Jeff didn’t say anything else. He stood up and walked out, and the friend he brought with him followed close behind. In no time, only Rick and Zac were left in the room.


    Rick looked at Zac, who sat there with a cold expression, unmoving. “Zac, I ran into Lizst night at Golden Crown Hotel.”


    Zac’s eyes flickered slightly, but his voice remained cold. “That has nothing to do with me. You don’t need to bring it up.”


    “I asked her if the breakup between you two was real. Want to guess what she said?”


    Zac nced at him and grabbed his phone from the table. “Whatever she said doesn’t matter to me, And you really don’t need to tell me.”


    Rick gave a knowing smile and said calmly, “Are you sure you don’t care, or are you just afraid to hear something you don’t want to hear?”


    Zac frowned, his eyespletely devoid of warmth. “This is between me and her. Stay out of it.”


    “I get it. I’m just saying you should be honest with yourself” Rick replied gently. “I’ve only met Liz a few times, but I can tell that once she truly gives up on you, she won’t look back.”


    If Zac turned around now, maybe there was still time to fix things.


    But if he kept fooling himself, thinking Liz was just throwing a tantrum and woulde back eventually, then by the time he realized she was really gone, it would be toote.


    The room went quiet again, filled only by the sound of their breathing.


    Zac didn’t say another word. He got up and walked out.


    Meanwhile, outside the hospital, Liz didn’t call Zac back after he hung up on her.


    She set her phone down and frowned slightly. After calming down, she started to wonder if the car ident really had been just an ident after all. Maybe Zac wasn’t behind it.


    They had broken up, and he had no reason to go after Ethan


    With that thought, Liz pushed down her doubts and started the car, pulling away from the curb.


    By Monday morning, Liz had just arrived outside thew office building when she ran into Hunter.


    When he greeted her, she didn’t recognize him at first.


    His previously silver–gray hair had been dyed back to ck. He wore a tailored suit with a ck wool coat over it. Tall and lean, he had a fresh, youthful energy about him.


    Seeing her hesitate, Hunter raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Liz? Did you suddenly realize ck hair makes me even more charming?”


    Liz blinked, then smiled and nodded. “It does look good. ck suits you.”


    gaze was purely appreciative. Youth really did have its appeal. No wonder Jane was always going on about wanting to date younger guys.


    They walked into the building together. With his sharp features and polished outfit, Hunter looked every bit the


    <b>+15 </b><b>BONUS </b>


    part of a charming young professional. Several women nearby couldn’t help sneaking nces at him, their expressions full of curiosity and interest.


    Hunter was used to the attention and didn’t pay it much mind.


    A few minutester, the two of them entered thew firm.


    When she saw Hunter with ck hair and dressed so formally, Naomi nearly did a double take. She couldn’t believe he actually followed through and dyed his hair.


    “Good morning, Naomi!” Hunter greeted her with a bright smile.


    “Morning… your new look’s actually really nice.”


    Hunter ran a hand through his hair and grinned. “Thanks.”


    Once they settled at their desks, Hunter turned to Liz, looking eager. “Liz, I finished reading all the case files you gave mest week. What do you want me to work on today?


    1


    She handed him a new stack of documents. “Start with these this morning. <b>If </b>you finish them before lunch, I’ll pull up a few trial recordings for you to study in the afternoon.”


    “Got it.”


    Hunter smiled, his eyes squinting slightly with excitement as he reached out to take the files from her hands.