CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO - The Silent Treatment

One evening, as Claire was working late on a particularly challenging financial model, her phone buzzed with a text from Evelyn, her former supervisor at Universe X. "Thinking of you. Hope you're doing okay. This will all blow over eventually." Claire stared at the message, a lump forming in her throat. It was the first kind word she'd received from anyone at Universe X since the scandal broke. She typed out a quick thank you, grateful for even this small gesture of support. As the days wore on, Claire's frustration began to turn to anger. She understood the pressure Mason was under, but his complete withdrawal felt like a betrayal of everything they'd shared. The man who had pursued her so passionately in Paris, who had encouraged her to take a leap of faith and move to San Francisco, seemed to have disappeared entirely. Unable to contain her feelings any longer, Claire decided to take matters into her own hands. If Mason wouldn't come to her, she would go to him. She spent an ent