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“You didn’t do a lot of talking tonight,” Dad said, interrupting my thoughts.

I blinked, refocusing on the conversation. “What?”

“With the investors. You answered when asked, but you didn’t really engage. Didn’t drive the conversation.”

“I made a good impression with what I did say. The quarterly projections, the Asian market expansion. They got what they wanted.”

“Did they?” Dad’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Because from where I was sitting, you seemed more interested in whispering with your boyfriend than connecting with the men who control a significant portion of our funding.”

The word boyfriend hit differently after that kiss.

“I was building rapport with them,” I said, hearing the defensiveness creep into my voice. “Small talk. Personal connections. Isn’t that what you’re always telling me to do? They can read our financial reports if they want the details. I don’t need to bore them with that stuff.”

He sighed with what sounded a lot like disappointment? Or maybe frustration? “Don’t get distracted. If you want to be CEO, that needs to be your focus. The boyfriend is fake. Your career is very real.”

“I know.”

I turned back to the window, watching my reflection ghost across the glass. Would what I brought to the table ever be enough?

I’d spent my entire life preparing for this. Learning the business from the ground up. Proving myself at every turn. And still, it never seemed to be quite right.

The investors wanted more engagement. My father wanted more focus. The customers wanted warmth and romance from a woman selling symbols of eternal love. The social media trolls wanted blood, any slip-up they could exploit for clicks and laughs.

And me? What did I want?

But wanting things was dangerous. Wanting things meant risking disappointment. And I’d learned a long time ago that the safest path was the one with the fewest expectations.

Dad pulled into my driveway and stopped.

“I know I push hard,” he said. “Maybe too hard sometimes. But it’s only because I know what you’re capable of. I’ve watched you grow into an incredible woman, Darcy. I just want to make sure nothing gets in the way of you reaching your full potential.”

“I know, Dad.”

“Get some rest. Big week ahead.”

I climbed out of the car and walked to my front door, his headlights illuminating my path. I didn’t look back as I let myself inside.

Will I ever be able to satisfy everyone? Investors. My father. Our customers. The influencers and trolls and gossip channels and average scrollers just looking for entertainment?

Myself?

I kicked off my heels and headed straight for my room.

No matter how hard I worked, how perfect I tried to be, there would always be someone who thought I wasn’t enough.

The next morning, I woke up tangled in my sheets. I had slept like shit. Too much on my mind. I groaned and buried my face in my pillow.

I dragged myself out of bed and went through my morning routine on autopilot. Shower. Coffee. A protein bar that tasted like shit but was supposedly good for me. I settled onto my couch with my laptop, determined to focus on work.

But my brain had other plans.

The masquerade ball was in two weeks. Where we wined and dined our most elite clientele. People who dropped six figures on engagement rings without blinking. It was always a highlight of our fall calendar, and this year it would be my first major event as the incoming CEO.

And Beau would be there. As my date.

I’d picked out my dress months ago, back when the ball was just another item on my calendar. Something with a lot of silver and blue, elegant and sophisticated. It was a gorgeous dress.

But that felt like a lifetime ago now. The dress had been chosen by a different woman entirely.