After having some time to cool down, Elissa had already thought it through. She looked at Tanya and shook her head. “It has nothing to do with the other Murphys.” Twenty years ago, Paige had been in charge. No one else could have influenced her decisions, least of all a ten-year-old Rowan. He couldn’t have done anything.
Besides, when Paige had been tormenting her, it was Rowan who had personally taken her away, saving her from years of abuse. Without him, she likely would have died long ago.
Tanya breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see she hadn’t fallen into someone else’s trap. “This guy is clearly trying to drive a wedge between you and Rowan. He must be after something.”
“Maybe it’s about the project?” Tanya mused. “If you started hating Rowan, you’d stop collaborating with Murphy Group. Then DK Pharmaceuticals could swoop in and become one of your options.”
Elissa hesitated before shaking her head. “I don’t think so.” He had come far too prepared for it to be just about a single project.
Just then, her phone, which was resting on the center console, buzzed. She picked it up. It was a text from her bank notifying her of a deposit. The payment and bonus for the Murphy Group project had arrived.
“What is it?” Tanya asked, noticing her focus.
“The project bonus came through.”
The light turned red, and Tanya hit the brakes. She leaned over to look at the screen and her eyes went wide. “One, ten, a hundred, a thousand… ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million… Oh. My. God.”
It was an astronomical sum. Tanya swallowed hard, then rationalized, “Well, Murphy Group can afford it. Their stock value skyrocketed right after the press conference.” Still, she had to admit, Rowan was incredibly generous.

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