Something in her chest went hard. "Mr. Ramos, when you buy someone a gift, it helps to know what they actually like. I prefer wolves."

She was also allergic to dogs, which he'd never noticed either.

Lila loved dogs. Diego's house was full of little ceramic ones—something Audrey had discovered the week she moved in.

Regret flickered across his face. He'd assumed she liked them too; he'd seen her browsing them online once. "I'm sorry. Can we talk?"

Audrey paused, then turned back. "I'm busy, Mr. Ramos. Anything business-related goes through my assistant. Anything else—unless it's legal—let's not. I wouldn't want to get in the way of you and your girlfriend."

She walked out, heels steady, and left the tech floor murmuring behind her.

"I'll walk you down," Reid said, hurrying after her.

"No need." She shut it down flat.

Right now, anyone connected to Diego was unbearable.

As the elevator doors closed, Audrey leaned back against the wall. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face pale.

She had never mattered to him. A man who could get a gift that wrong had never once been paying attention. Ending it had been right.

Her hand moved to her abdomen. Thinking of the baby, something in her face softened.

She wasn't alone. Not really.

Then a sharp pang shot through her—the day catching up with her, probably.

"Ms. Griffin." Reid was waiting when the doors opened, and his face changed when he saw how pale she was. "Are you all right?"

She gripped his arm. "Take me to a hospital. Now."

She was barely eight weeks along.

"What?" He got her into the car fast. "Should I call an ambulance?"

"Just drive."

She bit her lip, both hands over her stomach.

Hold on, she thought. You and me. We're fine.

The car pulled up at the city hospital.

"Sit here, I'll get you registered." Reid steered her to a bench and hurried to the desk.

As her pulse settled, the pain eased a little.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her notes. Coming back to the company meant setting its direction all over again.

"Audrey Griffin. Well. It really is you."

A woman's voice, and it was enjoying itself.

Audrey looked up and went cold.

The woman was striking even furious—a narrow, catlike face, a small mole high on one cheekbone, the kind of looks that photographed better than they behaved.

Where Audrey was quiet and unhurried, Lila Stone came at you like weather.

"Lila." Audrey blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"You've got some nerve, showing your face. But let me spell it out for you. If Diego doesn't love you, he doesn't love you. You could hand him a hundred better reasons and he'd still walk out the door after me." Lila's smile was pure goading.

That little curve of her mouth said everything. Triumph, plain and simple.

She waved one pale hand, and the bracelet on her wrist caught the light. Impossible to miss.

Audrey's chest clenched. She knew that bracelet. Diego had put an identical one on her wrist two years ago and told her it was a family heirloom, passed to the women who married into the Ramos family.

So it hadn't been indifference. It had been contempt.

Audrey stood, and made herself smile. "Ms. Stone, do I look like I'm competing with you? If you want leftovers, take them. I won't stand in your way."

"You—" Lila's eyes flashed.

"Spare me. They're all yours." Audrey turned to go.

Then Lila crumpled sideways toward her, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Audrey stepped clear on instinct, one hand flying to her stomach. If Lila landed on her, the baby—

"Audrey, help me. Please—"

Audrey froze, and a shadow fell across her.

The man scooped Lila up like something breakable and pinned Audrey with a look. "I knew you didn't like her. I didn't think you'd put your hands on her."

Audrey laughed, sharp and incredulous. "Did you actually see anything? I never touched her."

Lila pressed closer to Diego, eyes brimming. "It's my fault. She didn't do anything."

"And you're still defending her."

That was the thing that cracked her. Heat rushed to Audrey's face. Half the waiting room was watching her get humiliated in public by a man she'd loved for three years.

Pride wouldn't let her stand there another second. She straightened her spine and walked. The tears came the moment her back was turned.

Pain could fade into a dull ache. Tears could fall without permission. And still, she couldn't seem to put him down.

You are unbelievable, Diego Ramos.

"She looked upset. You should go after her," Lila said, all careful concern, smiling into his shoulder.

"Never mind her. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I've already called friends, they're on their way. Please go—she was pale, and she's on her own." Lila had already clocked the man waiting by the doors.

Diego hesitated. Pale. That stuck. He went.

Reid spotted Audrey heading for the exit with red eyes and slipped the registration form out of sight. She'd been clear: nobody was to know about the pregnancy. Especially not Diego.

"Guess we're not making that appointment," he muttered.

"Audrey!" Diego called, picking up his pace.

"Mr. Ramos." Reid stepped into his path. "Hold on."

"You've got a lot of free time, Mr. Medina. Always trailing after Ms. Griffin." The irritation surprised even him.

Reid smiled, unbothered. "She doesn't want to see you. I'd stop chasing her if I were you. You have your own obligations." He tilted his head toward the waiting room. "Isn't somebody waiting?"

Diego's expression cooled. "How is any of this your business?"

He was winding up to say more when his phone rang. His mother. Aurelia Ramos.

He picked up fast. "Hi, Mom."

"Diego, what exactly do you think you're doing? Bring Audrey home. Tonight."

Aurelia's voice, normally unflappable, had an edge in it. She had objected to the marriage three years ago. Now they were ending it without telling her, and she'd had to hear about it secondhand.

Widowed young, she'd raised Diego with his grandfather's help, through one hard year after another. He'd built himself into the man who ran Ramos Enterprises. And this was what he did with it.

Diego's eyes darkened. "Understood."

He turned to Lila apologetically and handed her a card. "I'm sorry. Something's come up at home."

Lila's irritation simmered under the surface. She'd expected him to react to Audrey leaving with another man. He hadn't.

She took the card with a sweet smile. "Of course. I'm still waiting on that wedding, you know."

She waved it at him. "Thanks, Diego."

Audrey's car was pulling out when Diego stepped in front of the door. "My mother wants us at the house."

Audrey, who had only just stopped crying, frowned. Aurelia wanted them home?

Her mother-in-law had never once interfered. What had changed?

Out of respect for Aurelia, she felt obliged to go. She hadn't been the one to end this marriage, so she wouldn't be the one apologizing for it.

"Fine. Move so I can shut the door."

The waiting room replayed itself in her head and her chest twisted. Right now she didn't want to look at him.

Diego's hand stayed on the door. "Ride with me. Are you really going to be this stubborn?"