Chloe Pierce's POV
The elevator ride down feels like descending into hell. My hands shake as I dial Aiden's number for the fifth time. Straight to voicemail again.
"Please pick up," I whisper to the empty elevator. "Please."
The lobby rushes past in a blur as I stumble toward the exit. Janet's words echo in my head like a death sentence. Find him. Bring him here. Or you're fired.
My phone buzzes with a text from Susan: "Hope your mysterious friend is worth destroying your career over."
I want to throw the phone against the wall. Instead, I press the call button again. Voicemail.
The taxi ride home costs forty dollars I can't afford. My credit cards are maxed out, my savings account empty. This job was supposed to save me from financial ruin.
Now it's slipping through my fingers because I can't reach a man who scribbled a billion-dollar formula on a napkin like it was a grocery list.
