Chapter 1

"Achoo!"

Eli Foster, our newest intern, shuddered at his desk.

"Ms. Kessler, Declan's right. It's freezing in here. I can barely feel my fingers. How are we supposed to get any work done?"

"People who can't perform always blame their surroundings!"

Darlene Kessler slapped a file onto the desk and jabbed a finger at him.

"How come Declan can land a million-and-a-half-dollar contract, then? If you can't close a sale, that's on you. Stop whining about the office like a little baby!"

Nice try.

She wanted to turn the entire staff against me, using my results as proof that anyone who complained about the cold was lazy.

I wasn't about to make it that easy for her.

Fighting the pounding headache that came with my fever, I braced a hand against the desk and stood.

"I've been in this business for five years, Ms. Kessler. I closed that deal because of relationships I built myself. Eli and the others just graduated. Some of them have barely met a client in person. You can't expect them to perform at my level right away."

Her expression darkened. She had expected me to leave the new hires to fend for themselves.

"What's that supposed to mean, Declan?"

I took a breath against a wave of dizziness and pointed toward the utility meter on the wall.

"This building has a central boiler system. It costs roughly forty-five cents a square foot to heat the place for the season. Our office is just over two thousand square feet, so that comes to about a thousand dollars for the whole winter. That's less than you spend on a single client dinner. If it keeps everyone healthy and productive, it's worth it."

Somebody in the crowd muttered, just loudly enough to hear, "She bought two new Mercedes last month, but we're supposed to believe she can't afford a heating bill?"

That did it.

"Declan!" Darlene exploded. "Have you got nothing better to do than spread rumors? You make a little money and suddenly think you're some kind of genius?"

She glared down her nose at me.

"Without this company, without the platform and resources I gave you, would a loser from some no-name state college be able to afford a house? A car? Show some gratitude. Stop acting like you're entitled to everything!"

My stomach churned.

When I'd first joined, there had been five of us, Darlene included. We'd stuck together through years of impossible hours and terrible odds until the company was talking about an IPO.

Now she spoke as though people like us, graduates of ordinary colleges, were beneath her.

And she wasn't finished.

"The economy's a mess! You're lucky I still give you a paycheck. Anyone who doesn't like it can get out!"

She swung back toward me.

"And you, Declan, stop gathering people into your little clique. Keep your team in line. If anybody brings up the heat again, I'll fire you right along with them!"

My clients had brought in that contract. My reputation had made it possible. Yet somehow, in her version of events, I owed her everything.

I opened my mouth to answer.

The office tilted.

Darkness swept across my vision, and I hit the floor.

"Declan!"

Through the spinning in my head, I heard Eli's terrified shout. Then Darlene's voice, sharp and disgusted.

"Oh, please. Stop playing dead. What kind of grown man is that weak? You trying to fake an injury and squeeze money out of me?"