only a layer of cold, hard ice in her heart. It was a quiet, lifeless space, situated on a floor far removed from the roar of the trading floor-a custom-made cage with a view. H

Journal that her assistant had placed on her desk. She

ticed efficiency, navigating through encrypted folders unti

emen

ed by Armand's most ruthless attorneys. Every clause was a car

, the nondisclosure provisions that had governed e

ation

ng party, any termination request she initiated would trigger an immediate and invasive review. All assets provided to her under the agreement-including yes

ps. He had thought of everything. This was n

ed a new

t for Terminati

ons. She simply cited Section 9, Subsection 2, and formally

an email addressed to Armand's lead counsel, c

lized she was carrying lifted from her shoulders. It was

n, his face a mask of professional concern. He was a tall ma

t she had seen online. Armand was sliding a diamond the size of a small iceberg onto the finger of a woman named Isabell

ll three seconds, her heart lurching w

ant." Her voice w

d tears, or a tantrum. "Jodi, Mr. Taylor wanted me to assure you that

erceptible. "It will. Because I've changed my mind." She gestured to

e. "You can't.

tone polite but firm. It was a voice he had never heard from her b

the docile, quiet woman he had been accustomed to d

nessential projects she had overseen. She would leave no loos

ang. An unk

then answered

g the easy confidence of old money and the traces of an Ivy League

of New York's oldest banking dynasti

y call. It was a deployment. Armand was sendin

r. Prescott," she s

i. It's just an engagement, not a vow of celibacy.

e a slick film. They all saw her the same way. A petulant child, a line item

xtinguished years ago roa