Vale’s POV

The email hit my inbox at 4:47 p.m. on a Thursday.

Subject: VP, Client Strategy – Appointment

I didn’t need to open it. The preview line already told me everything.

Julian Kane had gotten the job.

I stared at the screen until the words blurred. Two years of late nights, stolen accounts, performance reviews, and three separate times I’d let him fuck me against a conference-room wall while we spit insults at each other—and he still walked away with the title I’d wanted more than anything.

My phone buzzed almost immediately.

Julian: Conference room. Now.

I should have ignored it.
I should have gone home, opened a bottle...