n't just explode;

s on the table hum. She lunged toward the projector screen as if she could claw the red-highlighted l

ange, detached calm. The girl who had trembled in her cubicle ten minutes ago was gone. In h

m a tablet in ten seconds. Those time-stamps show your specific terminal ID, logged in from your home IP address at midnight. Unl

his silk tie. He looked at the screen, then at Clara, then finally at Keon Ashford, who was watching t

s, Clara," A

e-" Clara started, her eye

ng to a dangerous rumble. "But I also know that if Keon Ashford walks out of this room

s if they were foreign objects. He wouldn't look at Clara, and he definitely wo

d vibrationally deep, "that the Board has a decision to

t of the room. He walked around the table, stopping directly behind me. He didn't

om. "I saw a balance sheet that was impressive, but a culture that wa

nd, the coldness in his eyes shifted into som

"She proved that she is the only person in this room with enough spine to play the game at my level.

held it

erations, reporting directly to me. And Clara B

outh fell open. "You can't be serio

" Keon replied, his voice devoid of emotio

ally laid on the table. It wasn't even a choice. To Arthur, people

e cold. "Pack your things. Sec

They moved toward Clara. The look she gave me was pure, unadulter

ou think he's your savior? He's going to use you and throw y

ut, her red-soled shoes scuffing the marbl

o prepare the paperwork, sensing that Keon's patience was a finite

o sorry. I was just trying to protect us. You unde

" I said, not ev

ut

s eyes. My gaze was as cold as the server room. "You were so worrie

d him and hurried out, the d

ad just changed the trajectory of my life. The silence was

haking,"

g my fingers trembling. I gripped the edge of the mahogany table. "I just took

closer. He stepped into my space, forcing me to loo

e table. His skin was warm, his grip firm. It wa

the war is over. Clara has connections. Ethan is a coward,

e was so close I could see the flecks of darker charcoal in his irises. "W

vibrated against my skin. "Because I want to see what y

my lips for a fraction of a se

hing beautiful and leth

ool. "Meet me in the lobby in twenty minutes. We're going to lunch. We

ing to find my

coffee stain doesn't sui

ardroom. I looked at the screen, where the evidence of my victory sti

ing her revenge. Somewhere in this building, Ethan was mourning his promotion. And somewhere

A message from

nly just begun

a wound. I grabbed my bag and headed for the door

rs opened to reveal a delivery man hol

r Louisa Val

e handwriting. It wasn't Keon's. It was a famil

killer, Lou. Sleep w