“This is for you.” Liam handed Rebecca a small box. She popped it open and stared—inside was a car key. Not just any key. A Mercedes key.
Right away, her mind flashed to the shiny new Mercedes van parked downstairs. She felt her brain short-circuit. “Is this a company car? For me?”
“Yes. Mr. Duncan had the corporate services team order it just for you.”
After Liam left, Rebecca remembered bumping into Stephen by the door last week after work. He’d asked if she had a driver’s license. So he’d been planning this all along.
Company cars for execs weren’t unusual. Sometimes even sales got them, all so employees could work more efficiently. Rebecca had spent five years at NovaStack Cloud and Bruce had never once thought to hook her up with a car. She wasn’t even officially on the job at Sunforge Tech yet, and Stephen had already set her up with a Mercedes.
The comparison stung. Bruce really hadn’t cared about her at all.
Rebecca thought for a second, then dialed Stephen’s extension. He picked up right away, like he’d been waiting for her. “Did you get the keys?” He sounded amused.
Rebecca pressed her lips together. “Yeah, I got them. Thank you, Mr. Duncan.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. The car’s in the company’s name. It’s not a personal gift.”
“Still, I’ll be the one driving it, so thank you,” Rebecca said.
Stephen let out a soft laugh. “Alright, I’ll accept your thanks.”
He shifted gears. “You’re heading to Meridian Tech today for the POC, right?”
“Yeah, Justin and I are going this afternoon.”
“Great. If you need me to step in or help coordinate, just let me know.”
He waited for a reply, but the other end was silent. He kept holding the phone, only realizing after a moment that Rebecca had already hung up. Embarrassment crept in. He couldn’t believe he’d spaced out like that.
Later that afternoon, Justin knocked on her door. “Ready whenever you are,” he said.

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