“Thanks,” she said quietly. “But that’s actually why I wanted to talk to you.”

“I’m assuming you heard we withdrew from EPIC.”

“Yes.” She crumpled Hudson’s straw wrapper between her fingers. “Did you do that because of … us? Because of our fight?”

Hudson shook his head, a lock of his hair falling across his forehead. “No. I did it because I heard what happened to your dad.”

“Oh.” The word escaped Annika’s mouth, just a breath of air.

“How is he?”

“Okay. Much better now. It was really scary for a while, but…” Her voice wobbled and she cleared her throat. Hudson frowned, as if in pain. “He’s at Cedars-Sinai now, and they’re taking good care of him.” She paused and bit her lip. The bar was filling up, happy people taking up tables near them. It felt odd to be in such a festive place when her own conversation and feelings were so solemn. “Why—why would you withdraw because my dad was in an accident? I thought you—Break Up—needed the capital from the investors.”

“We did.” The waitress placed their drinks in front of them and left. Hudson took a swig of his drink before continuing. “But I didn’t want to win like that, Annika. I didn’t want to go up against you when you were hurting, when your whole world was collapsing around you. I thought it was fucking brave that you still wanted to pitch. When June told Ziggy, I knew what we had to do.”

Annika picked her Coke up with a shaking hand and took a sip. He thought she was brave. “You—but—what will you do now for capital? Find another investor?”

“I suppose we could.” Hudson sat back and watched her for a moment. “But I’ve decided to close the company down instead.”

Annika almost snorted Coke up her nose. “You what? Completely?”

Hudson nodded grimly. “Completely. The news will break later this week. I’ve already contacted Emily Dunbar-Khan at Time. They’re going to rewrite the article so it’s about you and your success at EPIC. I’m sure she’ll be in touch soon.”

Annika shook her head. This was all happening so fast. “Wait, but … why? Why would you close the company down? What about your parents—sending money home, wanting to be successful for them?”