LOGINThe bonfire crackled high into the night sky, sending sparks dancing above the lake. Music blasted from a portable speaker, and the air smelled like smoke, alcohol and opportunity. I leaned back against a log, beer in hand, enjoying the way the girls kept stealing glances at me. Josh, my roommate, was chill and didn’t talk much, which suited me perfectly less competition.
My eyes kept drifting to Zoe, the fatso’s pretty best friend. Slim waist, long legs, and a flirty little smile that screamed she was interested. She was sitting across the fire with Fatso, laughing at something. Every time Zoe looked my way, I held her gaze until she blushed. “Too easy” I waited until Aurora got up to grab another drink, then made my move. I strolled over and dropped down beside Zoe, close enough that our thighs brushed. “Hey,” I said, flashing my best smile. “Zoe, right? I noticed you earlier by the lake. Hard not to.” She giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yeah? I noticed you too, Prescott Zane. Everyone’s talking about you.” “All good things, I hope.” I leaned in, letting my voice drop low. “Though I’d rather you judge for yourself.” “Care for a walk?” Sure she responded. We talked for a while mostly her laughing at my jokes and touching my arm. I could feel eyes on us, when I glanced up, fatso was standing a few feet away, holding two drinks and staring at me like she wanted to set me on fire. I smirked and deliberately slid my arm around Zoe’s shoulders whispering nothingness to her ears. Aurora marched over and shoved one drink at Zoe. “Here, I think we should head back to the cabin soon.” Zoe hesitated, clearly torn. “In a bit? Prescott was just telling me about his company internship…” “I’m sure he has lots of stories,” Aurora cut in coldly. “Most of them end with some girl on her knees.” I laughed. “Still mad about the bathroom, fatso? You seemed pretty shocked. First time seeing a real man in action?” Her eyes narrowed. “I feel sorry for any girl stupid enough to let you touch her. You treat women like disposable toys.” “Better than being untouchable,” I shot back, letting my gaze drop pointedly to her body before returning to her face. “Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Aurora.” Zoe shifted uncomfortably. “Guys, come on…” But Aurora wasn’t done. “Stay away from my friend, Zane. You’re nothing but a fuckboy with daddy’s money. The second you get what you want, you’ll discard her like trash.” I stood up slowly, towering over her. The firelight danced across her angry face, highlighting her full lips and big body size she tries to hide. She was pissed, really pissed, fuck if it didn’t turn me on a little. “Worried I’ll fuck your best friend better than any guy ever has?” I asked softly, just loud enough for her to hear. “Or are you just mad no one’s offering to fuck you?” Aurora’s hand twitched like she wanted to slap me. Instead, she grabbed Zoe’s wrist. “We’re leaving. Now.” As they walked away, Zoe glanced back at me with an apologetic, slightly intrigued smile. Aurora didn’t look back once. Josh appeared beside me, chuckling. “Dude, what the hell did you do to that girl? She looks like she wants to murder you.” I took a long swig of beer, watching Aurora’s retreating figure. “Nothing. She walked in on me getting my dick sucked earlier. Now she’s acting like I ruined her whole week.” Josh whistled. “Harsh. She’s got fire though.” “Yeah,” I muttered. “She does.” The rest of the night blurred into more drinking, more flirting, and eventually another quick hookup with a different girl behind the boathouse. But even as I fucked her against the wooden wall, Aurora’s furious face kept flashing in my mind. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like her! By the time I got back to my cabin, Josh was already snoring. I dropped onto my bunk, staring at the wooden ceiling. Aurora Martins was going to be a pain in my ass all week. Good thing I enjoyed breaking difficult girls. Or at least putting them in their place.AuroraThe mansion felt different the moment we stepped through the door.It was subtle at first the extra set of keys on the console table, the soft click of another lamp left on in the front sitting room, the faint trace of Elena’s perfume in the air. Then I heard voices deeper inside the house, and my body understood before my mind finished arranging the implications.Prescott stopped beside me. His hand, which had been low at my back as we entered, fell away at once.“They’re home,” he said under his breath.Before I could answer, Dominic appeared in the archway to the living room, still in travel clothes, phone in one hand, expression carved into hard practicality. Elena was behind him, elegant even in exhaustion, her gaze moving from Prescott to me with the quick assessment of a woman who noticed atmosphere as easily as facts.“You’re back earlier than expected,” Prescott said.“We had to be,” Dominic rep
