Liam could feel Lily watching his face, waiting to see what kind of man he was when another man tried to place him lower without saying it outright. The badge on Liam’s chest might as well have been on fire.
He looked at Richard for a long second and then said, very calmly, “I think you should go.”
For the first time that evening, something in Richard’s face slipped.
Just for a second.
Then the smile returned.
“Of course,” he said. “I only wanted to clear the air.”
He straightened.
And then Ava’s voice cut through the space.
“Richard.”
She didn’t say it loudly. She didn’t need to.
She stood a few feet away in that red dress, very still now in a way that made the room around her feel less steady. Richard turned toward her with his face already repaired.
“How long have you been doing that?” she asked.
He blinked. “Doing what?”
“Managing people for me. Having the careful conversation. Making sure everybody understands the proper context.”
The board members near the entrance were openly watching now.
Richard gave a small, practiced laugh. “Ava, I was only—”
“Did you speak to Marcus Chen that way in December?” she asked. “Right before he stopped calling?”
He didn’t answer.
“And the Delancy partnership last spring?” she continued. “Did you tell them I was overloaded? That having the girls made it hard for me to commit long-term?”
“Ava,” he said quietly, “I was protecting you.”
“No,” she said. “You were reducing me. One helpful conversation at a time.”
That landed.
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