JESSICA LEAFED THROUGH some printouts on her desk, searching for potential companies to contact. Now that Paul probably blackballed her in the elitist venture capital circles, she needed to develop a new client list. Charlie would come looking for it sooner than later, although he was probably still stewing over her meeting with Justin in New York.

She smirked, hoping he got chewed out for his little stunt. What a fool he was for thinking he could get away with his little game. Or maybe Benton finally made an offer. Oohhh, please make it good enough that he’ll take it and be out of my hair forever!

Tapping away at the keyboard, she made some notes for another set of companies in the area. Thoughts of James crept in and a smile spread over her face.

The phone rang, yanking her out of a delicious daydream. A Manhattan area code appeared on the display. Charlie? It was getting more than a little strange that she hadn’t heard from him, despite his probable anger.

“Jessica Latham.”

“Jessica, it’s Jake. I’m sorry it’s taken so long to get back to you. Things have been pretty crazy here.”

Jessica perked up. “Crazy, how?”

“You won’t believe—”

Her phone buzzed again. Call waiting. Manhattan again? “Jake, hold that thought. I need to take this call real quick.” She didn’t know who it was, but something told her to answer.

“Jessica, this is Pam Ross, Justin Rosen’s assistant.”

She winced at Pam’s clipped voice. Does she always need to be so unfriendly? What’d I ever do to her? “Oh, hi, how are you—”

“I have Justin for you. Let me patch him through.”

Jessica bit off a stray cuticle. What’s this all about?

A moment later, Justin’s voice came on the line. “Hey Jessica, it’s Justin.”

“Hi there. How are you?” Jessica was a little thrown off by the call. Charlie was the primary interface to Justin and the partners, so why would Justin be calling her? Unless…

Justin sighed. “I have some news to share with you. I know you’re out in Palo Alto, but we have had a situation here that you should be aware of.”

“Okay. What’s going on?”

“Charlie is no longer with DMC. He resigned yesterday.”

Jessica jumped out of her chair and danced around the office with glee. “He resigned? Yesterday?”

“Yes, and he gave us no notice. He’s also taking Derek with him. Unfortunately, the next part is the more difficult news to deliver.” Justin cleared his throat. “He’s going to Benton McCauley as a partner. He’ll be running their newest practice…focusing on technology start-up companies that are working towards an IPO.”

Jessica gasped. “He what? How is that possible? He didn’t have—”

“Evidently, he brought the idea to them when you began working on it months ago. They promised him partnership if he could hand-deliver all our research and analysis to them. Benton McCauley saw the potential with this type of business, and they already have a solid team in place. From what I’ve heard, their practice has grown tremendously and they’re adding more consultants to their staff as we speak. It turned out to be a very lucrative proposition, Jessica. Charlie knew from the beginning that it was a winner and he passed along all of the documentation you put together, all of the client contracts, everything.”

Jessica’s eyes filled with tears. All her work was finished, just like that? That’s why he was so dismissive of my efforts out here, why he kept derailing my meetings. That bastard! She worked so hard to launch this practice, to finally get the recognition she deserved and the opportunity to create a name for herself in the industry. Now everything she’d built was crumbling down around her.

“What does that mean for us? Can’t we take action against him for transferring intellectual property?”

“Regrettably, no. It’s too late anyway. They already have a practice that’s up and running, with a good number of clients who don’t really care how they did it. The clients only care about what they can get for their money, and with the quality of resources Benton McCauley brings to the table, they’re getting quite a bit.”

Jessica slumped in her chair, unable to speak. What does this mean for my job? Do I even have one any more?

“But Jessica, while I’m sure this is coming as a shock to you, understand that we’re all really impressed with everything you’ve accomplished. You went above and beyond in your efforts to launch this new business, and the partners value your talents. So, we want to try to offer you some restitution.”

Jessica nibbled on her thumbnail. “I’m not sure what you mean…”

“We’d like you to take over Charlie’s area, effective immediately. You’ll run the group as a senior manager and if things go well over the next months, we will officially promote you. I’m sorry that things worked out this way, but we hope this offer will make the situation a little more palatable. We want to provide you with a chance to join the partner track. You’ve got the type of work ethic that sets DMC apart from its competitors, a key reason why we’re the best in the industry.”

Jessica sat in stunned silence trying to focus on Justin’s proposal. This was the end goal. The promotion she worked to achieve was now being handed to her. It was symbolic of her independence and self-reliance, but that didn’t really seem to matter very much any more.

That son of a bitch Charlie took everything she created and made his own partnership opportunity. Those scumbags at Benton McCauley stole her ideas and had the good sense to put focus on an area that obviously showed promise. It was absolutely infuriating. Jessica wanted to kick and scream and throw things, and then numb her aching head with lots of wine. Yes, that’s exactly what I need.

“So, what are the next steps?” Jessica twirled a pen around her fingers as her mind raced. She’d have to do quite a bit to get up to speed on Charlie’s areas.

“Well, starting next week, you’ll meet with Charlie’s department heads to learn about their ongoing and upcoming projects, create a strategy for your new organization and begin executing on it. I know it’s difficult to walk away from something you’re so passionate about, but there are still opportunities for talented individuals like you. We hope that you’ll seriously consider our offer.”

“Okay. Next week.” She nodded. “I can do that.”

“Great, so plan to get back here on Monday morning. We can let one of the other consultants run the projects out in California since you’ll be occupied with your new role here in New York.”

New York. Jessica did a double-take. Next week, in New York?

Justin continued to comb through the logistics, but all she heard was “your new role here in New York.” But I can’t leave Palo Alto now. I can’t leave James.