AuroraThe backlash arrived before noon.It did not come as a single dramatic blow. It came the way all of their moves came almost predictable through channels, implications, and people who enjoyed watching a polished reputation catch fire. By the time I reached my desk on Monday, two separate messages had already asked whether the Zane-Hale relationship was “under review,” and a third, from a mid-level operations manager who never spoke to me unless he needed something, offered a sympathetic smile that made my skin crawl.Prescott’s strike had landed.And Marcus was no longer interested in soft delays.Through the glass, Prescott was already on a call, jacket on, expression carved into cold focus. He had warned me the response would come harder. Still, seeing the building absorb the news so quickly made my pulse tighten. Preferred-partner removals did not remain private. They traveled.Lena stopped at my des
PrescottBy Friday morning, the soft delay was no longer the point.Marcus had used the three o’clock call to test whether I would stay quiet and had named Aurora carefully, waited for an attack and ended the line when he realized he would not get it. That told me enough. He still believed the damage could remain deniable, he still thought this was a private feud dressed in commercial language.So I did something different. Composed, but not emotional. At 8:40 a.m., I sent the formal notice that removed the Hale Group from the preferred-partner track on the west-side logistics package and transferred interim control to an independent third-party operator already cleared by legal. Effective immediately. No joint review. No continued soft timeline. The package would move without them until a full compliance and intent assessment was completed.I copied both legal teams. I copied procurement. I copied Domini
PrescottI did not wait for Marcus to make the next move.Waiting had given him the shape of a concerned friend, Mia the shape of unfinished history, and Zoe the shape of loyalty until the message logs proved otherwise. Aurora had closed one door the night before. This morning I intended to close another.I arrived before the floor filled. The forwarded note sat in a secured folder, three lines long and more expensive than Marcus had calculated.I called Hale’s office at eight. Marcus answered himself. Men who were still pretending innocence usually let an assistant take the first ring.“Prescott.” His voice was already braced. “Early for you.”“I’m pulling the joint review on the west-side logistics package. Effective today.”A pause. “On what grounds?”“A delay has been sitting on your side of the chain for nine days with no technical reason. I’m done funding the pause.”“That’s aggressive.”“No it’s not,
AuroraCutting Zoe off did not make me feel lighter right away.It made me feel clean.There was a difference. Lightness would have meant relief without residue what I felt instead was the hard clarity of a door finally shut necessary, permanent, and still aching around the edges. By the time Prescott and I sat down in the living room that evening, the confrontation had settled into something more useful than shock.Anger. Resolve. A refusal to keep absorbing damage politely.Prescott watched me over the rim of his glass, sleeves rolled up, attention fully locked on my face. “You’re quieter than I expected.”“I’m thinking.”“About her?”“About the fact that I spent weeks handing my uncertainty to someone who was counting it.” I drew my legs up onto the couch and wrapped my hands around my knees. “I don’t want to do that anymore. Not with her or with anyone.”His eyes warmed with something fierce and approving. “Good.”
AuroraI did not text Zoe.I went to see her in person.If I gave her the shield of a phone screen, she would soften everything. She would ask if I was all right, turn her betrayal into concern, and leave me arguing with a version of her that no longer existed. I wanted the truth in the open air, face to face, where she could not edit her voice into kindness.We met at the same café where she had first begun stitching herself back into my life. That felt deliberate on my part. I wanted the confrontation to happen inside the same setting where her performance had worked so well. When I arrived, she was already there, two cups on the table, soft expression ready.“Hey,” she said, smiling. “I was starting to worry. You’ve been quiet.”I sat down without taking the drink. “I know about Mia.”Her smile held for half a second too long. “What about her?”“And Marcus.” I kept my voice level. “All three of you, I saw t







