Chapter 50

Brinley offered Colin a measured smile, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Mr. Palmer, you make a valid point.But in the end, expertise is the solid ground beneath it all. If we can't guarantee a safe track, then all the dazzling operations are nothing more than hollow talk."

Her words landed cleanly, drawing a firm nod from Grayson. "Mrs. Moore, you're absolutely right. Safety always comes first."

Colin's face hardened, though he chose not to push back.

Beside him, Milly's nails dug into the silk of her dress as she watched Brinley sit at the center of attention,confidently exchanging ideas with seasoned professionals.

A pang twisted in her chest. She, too, had once envisioned herselfin that role-tailored suit, commanding voice, admired in a boardroom.

Yet reality had stripped her of that dream, leaving her seated quietly at Colin's side, reduced to nothing more than a decorative companion.

Envy coiled tight around Milly's chest like a strangling vine, squeezing the air from her lungs.

What the hell had Brinley ever done to deserve all this?

Why was Brinley allowed to shine so brightly after leaving Colin, while she herself, no matter how fiercely she clawed forward, was still trapped in the shadows of others?

When the meeting wrapped, Grayson gave his nod to Brinley's proposal, leaving Colin's face stiff with suppressed anger.

Trailing after Colin, Milly slowed her steps, and as they crossed paths with Brinley, she gave a sharp shoulder bump,leaning close to hiss, "Don't get cocky. This project won't fall into your hands."

Brinley didn't bother answering. Her calm gaze followed Milly's retreating figure with a detached coolness. She let out a cold sneer. Milly never understood that schemes couldn't replace skill-true success came from ability, not manipulation.

Austin laid a steady hand on Brinley's shoulder,his touch grounding her."Come on," he murmured, voice warm against the undercurrent of tension."Let's go home."

The city lights streaked past the car windows, and Brinley let her head fall back against the seat,weariness settling deep into her bones.

This endless tug-of-war, hidden barbs and polite facades, drained her more than any sleepless night spent hunched over design drafts.

"You handled yourself well just now," Austin finally said, breaking the heavy quiet. His tone carried a hint of pride. "Far more professional than I expected."

"I came prepared," Brinley murmured, pressing her fingertips against her aching temples. "But Colin's team is formidable. The real contest hasn't even begun-it's going to be brutal."

Austin turned his gaze toward her, warmth flickering in his eyes. "With me here, you have nothing to be afraid of. Even if the project slips away in the end, it'Il still sharpen your skills."

The sincerity etched across his profile stirred something inside her, an unexpected warmth that spread through her tired heart.

Over the next few days, her routine blurred into relentless cycles-dawn departures, late-night returns, and hardly a moment left to breathe.

Austin saw to it that Miguel brought her food and stayed until she ate every bite, knowing how easily she forgot.

Her design draft gradually took shape, yet with the bidding deadline loomning,it still remained incomplete.

Unwilling to lose focus, she told Austin she would be staying at the office and buried herself in the work for several days straight.

Three straight mornings passed with Brinley waking up at her desk. Shafts of crooked light pierced through the blinds, casting fractured shadows on the half-finished racetrack layout.

She had slipped into slumber in her chair, pen still in hand from the night before.

Her weary fingers skimmed the touchpad, but the section linking the track to the commercial hub stayed stubbornly blank.

That unresolved problem had pressed on her chest like a stone for three relentless days.

"Brinley, the track material samples you asked for just arrived," Corbin announced as he entered, lugging several hefty folders. His eyes widenedat the sight of her slumped at the desk. "You... stayed here all night again?"

Brinley pressed her aching temples, her voice rasping as she admitted, "Yeah... the connection design has me stuck."

She gestured toward the glaring red question mark flashing on the monitor. "The track's drainage system keeps clashing with the commercial district's underground network. I've revised it eight times already, and the balance still won't hold."

Corbin laid the folders on the desk and offered her a cup of warm milk. "You've been running on empty for three days.Why not head home and rest a little? Inspiration might come easier after some sleep."

Brinley shook her head and instead lifted her coffee, letting the bitterness sharpen her foggy mind."No need. The final draft is due in just a few days. If I cave now, all of our work will collapse with me."

She snatched up a marker and began sketching alternate pipeline routes across the blueprint.

The faint rasp of the pen against paper cut through the stillness of the office.

Yet midway through, her hand slowed again, the tip of the marker hovering uselessly over the page.

No matter how she rerouted it, the sewage lines from the commercial district still cut straight across the racetrack's foundation. Left unresolved, the overlap would one day cause the ground to sink-a fatal flaw for any professional circuit. "Damn it!" With a sharp tug, she raked her fingers through her hair and flung the pen onto the table,watching it spin before clattering to the floor.

For days, she had been living at the office, too pressed for time to go home. Austin's messages piled up unanswered, her replies delayed.

She was well aware she'd been giving him too little of her time, but the looming deadline left her no choice.

In that moment, the door eased open with a soft creak.

Assuming it was Corbin, she didn't bother to glance up. "Just leave the samples on the desk. I'll look them over later."

Yet silence followed.

Lost in confusion, she looked up and halted mid-motion.

Austin filled the doorway in a sleek black suit, a manila envelope tucked under his arm, his gaze lingering on the bloodshot haze in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted, scrambling to straighten the chaos of her desk, but didn't know where to start.