Page 38

Theo

I swirl the amber liquid in my glass, watching how the light dances through it, like maybe the answers I need are hidden in its golden depths. But they’re not.

Austin and Rhys told me about the conversation they had with Mackenzie earlier this evening. She isn’t interested in coming back.

I knew that already, but I still hate hearing it because I know it’s my fault.

And as bad as things are at the office without her, that’s the least of my worries right now. I miss Mackenzie personally in a way that’s left a hole in my life. I miss Levi. Spending time with her has made me want things I never thought I would, and that’s not just my stress or grief talking.

“I’m really sorry she doesn’t want to be our exec admin anymore, but I have to tell you…” I look up at them. “I’m even more sorry that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

Rhys looks at Austin. “She really meant something to you, huh?”

I nod miserably. “I just messed it all up. I messed it up eight years ago, and then I thought I had a chance to repair things. But now she doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t believe that what I say is real.”

I tell them what happened the day Levi was sick and I had to meet with the police. They cringe before I even get to the bad part. Hell, it’s all the bad part. “I can’t tell you why I did it that way, but I know it was stupid, and I know it wasn’t because I didn’t think Levi was important. But I don’t know how to convince her of that,” I explain.

The room is quiet for a moment.

“I think you actually have several problems to solve,” Jade notes.

Danica nods immediately. “I agree. Let’s tackle the parts you’re in control of first, and then maybe you’ll see your way forward with the rest.”

I narrow my eyes as I look over at them. I appreciate their enthusiasm, but I have no idea what they could be up to. Are they talking about work or about getting Mackenzie to open herself to the possibility of us again?

Danica stands, looking around. “Do you have a flip chart?” she asks.

What? Oh. Right. She works in HR. Seems like she’s focused on the professional piece of this problem. Which does need to be solved… I force myself to focus. “Uh, no. But those markers work on the glass.” I motion toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Perfect.” Danica grabs a white marker and walks to the window. Her reflection blends with the City lights as she starts writing in clean, confident strokes.

We gather around her.

On the glass, she lists everything Mackenzie used to handle, each of us offering suggestions as she goes. One column turns into two. Then she adds tasks specific to our roles—CEO tasks, department heads, investor meetings.

When she steps back, the picture is clear. Overwhelming .

“She was doing the job of five people,” Danica says. “No wonder things feel off with her gone.”

“EnergiFusion’s not short on funds,” Jade says, scanning the list. “You can hire different people to fill these roles. You’re never going to find a temp who’s capable of all this.”

Rhys nods. “Agreed.”

“Okay, so that’s that,” Danica says. Then she turns to me.

“Theo,” she asks, “what do you actually enjoy about being CEO?”

I know the answer without hesitation. “The public facing part.” The clients, the deal, the partnerships, the chance to build something bigger than myself.

Danica nods, like she already knew. “Then let’s redefine your role. You guys have been talking about this, but let’s get it done. You have to move forward. Theo, you can focus on clients, and we’ll separate business operations into a new position.”

“But Rhys is already the head of operations,” I remind her.

“Actually, Jeannie inherited a lot of operations as the chief financial officer,” Rhys replies. “And that’s fine with me, as I’d rather focus on EnergiFusion’s next release.”

“Me too. I’d rather be in a lab,” Austin says.

The room falls quiet again, but there’s possibility here. Everyone is thinking…

Then Danica shifts everything. “What if Mackenzie takes the operations role?” The words hit like a thunderclap. “She’s ready to be more than an EA, but maybe she’s not entirely done with EnergiFusion—if she didn’t have to work for Theo anymore.”

I open my mouth and then close it. Danica smiles. She’s teasing me, but she might be on to something.

If Mackenzie wasn’t working for me, but as a partner to all of us, perhaps she’d feel differently about continuing with the company. And being on more equal ground puts us in a much better position for a personal relationship. If I could ever convince her…

All eyes turn to me, but it’s Rhys who speaks first.

“She’s got an MBA from a top program,” he says. “She’d crush it.”

Austin nods. “She already knows the company. She wouldn’t need training or onboarding.”

Jade crosses her arms, thoughtful. “And she wouldn’t be your assistant anymore, so you’ll have a better chance of fixing what you broke.”

Exactly . I take a slow breath, my eyes on the white marker lines stretching across the glass. Behind them, the City glows in soft focus. We’ve laid out the future of EnergiFusion right in front of me—a new path. One Mackenzie could lead.

But is it too late?

Danica tilts her head. “That is what you want, isn’t it?” Her voice is edged with challenge. “I don’t understand what makes this so hard in the first place. Eight years ago is a long time. What happened that’s still causing problems?”

I let out a breath, and the truth slips out before I can filter it. “At the Auto Showcase party—back before EnergiFusion really took off—I had too much to drink and made a move with Mackenzie that I’d been too chicken to take until then. We had a great time together, and later, I told Crystal how I felt about her.” I pause, the memory rushing back. “I confided in her as a friend, but Crystal shut me down fast. She said it was a bad idea. She thought Mackenzie would sue the company if I pursued anything.”

Danica plants her hands on her hips, shaking her head. Here comes the truth.

“I hope you can see now that Crystal likely had an ulterior motive—jealousy or something worse,” she says. “People meet at work all the time. At EnergiFusion, relationships are not against the rules. You just have to handle it the right way. And as we’ve just figured out, this new setup should make that easier.”

I nod, feeling overwhelmed, but also a little hopeful.

