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
"Of course, of course." Caroline touched her necklace. "Perhaps another time? Do you have a card?" I pulled one from my inner pocket and handed it to her. "Perfect." She tucked it into her clutch. "I'll have Emma reach out to your office." "Looking forward to it." Vivienne's smile widened slight
Daniel stood near the windows talking to an older man in a gray suit. Expensive watch. The posture of someone used to being the most important person in every room. Daniel saw me. His entire face softened. He said something to the man and gestured politely. The man nodded and stepped away. Da
Ice into the shaker. Gin. Vermouth. Metal striking metal. He poured, strained, and dropped an olive into the glass. Set it in front of me. I lifted it. The gin burned cold down my throat. I set it back on the bar. Around me, the room kept moving. Conversations rose and fell. People shifte
Alicia's POV Thursday morning had already started by the time I realized I was awake. I was sitting at Elena's kitchen table. Coffee in front of me that I didn't remember making. Still hot enough to steam. The apartment was quiet. Elena had left early for something. A meeting. She'd mentioned it







