Chapter 145

James got a call from Evelyn Williams early in the morning. No surprises there—she wanted him back at the old house to celebrate her birthday. He said okay and hung up, glancing at the time. At this hour, Maria’s flight should’ve already taken off. His chat with her on WhatsApp—still there, all clean and neat—was stuck on some work convo from a few days ago. He typed out a message, paused for a while, then erased it all. Right as he locked his screen, Cody called. James froze for a sec and looked toward the guest room, thinking, “Seriously? You’re this close and you still call?” "The quote from Wang Group just came in. I printed a copy—it’s on your desk. They want a clear answer within a week," Cody’s calm, composed voice came through, same as always. If it weren’t for the beer bottles still on the table, James would’ve thought last night was a dream or something. Most folks would've been too hungover to get out of bed—Cody, though, shows up like nothing happened. Cody had straightened