Todos os capítulos de Signed, Sealed, Sinful : Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

*Lara's POV*The Thursday design meeting was in Conference Room B on the twenty-eighth floor, and I arrived four minutes early with a fresh notepad, two pens, and the particular alertness that came from two strong coffees and zero sleep.The room was wide, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a presentation screen at the front. Four members of the design team were already inside, arranging papers and laptops. The project was a luxury hotel renovation in the Hamptons; a twelve-floor property that Williams Group had acquired eight months earlier; and the first major redesign proposal was due to the client in less than a week.Richard walked in at nine exactly and took a chair near the back. The lead designer, a serious man named Garrett, launched into the presentation immediately. His slides were clean and the concept was bold: dark materials, heavy furniture, a mood that was dramatic and expensive.Eight minutes in, the room went quiet.Not the good kind of quiet.Garrett advanced to the

Lara's POV*The charity gala was Richard's idea.He told me three days before, in his quiet, certain way, that Williams Group was a presenting sponsor of the Manhattan Architecture Foundation annual dinner, and that my attendance would be appropriate given my new role on the hotel project.Xander told me the same evening through a text that said: *Gala Friday. Seven PM. Wear something formal. This is public.*I stared at it for a full minute.Khloe helped me pick the dress. It was deep green, fitted through the waist, with one shoulder bare and fabric that moved when I walked. She declared it "devastating," and I thought that was probably not the tone I was going for, but I put it on anyway.The event was held in a glass-and-marble hall overlooking the Hudson; exactly the kind of room that reminded you how different your world was from most people's. Crystal chandeliers, men in suits that cost more than my monthly rent, women in jewelry that had its own security detail.Xander met me

Lara's POV*Khloe was already on her phone when I walked into the kitchen Saturday morning, and the look on her face told me she had seen it before I even opened my mouth."Babe," she said."I know.""Your face is on—""I know, Khloe."Maya appeared in the hallway in her robe, her auburn hair loose, holding her own phone up like evidence. "Five sites and counting," she said."I know!" I poured myself coffee and sat at the kitchen table and pressed both palms flat against the wood. "Xander called. We're doing a press conference Monday morning.""You're going public," Khloe said."We don't have a choice. If we don't shape the story, someone else will."Maya sat across from me. "What do you need today?""I need to call Samuel before he finds out from someone else." I wrapped both hands around my coffee mug. "And Xander is coming at noon."Khloe's eyebrows shot up. "Coming where?""Here." I looked at her. "He offered to come with me when I talk to Samuel."Khloe opened her mouth, then clo

Lara's POV*The press conference was Monday morning, eight AM, in the Williams Group media room on the tenth floor.Xander spoke first; brief and controlled: the marriage was private, the timing was theirs alone, and Lara was not only his wife but a valued member of the design team. He answered three questions from journalists, deflected the ones that touched the trust clause with language so smooth it was almost invisible, and ended the conference in under twelve minutes.Twelve minutes, and my face was the official public property of every gossip column in Manhattan.My phone buzzed through the morning. *Khloe: YOU LOOKED AMAZING. Also traumatizing. Mostly amazing. Maya: Proud of you. Call me tonight. Samuel: Still upset. But the pizza was good.*I laughed at that last one; short and genuine; and Mirabel appeared at my elbow with a coffee and set it down silently and walked away without saying anything, which was exactly the right move.The week that followed was the busiest of my l

Lara's POV*I told myself it was the atmosphere.On the drive back from the gallery, I sat against the far window of the car and watched the streets and told myself that candlelight and slow music and two months of proximity could make anything feel significant, and that the warmth in my chest was circumstantial rather than real.Xander sat on his side of the seat and said nothing; which I appreciated and resented in equal measure.When the car stopped outside my building, I got out without ceremony. "Goodnight," I said. "Goodnight," he said. I walked upstairs, changed into pajamas, and got into bed.I did not sleep.At three in the morning, I was still awake, staring at the crack in my ceiling that had been there since we moved in, and the problem was not that the kiss had happened. The problem was that it had felt like something I had been waiting for without knowing I was waiting, and that kind of feeling; in the middle of a contract; was the most dangerous possible feeling to have