Chapter 6
Fall arrived in New York like a mood swing.
One week it was humid and desperate. The next, the air turned crisp and judgmental. Leaves flamed gold in Central Park. People rebranded themselves with scarves. The city felt sharper.
Arthur Beauty Global felt worse.
Crisis management meetings became daily rituals. Official statements were drafted and redrafted. The leaked footage was labeled “maliciously edited.” Legal teams were deployed like soldiers. The party was called “an overwhelming success” in press releases, which felt like gaslighting in font.
But the internet does not forget.
And neither did Melissa.
She couldn’t unsee the way Simone had looked in that video—angry, betrayed. She couldn’t ignore the tone in Andre’s voice.
James tried to keep things normal. He threw himself into work, into charm, into Noah. But Noah had questions.
“Is he in trouble?” Noah asked one evening as they walked through Central Park, leaves crunching underfoot.
James kept his gaze forward. “He’s always in trouble.”
“That’s not funny,” Noah said gently.
James stopped walking. “I don’t owe you corporate secrets.”
“I’m not asking for secrets,” Noah replied. “I’m asking if you’re okay.”
The simplicity of it disarmed him.
James laughed softly. “You’re annoying.”
Noah smiled. “I’ve been called worse.”
There was a pause. The city hummed around them—distant sirens, dogs barking, a violinist somewhere near Bethesda Fountain playing something heartbreakingly earnest.
“I don’t do this,” James admitted suddenly.
“Do what?”
“Care.”
Noah stepped closer. “You’re very bad at not caring.”
James swallowed. For once, he didn’t have a clever deflection ready.
Noah kissed him first this time. Slow. Intentional.
And James didn’t perform. He just… stood there and felt it.
Across town, Jenna was not handling her feelings with such grace.
She cornered Luis in the lab after hours, sleeves rolled up, adrenaline high.
“You knew something was off,” she accused.
Luis leaned against the counter, unruffled. “Everyone knew.”
“You didn’t look surprised,” she pressed.
Luis hesitated. Just enough.
Jenna caught it.
“You knew,” she repeated, softer now. “What do you know?”
Luis exhaled slowly. “I know this company was built fast. And things built fast crack.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I can give.”
Jenna’s frustration flared. “God, you’re so calm all the time.”
Luis’s eyes softened. “And you’re so loud.”
She stepped closer. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” he said quietly. “It’s why I like you.”
The words hit her like a dropped glass.
Jenna blinked. “You what?”
Luis didn’t retreat. “I like you.”
Jenna’s heart did something violent. She hated that it did.
“You can’t just say that,” she said.
“I just did.”
The lab lights hummed overhead. The city outside glowed amber and indifferent.
Jenna stared at him, searching for mockery. There was none.
So she did the only thing she knew how to do when cornered emotionally.
She kissed him.
Hard.
Not graceful. Not delicate. A collision more than a gesture.
Luis froze for half a second—then kissed her back.
It was messy and heated and absolutely not professional.
When they pulled apart, Jenna looked stunned.
“That was…,” Luis began.
“Don’t,” Jenna said quickly. “Don’t label it.”
Luis smiled slightly. “Okay.”
She backed away, breath uneven. “We’re not dating.”
“I didn’t say we were.”
She pointed at him. “Good.”
But her pulse refused to calm.
Meanwhile, Melissa’s chaos was quieter—but deeper.
She avoided Andre’s office for days after the leak. Avoided eye contact in meetings. Avoided the part of her brain that wanted to ask him what he had done.
But Andre found her.
He appeared at her desk one late afternoon, when the office was half-empty and golden light slanted through the windows.
“Walk with me,” he said softly.
It wasn’t a question.
Melissa’s heart betrayed her by racing.
They stepped onto the balcony overlooking the city. The wind was cool now, autumnal.
“You’ve been distant,” Andre said.
Melissa stared out at the skyline. “There was a video.”
Andre’s jaw tightened. “You think you understand what you saw?”
“I think I saw you threaten someone.”
Andre’s voice lowered. “You saw a conversation taken out of context.”
“With Simone?” she pressed.
Silence.
Andre studied her face. “You’re very brave.”
“I’m very curious,” she corrected.
He stepped closer. Not touching. Just close enough to change the air.
“You want to know what I did?” he asked quietly.
Melissa’s breath hitched.
“Yes.”
Andre looked out at the city, expression unreadable.
“I built this place,” he said. “And when you build something that big, you make enemies.”
“That’s not an answer.”
His gaze snapped back to hers.
“You don’t want the real answer.”
The wind whipped between them.
Melissa felt it then—a crack in the foundation. Not just in him. In everything.
“I can handle it,” she said, though she wasn’t sure she could.
Andre studied her for a long moment.
Then—
The balcony door slammed open.
James stood there, breathless.
“Melissa,” he said urgently. “We need you.”
Andre’s eyes flashed irritation.
“What is it?” Melissa asked.
James looked between them, jaw tight.
“Someone just sent another video,” he said.
Melissa’s stomach dropped.
“Of what?” she whispered.
James swallowed.
“This time… it’s from inside the building.”
And as the fall wind rose around them, all three of them understood the same thing:
This wasn’t a glitch.
This was escalation.
And someone very close to them was playing a long game.