“Can you handle it, though?” she presses. “Can you be with her and work together?”

Of course , I want to yell. But instead, I keep it professional. “I believe I can.”

But believing isn’t enough. It’s about Mackenzie. Will she want this? Would she even consider giving us a chance?

“Then be honest with her,” Danica says. “Be upfront. Let HR manage the logistics but be real about what’s at stake.”

I nod and turn back to the window, trying to anchor myself in the practical instead of the emotional. “We’ll need at least three people to take over what Mackenzie was doing,” I say.

“Yes, and Emerson will have names,” Danica says. “A lot of startups are shutting down. She’ll know where the talent is.”

Why didn’t I think of that before? I pull out my phone, my fingers already moving.

Emerson replies almost instantly. She’ll be at the office first thing Monday morning. Awesome . One less thing to worry about.

“Any thoughts on a title for the new operations role?” Danica asks.

“Chief operations officer,” I say immediately. “Rhy has moved back into the lab.” I look at him for confirmation.

He nods. “I’m really not the COO anymore. I’m just fine with co-founder as a title.”

“Then chief operations officer is perfect for her.” It fits—strong, clear, respected. And I can’t imagine anyone more qualified than Mackenzie.

“Settled then,” Danica says, clicking the cap back on the marker with a satisfying snap.

But nothing about this feels settled. I think through my next moves carefully, planning what I’m going to say to Mackenzie tomorrow after Levi’s baseball game.

There’s so much I need to tell her, so many cracks to mend.

Rhys looks up from his phone. “I have a contact at the police department, and he just told me Crystal’s fingerprints were found in the storage unit and on the freezer. She told the police she’d never been there.”

“Anything about the lab results?” Austin asks.

Rhys nods. “They matched the oleander in Justin’s system to the plants in Crystal and Justin’s backyard. Apparently, plants have something like DNA that’s affected by the soil they grow in, so they can be confident about where the poison came from.”

And just like that, we all know.

I shake my head. This wasn’t just betrayal. It was murder committed by someone we trusted. “Mackenzie told the police about the morning smoothies Crystal used to make for Justin,” I say. “Every day. Without fail.”

Danica lets out a low whistle. “Convenient.”

“She also told the police that a divorce lawyer called him several times after he disappeared,” I note. “He owed her some money.”

“Looks like Crystal had a future in mind that didn’t include Justin,” Austin says bitterly.

“I have to wonder if it included Turner,” I mumble.

No one says anything to that, but Rhys and Austin nod.

“Good thing SHN’s legal team is solid,” Austin finally says. “Gina will be a rational partner once she has Justin’s shares, and I really want to knock this out of the park for her—and for Justin.”

An idea sharpens in my mind. “Speaking of shares… what if we split Crystal’s shares equally between Jeannie and Mackenzie? I mean, if Crystal’s convicted, of course.”

“Absolutely,” Rhys agrees.

Austin nods. “That’s a great idea.”

It doesn’t erase the damage or fix the past. But it’s something.

We can’t undo what’s been lost. We can only rebuild for what comes next.

I lean against the cool glass wall. “If the grand jury indicts Crystal, there’ll be a court case. What happens if Crystal doesn’t show up for trial?”

“Mason said they’ll move forward with or without her,” Austin tells me. “She can hire her own lawyer, or the court will assign one.”

“She won’t escape justice,” Jade says.

I nod. “Grantham said he recommended a lawyer for her, but there’s no telling if she followed through.”

Rhys stands, pacing slowly. Then he stops. “What if we make sure she has real representation? We cover her legal fees, from her payroll account. That way, she can’t claim she had a bad lawyer. No chance for an appeal. It’s the least we can do to protect Justin’s legacy.”

I think about that for a moment. Before I wanted the lawyer to protect her and help prove her innocence. Now, the last thing I’m interested in is helping Crystal, but Rhys is right. It’s not about her. It’s about closing the door with dignity. About honoring the man she betrayed and putting all of this behind us for good.

“Yes,” I agree. “Let’s make sure she gets the defense she’s entitled to. Then we let the system do its job.”

One by one, we all agree. This isn’t mercy. It’s accountability, carried out the way Justin would’ve wanted.

“Okay, then. Let’s move forward,” I say, and for the first time in years, I feel something close to clarity. It’s good to have a plan, something we can control.

I swirl the last of my bourbon, the ice knocking softly against the glass. “Crystal stole over a billion dollars from us. And that wasn’t enough. Then she tried to destroy everything we’ve built with those fake batteries. What was it she actually wanted? She killed her husband over this.”

The words choke me. Saying it out loud makes it real.

Rhys shakes his head. Austin looks away. There’s nothing left to say.

“She needs to go to prison,” I say finally. “No leniency. Not for a second.”

My mind fills with memories of Justin. His laugh. His sharp wit. The way he could diffuse tension in a heartbeat and pull us all back from the edge. He was the center of this group. The one we trusted most.

And now he’s gone. Stolen from us.

“Crystal played all of us,” Austin says bitterly. “For money, for power—I don’t even know anymore. But she can’t get away with it.”

Across the room, Jade reaches for Rhys’s hand. Danica stands by the window, arms folded. She’s quiet, but you can tell she feels it too, the weight of this moment. “Justice for Justin,” she murmurs. “That’s what matters now.”

We are united, bound not just by grief, but by purpose.

For Justin, EnergiFusion, and the integrity of everything we’ve built.

We won’t give up until justice is done.