The silence in the office had stretched on for so long that Sadie grew uneasy. After a moment's hesitation, she finally spoke up. "Ms. Blair, earlier, Ms. Anderson from the Games Division told me she knows Mr. Lane from way back. She suggested she could handle the negotiations with I&A. Ms. Anderson's hoping we can secure the rights to Black & White Rabbit."

Emily Blair opened her eyes, her voice low and indifferent. “Let her give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, come back to me."

At last, she'd spoken.

Although Ms. Blair wasn't old, and she was never harsh with her team-company perks were excellent, too-everyone knew she was a stickler for details. Nobody dared make a mistake on her watch.

Sadie let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. “Honestly, I don't think we need to stress too much about the Black & White Rabbit license. Mr. Lane doesn't seem desperate to hang onto it. Besides, the game he wants to develop isn't in conflict with our plans."

Emily looked up. "What kind of game are they making?"

Sadie answered honestly, "Ms. Austin is a pianist. Apparently, Mr. Lane wants to impress her, so he's planning a piano-themed game. It's nothing like our simulation project, so there's no competition. That means he's more likely to sell us the rights for Black & White Rabbit. Plus, those rights are expensive. Mr. Lane's a businessman he knows how to maximize his profits."

Emily didn't respond right away. She simply said, "Alright. Go call Megan Anderson in. I need a word with her."

"Of course."

After Megan Anderson updated her on the situation, Emily just nodded and gave a few brief instructions before sending her off to Riven for the business trip.

The Rabbit Gang project was Emily's responsibility, and the company had poured serious resources into it—a sprawling, intricately designed animal-world simulation game. Practically everyone in the company had put in long hours, all hoping this project would finally reward them with healthy bonuses. Emily herself had been running herself ragged to make it a success.

There was no question: Black & White Rabbit was the perfect launch theme for Rabbit Gang. It would draw players in droves.

She had to get those game rights—no matter what.

But Emily knew Andrew Lane had certainly heard about her recent

accomplishments. Things between them had ended badly years ago-so badly that, given his pride, if Andrew knew she wanted to buy the Black & White Rabbit license, he'd probably never agree to sell.

Sending Megan Anderson might not get them anywhere.

She'd been hiding out here for five years. She was tired of running.

By the time Emily left the office building, it was already ten at night. The place was deserted-just her and the night guard remained.

She rode the elevator down to the parking garage. As soon as the doors slid open, she spotted a familiar car in the distance, hazard lights blinking in the darkness.

She didn't need to guess whose it was.

Tristan Davis had originally bought that car for himself, but after he lost a bet to her —his shiny new car as the wager-it became hers.

Later, Tristan managed to fix a deeply buried bug in the code. As a show of gratitude, Emily offered the car back, but Tristan stubbornly refused. With neither of them willing to claim it, the car just ended up parked outside the office, available for Tristan to use whenever he wanted.

Once, when Tristan was in a rush, he'd taken the car. Then, when Emily's own car broke down—she was notoriously frugal and had no backup—she'd needed a ride to an important dinner and ended up taking this car herself.

After all the back-and-forth, neither of them could say anymore who the car really belonged to.