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Chapter Thirteen: The Dinner He Did Not Plan

Penulis: Opey Lux
last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-06-14 04:28:59

The board dinner had been on the calendar for two weeks.

Six of us. The private room at the back of the restaurant, the one I always used for things that needed to be said in a room where nobody outside it would hear. Marcus was there. Two board members. The usual people saying the usual things over food that got cold while everyone chose their words.

I was three sentences into the Q4 projections when I saw her.

Victoria.

Walking through the main dining room in a dress that had clearly been cho
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