My hair was wet and disheveled from the late-night shower, and I was still wearing the silk nightgown from yesterday as I perched on the edge of the couch.
Beside me, Alexander had his tie wrapped precisely around his neck and his fitted gray suit dangling on the door. Despite his insistence on attending an early board meeting, he kissed my forehead and put a hot cup of coffee in my hand before leaving the bedroom.
He smiled warmly and murmured, "Read them before the calls begin."
I then unfurled the first headline, "Reid Industries Crisis Averted: CEO's Wife Exposes Cyber-Sabotage", while the city buzzed awake outside the glass. The page was dominated by a full-color photograph of me standing erect in the flickering corridor of the Franklin Building under the big typography.
My heart pounded. I recognized myself in that picture, eyes calm, chin up, palm on desk, while security officers walked behind me, and I was pleased, even a bit taken aback by how collected I seemed.
A ticker
