LOGINAdrian POVEvelyn was no longer alone. Grace had arrived while I was gone. She was sitting across from her in the booth, tablet out, speaking quickly. She looked up when I slid in beside Evelyn.“Mr Whitmore,” she said, nodding to me. “Thank you for getting to her.”"Of course." I looked at the table. Evelyn had ordered what appeared to be half the menu and was eating a piece of bread with the single-minded determination of someone whose body had finally overruled her pride. "Grace, the email and the phone records from Prescott's supposed office. What has your team found?"Grace turned the tablet toward me. The email was displayed on screen, formatted to look like a legitimate Meridian Partners communication, but the domain was off by a single character. Meridian-partnrs.com instead of meridian-partners.com. A missing letter."The domain was registered three days ago through an offshore registrar," Grace said. "No identity verification required. The registration details are fake, and
Adrian POVI drove us to Carmichael's, a harbour-front restaurant in a converted warehouse that served comfort food. Wood-panelled walls, leather banquettes, a chalkboard menu, and a kitchen that could make you forget whatever had gone wrong before you walked through the door. I requested the back-corner booth, away from windows and other diners.Evelyn slid into the banquette and studied the menu with the focus of a woman who hadn't eaten since the previous evening and was trying to maintain some dignity about it."Order whatever you want," I said. "I need to step outside for a minute."She looked up from the menu. "Is everything okay?""Everything's fine. I need to make a couple of calls.” I stood and then paused, looking down at her. She was still blotchy and slightly swollen, and her hair was a mess, and there was a faint red mark on her ankle where the heel had rubbed it raw. She looked tired and hungry and human.Most of all, she looked beautiful.I walked out the front door, pu
Evelyn POVI stood and extended my hand to her. She took it, her fingers cold in mine despite the warm afternoon, and I pulled her to her feet. She swayed slightly, and I steadied her, then bent to collect the scattered contents of her bag: a lipstick, tissues, her wallet, a pen with the Bennett Holdings logo. She took them and shoved them into the bag without arranging them, which told me more about her state of mind than anything she'd said.We walked to the car slowly. She was favouring one foot where the heel had rubbed her ankle raw, and I matched her pace. I opened the passenger door, waited for her to settle in, then walked around and got behind the wheel, but I didn't start the engine.We sat in the quiet for a moment. The car ticked softly as the engine cooled from the drive, and through the windshield, the Cedar Heights clubhouse glowed white against the afternoon sky."Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.She was quiet for a long time. Her eyes were fixed on the windshie
Adrian POVI was halfway through the most tedious quarterly review in the history of Whitmore Industries when Rebecca opened the boardroom door.She never opened the boardroom door or interrupted during quarterly reviews because she knew it was sacred ground. The board members were present, the finance team had prepared slides, and my standing instruction was clear: unless the building was on fire, the review was not to be disturbed.Interrupting meant the interruption was more important than every person in the room combined.She crossed to my chair and leaned down. "Sir, I’m sorry. Evelyn Bennett has called your personal phone four times in the past three minutes."Four times in three minutes.I excused myself with a brief apology that I didn’t bother making sound convincing and stepped into the corridor. Rebecca handed me the phone and went back to her desk.I frowned as I stared at the screen showing four missed calls, and all were from Evelyn, so I called back.She picked up on t
Evelyn POVI jerked upright, wiping my face frantically with the back of my hand, smearing mascara across my cheekbone. Through the tear-blurred glass, I could see two figures in uniform. Cedar Heights security. Dark polo shirts with the club crest, clipboards, and stiff postures.I lowered the window, still sniffling, trying to compose a face that didn't look like it had just spent three minutes screaming into a steering wheel."Ma'am," the first officer said. He was young, clean-shaven, and clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to say. "Are you the owner of this vehicle?""Yes.""Ma'am, I'm afraid your vehicle is in violation of Cedar Heights' parking and traffic regulations." He consulted his clipboard. "You're parked in a fire lane. This section of the lot is clearly marked with red kerb striping and signage indicating that no vehicles are to be parked or left unattended at any time."I looked down. He was right. In my distress, I'd pulled into the first space I'd seen with
Evelyn POVThe realisation settled over me with a cold, nauseating clarity.Someone had arranged a fake meeting to waste my time, to pull me away from the office three days before the launch, to make me sit here feeling helpless while the clock ticked and the investor crisis deepened. And they'd sent me specifically to Cedar Heights, the one venue in Crescent Harbour most likely to unsettle me, the place where my worst public memories lived.Isabella. It had to be Isabella. Nobody else would know what this club meant to me. Nobody else would understand the precise cruelty of sending me back to the place where I'd been humiliated, where Adrian had grabbed me, where Vincent had walked away.I texted Grace back.No meeting. It was a setup. Someone scheduled it to waste my time. I'm going to try to go directly to Meridian's office. Call Adrian and ask if his legal team can run a trace on the number Prescott's assistant supposedly called from.I set the phone down and took a breath, trying
Evelyn POV"It's not nice meeting you again," I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest. My anger was finally breaking through the shock of seeing him. "You stole my money after I saved you. I literally risked my life for you, and you stole from me."“What are you doing here by the way? To steal m
Evelyn POVI took a deep breath and adjusted the straps of my emerald green gown. The dress hugged my curves perfectly, the colour bringing out the richness of my skin. I'd chosen it, hoping that leaning into my femininity would make the crowd go easy on me tonight.I stared at my relfection in the
EvelynMy hands came up to grip his sweater, pulling him closer. The kiss deepened and became more urgent.His hands circled the small of my neck, pulling me closer as his tongue darted in and out of my mouth. Our tongues danced together, exploring each other’s mouths in a slow rhythm that left us
Evelyn POVI stood in the small backroom of the Crescent Harbour Public Hall, staring at my reflection in the long mirror. A woman looked back at me—one wearing light makeup, a simple, deep red dress, and her hair pinned neatly behind her ears. She looked calm.But inside, I was anything but.My he







