Chapter 77 Pivot

Chapter 77 Pivot
Briar's POV

Lucian stayed pressed against me for a moment longer, his weight warm and solid, before he lifted his head and looked down at me with that infuriatingly calm expression. "So I'm what—your security system for the night?"

I used my knee to push against his side, creating just enough space to breathe properly, and shrugged like it was no big deal. "More like a deterrent. You've got that whole 'don't mess with me' vibe going."

He stared at me for a few seconds, his gray-green eyes searching mine, and then his mouth curved into a slow smile. He pushed himself up off the couch and extended his hand to pull me up. "Alright. I'll play guard dog tonight."

I took his hand and let him help me to my feet, brushing my hair back from my face. "Guest room's down the hall. Don't get any ideas."

Lucian leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear. "Wouldn't dream of it... unless you ask nicely."

I felt my face heat up, but I turned away quickly and headed down the hallway to get the guest room ready. I pulled fresh sheets from the linen closet and made up the bed, smoothing out the duvet and fluffing the pillows until everything looked presentable. By the time I finished, I could hear the shower running in the guest bathroom, and I went to the kitchen to get myself a glass of water.

I was standing in the hallway, sipping slowly, when the bathroom door opened and Lucian walked out with a towel slung low around his hips and absolutely nothing else. Water droplets clung to his chest and shoulders, sliding down the defined lines of muscle in a way that made my brain short-circuit completely. I froze mid-sip, the glass halfway to my lips, and my eyes locked onto the path of a single droplet as it traced the ridges of his abdomen.

He noticed me immediately, and that slow smile spread across his face again. "Like what you see?"

I felt my cheeks burn, and I jerked my gaze away, nearly spilling water on myself in the process. "Good night," I blurted out, and I practically bolted back to my bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind me.

I leaned against it for a moment, pressing my palms to my overheated face, and let out a long breath. Why didn't I just... I shook my head and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. As I lay there in the dark, I could hear the faint sounds of him moving around, the soft creak of the guest bed as he settled in.

It was strange how comforting those small noises were, knowing he was close, and I felt myself relax in a way I hadn't in weeks. My eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, the apartment was quiet. I padded out to the guest room and pushed the door open slowly, only to find the bed made with military precision, the sheets tucked in tight and the pillows arranged perfectly. He was already gone.

I walked out to the kitchen and stopped short when I saw the dining table. There was a plate with two perfectly golden croissants, a small container of Greek yogurt, and a bowl of freshly cut fruit arranged neatly beside a folded napkin. My phone buzzed on the counter, and I picked it up to see a message from Lucian: Had to head to the office early. Eat breakfast. -L

I stared at the "-L" at the end of the message, and I felt my mouth curve into a smile I couldn't quite suppress. I opened the refrigerator to put the yogurt away and froze. The shelves were packed with fresh produce, bottles of juice, and neatly labeled containers of prepped ingredients, everything organized with the kind of precision.

I leaned against the open door, the cool air washing over me, and whispered to the empty kitchen, "He's making it so hard not to fall completely..."

I grabbed a container of mixed berries and sealed it in a small box to take with me to the office, then got dressed and headed out.

The next few days at Vance Botanicals were a blur of controlled chaos. Eric's Twilight Series had cleared FDA certification ahead of schedule, and pre-orders were already shipping out to customers.

I had signed confidentiality agreements with a handful of smaller contract manufacturers and handed over Chloe's packaging designs for production. The livestream sales numbers kept climbing, and we were finally starting to recoup the upfront marketing costs. Everything looked good on paper.

Too good.

I stood at the floor-to-ceiling window in my office, staring out at the city skyline, and felt Selene stir restlessly in the back of my mind. Too smooth, she said. Predators hunt in silence.

The Apex Bio-Solutions bid was only two days away, and the tension in the office was palpable. I had deliberately kept the design team out of all core strategy meetings since the leak, and I could see the resentment building in their eyes every time I walked past their desks. I didn't care. Trust was a luxury I couldn't afford right now.

The next morning, Eric burst into my office at ten o'clock sharp, his face pale and his eyes ringed with dark circles like he hadn't slept in days. He didn't bother with a greeting. He just shoved his tablet into my hands and said, "Briar, we have a problem."

I looked down at the screen, and my stomach dropped. The display was filled with rows and rows of red text, each line marked with the word "Terminated" in bold letters.

Every single pharmacy and retail partner we had in the Riverbend district—every location that wasn't directly controlled by Sterling Pharmaceuticals—had pulled out of their contracts for next quarter. Montgomery Medical Group had undercut our prices across the board and poached every single one of our distribution partners.

I scrolled down, my hands starting to shake, and saw that our contracts in the other regions were set to expire at the end of the month, and not a single distributor had agreed to renew.

I stared at the endless stream of red notifications, and I felt the blood drain from my face. Without a distribution network, we had no way to demonstrate our market reach to Apex. We had no leverage.

Eric's voice was quiet and bitter. "Devon Montgomery just sent us a parting gift right before the bid."

I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath, trying to steady myself, but Selene was roaring in my mind, and I could feel the cold creeping up from the soles of my feet, spreading through my entire body. I opened my eyes.

"How long can you keep this quiet?" I asked, my voice flat and controlled.

Eric hesitated. "Maybe till end of today."

I nodded once. "Don't tell anyone yet. Conference room at 4 PM."

He left, and I sat down at my desk, my hands still trembling slightly as I picked up my phone and sent a message to Lily: Pull all security footage from the past week. Focus on anyone accessing restricted files. Send it to my personal email.

Then I called the finance department and requested detailed reports on the livestream sales data and influencer engagement metrics. I locked my office door, pulled up the files on my computer, and started going through every number, every transaction, every data point I could find.

By four o'clock, I had a plan. It was risky, maybe even reckless, but it was the only option we had left.

I walked into the conference room and found Eric and Owen already waiting. I looked at both of them, my expression serious, and said quietly, "I only trust you two right now."

I slid my tablet across the table. "We pivot to livestream as our primary distribution channel."

Owen frowned, leaning forward to study the screen. "Livestream numbers are good, but not enough to impress Apex's board."

I pulled up the detailed analytics I had been working on all afternoon and pushed the tablet toward them again. I watched their faces as they scanned the data, their expressions shifting from skepticism to surprise. Eric's eyebrows shot up as he pointed at one of the graphs. "This conversion rate... if we scale it..."

Owen still looked uncertain. "It's still a gamble."

Eric suddenly laughed, a sharp, almost reckless sound, and leaned back in his chair. "We've been surviving in the cracks all along. What's there to lose?"

Owen stood up slowly, his face serious, and he looked directly at me. "I'm sorry for doubting you before."

Eric grinned and added, "Remember when I made you trip? Consider us even now."

I held up my hand to cut them off. "Save the drama. We need perfect execution."

I turned to the whiteboard and started writing out the assignments. "I'll handle the marketing pitch. Owen, you're backup." I drew a line underneath and continued, "Product demo goes to Eric and Owen together."

Eric straightened in his chair, his expression turning serious and focused. "We won't let you down."

I capped the marker and turned back to face them. "We're going to win this."

Owen and Eric answered in unison, their voices firm and steady. "Yes."