“You coordinated?”
Sophie answered, “No.”
Riley answered, “Absolutely.”
Daniel shook his head.
Riley’s phone rang.
She glanced at screen.
Her expression changed.
Business Riley.
Daniel had seen glimpses.
Different posture.
Sharper eyes.
“I have to take this.”
She stepped outside.
The garage door remained partly open.
Daniel tried not to listen.
He failed.
“Noah.”
Pause.
“I know.”
Another pause.
“No, I understand what Caldwell wants.”
Longer.
“Tell the board I’ll join at four.”
Daniel stopped turning the wrench.
Then:
“How many people are affected?”
Silence.
“No. All four hundred thirty remain employed regardless of the financing outcome. That is not negotiable.”
Daniel looked up.
Four hundred thirty?
Riley continued outside.
“I'll be in Chicago tomorrow.”
“Noah, I said I’ll handle it.”
Then the call ended.
She remained outside another thirty seconds.
When she returned, Daniel had climbed to his feet.
She saw his face.
Her own changed.
“Your company,” he said.
“Yes.”
“How big?”
Riley hesitated.
He understood before she spoke that she had been hiding something.
Not necessarily lying.
Still hiding.
“Four hundred thirty employees.”
Daniel set the wrench down carefully.
Sophie looked between them.
Riley said, “Sophie, sweetheart, can you take Gerald inside for a minute?”
Sophie frowned.
“Why?”
“Adult conversation.”
“Those are usually boring.”
“Today especially.”
Sophie left reluctantly.
Daniel waited.
“What company?”
“Hargrove Analytics.”
He stared.
Name sounded vaguely familiar.
Riley continued.
“We build predictive market software.”
“You own it.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Her voice became quieter.
“At current valuation, somewhere between forty and sixty million.”
Daniel laughed once.
Not because funny.
Because the difference between what he had assumed and what stood before him was so large his mind rejected it.
Riley stepped closer.
“I should have told you.”
“Yeah.”
“I wasn't trying to trick you.”
“Then what were you doing?”
She looked toward the floor.
“For the first time in years, nothing.”
Daniel frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does to me.”
She met his eyes.
“When people know who I am, everything changes.”
“They want introductions.”
“Investment.”
“Jobs.”
“Access.”
“They decide who I am before I sit down.”
“You didn't ask.”
Daniel said, “I didn't care.”
“Exactly.”
“That was the point.”
His jaw tightened.
“So you let me believe…”
“What?”
“That I was normal?”
“No.”
“That you needed sixty-dollar repairs?”
“I did need the repair.”
“Riley.”
“I paid what you charged.”
“This isn't about the money.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
His voice remained low.
That made it worse.