ree gowns instead of the one she'd claimed she'd buy, had seen the greed in her eyes when Jessica brought out the di

es later, short and typica

er own palm-the same sharp, clarifying anchor she'd used when pressing reco

hite. She clutched her Chanel bag, her knuckles p

ate, Jessica, cl

aps we can set up

ation. Whispers started to r

, her expression a desperate,

After all our ye

xpression placid. She leaned in

of friend who sle

from Diandra's fac

She tried to flee, but Je

mmitted to purcha

lack dress, glided over. She murmured so

s shaking. She was going to call Kenneth. But Kenneth wou

er that afternoon, the charges for the presidential suite, the champagne, the room service all logged under Kenneth's

e cut through the sil

e a prob

figure of immense power in a tailored charcoal s

severe expre

What an unexp

efore landing on Giselle. A flicker

red" checkmark pop up on his contact thread almost instantly. She knew exactly why he was here, knew he'd waited until Diandra was cornered, until the whispers

p with pathetic hope

e's side and slid a possessive arm around her wa

ssed the

end seem to have had a

an

. Giselle froze. Diandra

m shock-she froze because the word tasted like the shackle of the new phone in her pocket, like

ed to Diandra, his

es from your stay at the St. Regis last Wednesda

had AirDropped the screenshots to Garnet before she left the boutique

through the room. He ha

f gray. It was over. Her reputation, in

dit card from his wallet and ha

as a clear

count. After all," he added, his eyes lockin

d been when she lied to Diandra on the phone that morni