Page 47 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

Addy bites back a smile. “Good to know.”

I look between them, then at Captain, who's still stationed beside her as an accomplice.

This could work.

Not perfectly. Nothing is.

But well enough.

“Read before bed,” I say to Oliver.

“I know.”

I glance at Addy. “If you need anything, call.”

“I’m capable of locating a refrigerator on my own, but thank you.”

“That isn’t what I meant.”

Her gaze meets mine for half a second longer than necessary.

“I know,” she says quietly.

I hold that look for one moment too long, then break it before the room can become less manageable.

My jacket is in the study. I retrieve it, cross the apartment, and leave before I can think too carefully about the fact that I'm walking out of my home with the distinct sense that it may continue breathing without me.

Strong AeroTech headquarters doesn't require introduction.

It announces itself.

The tower rises over the Chicago River in glass and dark steel, its exterior designed to reflect the city, while remaining unmistakably apart from it. From a distance, the building appears almost too precise to belong to the skyline it occupies. Up close, it’s impossible to mistake what it is.

Power.

Intent.

Money.

Though wealth alone has never interested me unless it served a function.

This building does.

The car pulls beneath the private entrance, where security is already in motion before I step out. The lobby beyond is expansive without being indulgent, all marble, brushed metal, and restrained lighting designed to direct movement rather than invite pause. A suspended installation shaped as a fractured wing spans the center of the atrium, catching the light in a way that suggests movement even at rest.

I cross the lobby at a pace that discourages interruption. Reception acknowledges me with practiced efficiency. Security falls into alignment without making it obvious. My access grants every door I approach. Nothing here's accidental. Not the architecture or the systems. Especially not the people.

I built it that way.

By the time I enter the executive floor, the environment has shifted again. Less display, more function. Floor-to-ceiling glass along the corridor, conference rooms enclosed in smoked panels, private offices positioned to maximize visibility and control. The city stretches beneath the building in every direction, though the dominant view from this level is the river and the lake beyond it.

Sara is waiting outside the boardroom with a tablet in one hand and the expression of someone who’s already dismissed three inadequate solutions before my arrival.

She falls into step beside me immediately. “They want revised guarantees on the deployment schedule.”

“They can want whatever they like.”

“They also want direct assurance from you that the AI integration won’t be delayed by regulatory review.”