LOGINI lowered my gaze to my notes. "The subsidiary formation," Edmund said. "Legal wants thirty minutes before the end of the week." "Thursday morning," I said. "I'll need to be included," Alicia said. She turned toward Edmund. "Thursday morning works." "Both of you," Edmund said. Harlan looked at
Edward’s POV The term sheet was in my inbox at seven forty-three. Edmund had forwarded it with a single line. As expected. Your call on timing. I read it at my desk before anyone else arrived. Four pages. Precise. Volkov's committee had come back with exactly what the projection had asked for, th
Alicia's POV His arm was across my waist when I woke. The room was grey with early light, the city outside still quiet, the type of quiet that belongs to the hour before a place fully commits to its day. I lay still for a moment. The weight of his arm. The warmth of the room. The dress lying acros
Her hands moved from my shoulders to my face, her palms cupping my jaw, her thumbs stroking my cheeks. It was a gesture of such unexpected tenderness it nearly undid me. Her eyes, dark and dazed, locked onto mine. In them, I saw not the woman I had wronged, but the woman I was with, in this moment,
Her hand anchored hard against the back of my head, fingers tangling in my hair, holding me exactly where she needed me. For a moment, I wasn't the man who had failed her. I was just a man giving her pleasure. She said my name once, twice, the third time broken completely, and her whole body arched
Edward's POV Her mouth was on mine when I got the door open. I walked her backward into the room, the city lights filtering through the window in thin strips that barely illuminated the space. Her hands were already at my collar, working open the buttons of my shirt with an urgency that sent a jol
Alicia’s POV Monday morning arrived with gray light and the sound of Edward leaving for work. I heard his footsteps on the stairs, the front door closing, the car engine fading down the driveway. Then silence. I lay there for another twenty minutes, staring at the ceiling, before I finally moved
Edward’s POV The applause faded unevenly, tapering off as if the room couldn’t decide whether to stop. Lucy dipped her head one last time while Carrington brushed a practiced kiss near her cheek. Vivienne pulled her close, wearing the sort of smile she saved for cameras. Flashes burst across the st
Edward's POV The meeting with the associate had been efficient, the sort of thing that left no residue. Two hours of facts, signatures, and promises to circulate documents. He'd arrived in a rental with a driver. I had watched him leave before I did. That was all I had needed for now. No dramatics.
“You can get dressed. I’ll be right back.” I wiped the gel away and stared at the image in my hands. A raspberry with a heartbeat. I pressed my hand over my mouth. Don’t cry. Dr. Patel came back and handed me a prescription. “Prenatal vitamins—one daily. Small meals for nausea: crackers, toast







