After his brief stop in Sea Point, Austin headed to Hawthorne Towers and spent the night reviewing the audit report from Angelo's guy.Sometime after 1:00 AM, he called his capos.They were both thoroughly pissed, which was understandable, considering he'd broken their sleep. But their feelings were the least of his concern. They had work to do, and they wouldn't get it done by sleeping."Couldn't this have waited till the morning?" Angelo grumbled as he stifled a yawn."I don't pay you to sleep!" Austin growled. "Now, walk me through the three accounts!""Hold on, let me head to the study. Zuki's sleeping, you know," Angelo mumbled as he placed him on hold, leaving him alone with Tim on the call."So, how did the hot date go?" his cousin asked."It's over," Austin said."Yeah, I figured. It's 1:00 AM, after all.""No. I mean, it's over between Beth and me," Austin said and touched his chest, baffled by the tight, squeezing sensation in his heart. It felt like it was splitting in half

An hour later, dressed in a powder blue pantsuit and white sneakers, the most business casual outfit she could find in her wardrobe, Marybeth was ready to tackle her Thursday.She was surprised to find Austin and Orlando zooming around the kitchen, preparing breakfast."Orlando, the toast is ready!" he said while he worked the coffee machine. "Beth, your usual coffee?"She nodded and placed her stuff on the counter. "Can I help with anything?"Austin shook his head, pointing at the dining table where Orlando had already placed their plates and cutlery, "no; just sit over there!"Marybeth pulled out a chair, sat down, and watched the father-daughter duo prep what was beginning to smell a lot like a full-spread breakfast.Sitting there, she couldn't help but think how much sexier Austin was when he was just being a dad to his six-year-old."Quit thinking with your coochie again!" she warned herself.Determined to double down on her efforts to remain immune to Austin, she focused all her

Austin didn't go into the office like he'd planned after dropping Marybeth off at Jimmy's. He circled back to the north of the city, to his father's place, where Blake was supposedly recuperating.The housekeeping staff fussed over him as soon as he stepped inside, asking if he wanted something to eat."There's still plenty of breakfast, Mr Hawthorne. We can bring it to the drawing room," offered Sofija, one of the long-standing housekeeping staff members."That's okay. I already ate. My wife whipped up something for me." He patted his taut stomach to give his lie some weight. But it was important to project a picture of wedded bliss, just in case everyone was watching him and waiting to report everything to his father. Austin knew that the minute his old man smelled even the tiniest cracks in his marriage, he'd attack and do away with Marybeth once and for all."Are you sure, sir?" Sofija asked, tilting her head slightly."Positive," Austin assured her as he followed her down the hal

Since Austin was supposed to meet his father and the consigliere in two hours, he saw no point in driving back to the business district. He settled down in his old quarters in the north wing and asked Sofija to bring him a pot of coffee and some snacks. The sweeter, the better.He didn't have a sweet tooth, but after his chat with Blake, he needed something to soothe the sting of their discussion, and the housekeeper's famous cheesecake was just the thing he needed.Sofija had just cut him a generous slice and poured him a cup of coffee when his phone rang. It was Claudia, no doubt calling to berate him about shooting Blake. He reluctantly answered and was pleasantly surprised when she announced his test results were in."Great! Send them over," he said, his day suddenly ten times better. He couldn't wait to rub them in Marybeth's face. Maybe they'd do the trick and thaw the glacier around her heart. He was going out of his mind from missing her, and every second of craving her and no

Long after Arno had brought the car to a stop at the entrance of Hawthorne Towers, Marybeth was still sitting in the back seat, making no attempt to leave.Like many of the charming places she'd seen on travel shows, she never thought she'd find herself here one day. To say she was in awe of the thirty-story structure was an understatement. Up close, it looked so much more intimidating, pretty much like her husband."кума," Arno said as he finally killed the engine. "He's waiting for you.""I'm sorry." Marybeth smiled sheepishly at him, snatching up her handbag. "Which floor is he on?""The top one."She wanted to kick herself for asking something so silly. She should have known he'd be on the top floor. He was the CEO, for heaven's sake."His assistant will take you up," Arno added, jerking his head at the strikingly tall, ash-blonde woman waiting in front of the revolving doors."Anything I should know about the De Jagers?" Marybeth asked as she buttoned up her suit jacket."They ar