Chapter 12

Pretty soon, the conference room cleared out, leaving just Brynn and the Suncrest Group reps. Randy’s flip-flopping? No surprise there. Brynn had pegged him ages ago. Still, something bugged her.

“So, what made you guys change your tune?” she asked, giving the lead rep a chill, curious look. Judging by their faces earlier, Suncrest had been done—with the Everett Group, with her, with Randy, the whole mess. No reason they’d just swing back and toss her the keys. She chewed on that quietly.

“Our boss is a huge fan of yours,” the rep said with a grin. “He’s got mad respect for what you do, Ma’am. He’s only cool with this project if you’re the one steering it.”

That made sense. Brynn nodded a little, letting it sink in. She tilted her head. “Okay, but your boss might not know I’m about to leave the Everett Group. Maybe you’d be better off finding someone who’s—”

“Nah, you’ve got it wrong,” he cut in, shaking his head. “We’re banking on you, not the Everett Group. Wherever you land, this project’s coming with you.”

The way he said it, so sure, hit her like a cozy spark—part warm fuzzies, part thank-you vibes. They weren’t just saving her face; they actually believed in her.

Brynn nodded, sticking out her hand. “Alright, let’s make it a banger.”

The rep grabbed it with a smile. “Can’t wait.”

Half an hour later, Brynn rolled back into her team’s workspace, signed contract in hand. She flashed a grin at the crew hustling away and dropped the bomb.

“No way, seriously?” one guy yelped, head jerking up from his desk.

“I thought Kylie and her crew were swiping it,” another said, relief flooding her face.

“Brynn, you’re a damn rockstar,” someone chimed in.

The team went nuts, cheering like the cloud over them just vanished. They’d poured everything into this project—seeing it handed off as someone else’s ladder had sucked. Now? They were stoked.

“You guys have killed it on this,” Brynn said, her grin stretching wider. “Once it’s rolling smooth, everyone’s getting a bonus.” The room blew up again, even louder. Suddenly, those under-eye bags from late nights looked like trophies.

After pumping them up, Brynn headed to her office, contract still in hand. She’d been set to quit today, but with no next gig lined up, why not hang around? Wrap this project up right, get her team their cash—they deserved it. No dangling threads. Plus, it’d tick off Kylie and Randy. She smirked to herself. Cherry on top.

“Ugh, that was my project,” Kylie grumbled, skulking outside the team’s area. (The following text appears to be unrelated and possibly a fragment of a different story.)

“Yon—Kylie choked on Brynn’s comeback, her face twisting into something near the seed. She didn’t even feel bad about sneaking her way in. She was an Everett—this whole company was hers, by high least the thought. The more she chewed on it, the more she felt like the good guy. Just then, still steaming, Kylie peeked through the office glass and spotted someone coming. A lygram flashed in her eyes. She shot Brynn a cocky grin. “You can’t win this, Brynn.” With that, she reared back and smacked herself hard, a sneaky spark dancing in her gaze.

“Wahhh. Brynn, why’d you hit me?” Kylie whined, grabbing her reddening cheek as fake tears popped up, her voice all shaky and sad. Brynn stared at her, totally thrown. “What the—”

“You little punk, what’s your deal?” Randy burst in, his voice roaring with anger. Before Brynn could wrap her head around it, he stormed through the door, looking ready to blow a gasket. She saw the trap right away—oh great, Kylie’s doing her drama queen bit again, she thought.

“You rotten brat, how dare you slap your sister?” Randy glared at Brynn, his temper flaring like wildfire. Kylie jumped on it, throwing herself into Randy’s arms with a sob. “Dad, I just came to say congrats on the project, and she… she just hauled off and slapped me for no reason…”

That set Randy off big time. He stepped toward Brynn, arm cocked back, ready to lay into her.

“You want to try that?” Brynn’s voice sliced through, sharp as a knife, her icy glare freezing him mid-move. The vibe she gave off actually made him pause. But then his ego kicked in—he couldn’t look weak.

“A dad disciplining his kid? That’s my damn call!” he barked, puffing up.

“Go for it, then,” Brynn fired back, slamming her hands on the desk and standing up straight, not even flinching. “Hit me. And the Everett Group’s Suncrest deal is toast—right here, right now.”

“How could you—” Randy’s words got stuck, his raised hand hovering as he met her rock-solid stare. Then, he dropped it slow. The Suncrest deal was too huge to gamble with—he couldn’t take that chance, he figured quietly.

“Fine, whatever, you’ve got some nerve now,” he grumbled, breathing heavy. “We raised you all these years, and what do we get? A backstabbing jerk who can’t stand her sister and doesn’t even respect her old man.”

“Yeah, Brynn, you’re way out of line,” Kylie chimed in, piling it on. “How can you talk to Dad like that?”

Brynn let out a short, cold laugh, sizing them up. “I respect people who earn it. You don’t bring it, don’t expect me to play sweet.”

The racket was loud enough to turn heads—outside, the team kept sneaking peeks through the glass. Kylie clocked it and cranked the volume, teeth clenched. “Brynn, you’re so full of it! You almost trashed our Suncrest deal just to mess with me. You don’t give a crap about this company.” She was basically yelling now, making sure everyone out there caught the show.

“Me, selfish?” Brynn couldn’t help an eye roll. “Kylie, am I being too nice to you or what?”

“Aren’t you?” Kylie snapped, getting more riled up. “You don’t care about the company—you just want to push me out, elbow me aside every chance you get. What’s your big plan, huh? Shove me out and take the Everett Group for yourself? You’re the worst, Brynn.”

Brynn’s face went dark, her eyes narrowing as she stepped toward Kylie, slow and steady, oozing chill. Kylie, lost in her tirade, finally noticed. Brynn was closing in, and she tripped back a step, panic sneaking into her tone. “W–What are you doing…”

“Crack.” The slap landed, loud and clean. “Ahh!” Kylie squealed, grabbing her face. Brynn moved fast—Kylie didn’t have time to duck. The hit stung hard, her already red cheek puffing up quick.