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
Edward’s POV The elevator doors opened with a soft chime. I stepped onto the marble floor, shoes hitting with unhurried precision. Heads lifted. Pens stopped mid-stroke. Phones went still. Recognition. Routine. Expected. Monday night's silence still clung to me. The empty mansion. The trace of he
Edward’s POV The revolving doors of Valentine Tower spun behind me as I stepped into the lobby. Marble. Glass. The low hum of controlled efficiency. The investor meeting had run long. Three hours of posturing, reassurances, and carefully worded commitments. But it was done. The deal was locked. M
“I understand,” I said. She didn’t respond. Didn’t look up again. I stayed standing. Didn’t sit. Didn’t move closer. “But we need to talk.” Her jaw tightened. Just barely. “No. We don’t.” “Alicia—” “Edward.” She said my name like a warning. Like a line I shouldn’t cross. Her eyes lifted again.
Alicia’s POV I didn’t breathe until the door clicked shut behind him. Not properly. Not all the way. The sound landed somewhere deep in my chest. It loosened something at first, then cinched everything tight again so quickly my fingers trembled against the table. My eyes stayed on the notebook I







