CHAPTER 26 UNDER PRESSURE

Ethan, for all his charm and charisma, had never truly seen her. He saw only Bianca, the bold and brash persona she donned each night, not the real Claire who sat before him each day. She felt as if she were trapped in a cycle of lies, forced to hide her true self from the one person she longed to know her. And the longer she kept up the charade, the more she felt herself growing distant from Ethan, the gulf between them widening with every breath. Her frustration mounted, growing to a fever pitch as she toiled away at her desk, her mind racing, her heart pounding. It was only a matter of time before something gave way. Just as Claire felt like she might explode, the shrill ring of her office phone cut through the silence. With a sigh, she picked up the receiver, already bracing herself for another mundane call. But the voice on the other end was anything but mundane. “Hello, is this Claire from Jacobson Technologies? We’ve been waiting for the software demo since yesterday. Where