Page 24 of Sunrise (Monarch Club #3)

Sophie

I can’t stop smiling. At this rate, my colleagues are going to think I’ve huffed rocket fuel fumes.

Zipping the sun necklace along its chain, I saunter down the hall with a folder tucked under my arm.

My current mood is a far cry from the one I had yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.

“Someone’s zesty today,” James teases by the coffeepot.

I cheese it up and pour myself a to-go cup.

“Wow.” He leans against the counter and stares. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before.”

“Like what?”

“Happy.”

Ouch . “I’m always happy.”

His right eyebrow lifts in a who are you trying to fool kind of way.

“I’m usually happy.”

I swear it arches higher.

“Okay, I’m occasionally not irritated.”

“Bingo.” He dumps an ungodly amount of sugar into his cup. “Does he have a name?”

“There is no he ,” I lie.

“She, then?”

I’m diligent about keeping my private life separate from my work one.

It’s hard enough being a woman among a sea of men, most of whom don’t like to work with me.

I’m a hard ass on my best day and a control freak.

James is one of the few who happily puts up with me barking commands and asking him to put in long hours.

I don’t know where I’d be without him on my team.

That doesn’t mean I’ll ever tell him about my personal… interests .

“Thank fuck it’s Friday,” I say, sending our conversation in a new direction.

“Amen to that.” He takes a sip of his coffee. “Any luck with Bill?”

“We have a lunch meeting today.”

There’s absolutely no reason my research shouldn’t be bumped to the next level.

I’ve got something amazing here, and if I’m just given a chance, I could change the way we fuel our satellites.

What we use now is hydrazine based, which is toxic and must be handled with great care.

What I’ve proposed is a new form of fuel that can be just as efficient but is much safer.

I wanted to bring my discovery to the annual summit, but Bill told me I needed more data analysis done before the project could be presented there.

“I’m really sorry,” he says, apologizing for the bad news we all got.

“It’s not your fault, James.”

“He should have brought you to the summit instead of me.”

“No, you’ve earned every right to be there, too.” It still stings that Bill chose James over me, but James has busted his ass just as much as I have. And with the budget cuts we’ve been facing, only one of us could go with him. That’s the breaks .

“Whether it ever goes anywhere or not, you’ve put in a lot of hours on this project, Soph. Be proud.”

“I am. And you should be too.” My success is his success as well as our amazing team’s success.

I didn’t get here alone. I just blazed the trail for us and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done so far.

I was able to put together a stellar team of scientists for this project, and if we can get the green light somehow , I’m going to put my mark on space and lead us all to glory.

I’ll have to try harder. Speak louder, so I’m heard. Work more to make this happen.

Whatever it takes.

“I’m still holding out hope,” I say cheerfully. “Bill and I are having lunch at the Wayford. Maybe he can tell me how to make this happen. It’s too huge for even him to walk away from. He has to know that.”

James snarfs his drink. “The Wayford? That’s fancy and uncharacteristic of him. He’s so cheap all the time.” We both glance over at the generic coffee pods. “Well, get something extra expensive since he’s paying.”

“You know it.” I fist bump him and leave the breakroom refueled and ready for anything.

???

“I’m sorry, what ?” My hands clench into fists on my lap as I glower at Bill.

“He submitted his research weeks ago and presented at the summit, Sophie.”

I’m frozen in shock.

His research?

HIS research?

I think someone slipped me drugs. I’m hallucinating. Or maybe I’ve gone fucking mental.

“That’s not possible,” I grit out through clenched teeth. “Bill, you know this was my project. My fucking…” I lower my tone. “ My work. It’s all I’ve focused on for the better part of two goddamn years!”

“You mean James.”

“No.” No. No, no, no, no. “Is this a joke? Because it isn’t funny.” My legs shake under the table. Bile rises in my throat. This is a fucking nightmare, and someone needs to wake me up right now.

RIGHT. NOW.

Bill folds his hands and rests them in front of his plate. “Look, I know you’re emotional, and it’s hard to take rejection with grace but—”

“This isn’t about my fucking emotions !” I scream, slamming my palm on the table. “You can’t do this!”

“It’s already done.”

I knew this man didn’t like me. He’s never made working at the research center easy, but I never pegged him to be a cold-hearted liar and a snake.

