e up at 7:

muscles from the bike ride, but her mind was crystal clear. It

s and marched into her

ower. The trust fund was the safet

inal Cassie favored. Instead, she pulled out a sharp,

look. She slipped her feet into a

y against the hardwood floor. She headed straight for the dining

ng room

buffet table, quietly poli

said, glancing around the ro

looked at Cassie with a re

morning. He took the private elevator down to his waiting car.

harp prick of disappo

culous. Garrison was a billionaire CEO; his schedule di

urse," Cassie

f avocado toast and a cup of black coffee. Cassie ate fast, k

bbed her Hermes Birkin bag an

orman had already hailed

ng traffic of Manhattan blur past the window. She felt a surge of adren

front of the massive glass-and-steel build

ployee badge at the

Phones were ringing, producers were shouting across desks, and

t was messy. I

ssie's closest work friend, walked over

to Cassie and r

down. "You look like you just won the lottery. Wh

coffee. The caffeine hit her bloo

er eyes flashing. "I just finally figured ou

ally. She assumed Cassie was just

mode. "Come on. The pitch meeting for the new social experiment r

a glass-walled

arity. She remembered the vague plotlines of this wor

ducer asked for ideas,

ompletely flipped the traditional dating show tropes. She s

t her, her jaw

her hand on the table. "That's the hook. Th

ded slowly, a greedy smile

s officially named the lead segme

at down heavily in her ergonomic cha

is time, it was from pride. Sh

r Birkin bag and pu

cked the

o text messages. No

screen for a few seconds. S

lay hard to get. Two

turned her attention to her computer moni

y, in the Fina

assive mahogany table in the Ha

ed VP of Acquisitions was standing at the front, pointing a laser pointe

tared at t

seeing the p

n his study doorway, wearing that thin silk d

, trying to clear the

he table. His personal cell p

as no little green light flas

ht feeling twisted in his chest. It fel

ad been so aggressive last night. She had forced her way

cket felt louder than

, terrifying scowl. The temperature in

The man's voice cracked. He started sweating through his

notice the ter

one, and flipped it face down

ector screen, his chest tight with

took a bite of crisp lettuce, her mind already moving on to her ev

to Korean BBQ tonight. She had successfully navigated a high-sta