Then again, I could say the same about James.

While I’ve been crying with my team, apologizing for having failed them, and sending our director email after email begging for some time to talk, James had already gone behind my back and put his name on everything and presented it as his .

At the summit I didn’t get to go to. With Bill’s approval.

I want to kill someone.

“You do not want to do this,” I warn.

“It’s already done.” He casually looks around. “If you don’t like it, leave.”

That’s been the plan all along. They’re trying to push me out. After all the sleepless nights I put into this, all the labor and energy and love… they’ve taken it all once it was proven to work.

I’ve never felt such betrayal in my life. It hardly seems real.

A sudden calmness takes over me.

Bill wants a reaction. I refuse to give him anything more than what I already have.

Crossing my legs, I lean back and deadpan him. The triumphant smile on his face falters a little. I think an angry woman might be concerning to him.

But a silent one is positively terrifying.

Good. He should be scared of me. I’m going to have his balls in a jar for this.

“Well…” I stand up and smooth my dress down. “I’ll see you back at the lab, then.”

“You’ll have ten minutes to collect your things once you get there,” he says, that smirk coming back out. “Security will be waiting to escort you to and from the building.”

My legs almost buckle.

The little confidence I’ve mustered burns to ash in a blink. I can’t hold back my angry tears, so I quickly turn and walk away before he can see them. He had us seated in the back corner of the restaurant. It takes a lifetime to make my way to the entrance and out the fucking door.

By the time I’m outside, I’m gasping for air.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fight my way out of this. Everything I’ve worked so hard on is gone. Gone! Given to someone else. Someone I thought was my friend. Jesus, I’ve been to his kid’s birthday parties, for fuck’s sake. I’ve had brunch with his wife. I cared about James.

And it was all a lie.

Retreating into my mind, I numbly pull up the Uber app and order a driver.

???

Bill wasn’t lying about one thing at least. There is a security guard waiting at the entrance of the building for me.

“Sophie,” he says, as if we’re friends.

“Go to Hell.” I march past him and use my card to swipe the elevator.

It doesn’t work.

I swipe again and the light glows red.

Closing my eyes, I pray to all the powers that be to help me survive this.

It’s not the end of the world , I remind myself. And you were miserable here, anyway .

But that’s not the point. My hard work is being credited to someone else.

The security guard uses his card key and lets me into the elevator, pushing the button to my floor for me.

I stare straight ahead and don’t move a muscle until the doors open.

The lab is bustling with employees going through the last hours of the work week, seemingly having no clue that my time here is at an end.

My office is on the right.

I turn left and head straight to where I hear James laughing.

My heels clack on the floor, beating as hard as my heart thumps.

He hears me coming. Turns around.

I slap him so hard my palm stings.

“How could you?” I scream. “ How could you !”

He licks his bloody lip and smirks. “Don’t worry. You’re still listed as a contributor.”

Raising my hand to strike again, my arm’s caught in a vice grip. “Get off me!” I yell, spinning to rip my arm out to the security guard’s grasp and nearly twist my ankle. I fall into the guard’s chest.

“Maybe don’t wear fuck me pumps to work when you get another job,” James advises. “It sends the wrong message.”

This. Bastard.

I stomp on his foot, digging my Louboutin stiletto heel into his cheap ass loafers. He howls in pain, and the security guard picks me up by the waist and hauls me backwards.

“Stop, Sophie.” He sets me down and quietly utters, “He’ll sue if you keep going. Don’t make this worse for yourself.”

Worse? How the fuck could this get worse ?

Tears spring free and I turn to leave. There’s nothing I need from my office that can’t be replaced, and any information on my laptop is no longer going to be considered mine.

It never was. It’s always been the research center’s property and intelligence.

I fear if I stay a second longer, I’ll make a chemical reaction and level the whole fucking building.

It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay .

I’ve been through worse and survived.

It’s just a job.

A stupid fucking job.

I didn’t even like it here. I’d come from a better place and landed at this one after…

After .

Flipping that switch inside my brain, I shutdown and enter survival mode.

I don’t remember leaving the building .

I don’t remember entering the parking garage.

I don’t remember getting in my car.

I don’t remember…