nfrontation, but Estella and

in the physicians' lounge rather than make the trip home. Alden, meanwhile, remained consumed by the merger, moving between late-night meetings, b

home at a reasonable hour, the penthouse

, she broug

arking garage. Beneath a parked car, she found a small, scrawny cat with mottled fur, shivering and filthy,

jured paw, no serious medical problems. He was young, frightened, and apparently abandoned. Estella could have left him with a rescue organiz

ike to live in a place where no one truly wanted your p

ny cat with mottled fur poked its head out, blinking

o her arms, holding its fr

ome-a grand name for such a battered li

e, Apollo,"

olding a life that needed her, that depende

all creature tentatively begin to eat, a knot of tension sh

ion. Communication between their lawyers had stalled

the front

walk

in the living room. He certainly hadn

rrowed instantly, a flicker of something-dis

ostility. The small cat shra

n's voice was ice. It was

eting his gaze. "A cat. His nam

'm severely allergic to cats, Este

asized

e had watched him stroke his mother's Persian cat with

s about

la replied, her voice just a

on her. He turned to the housekeep

d of it. Send it back to wha

e looked from Alden's furious expression to Estel

tiny cat behind her. She felt li

u dare to

was the first time they had faced off so dir

a humorless smile twisted his lips. He p

. "Freeze all supplementary credit cards unde

s stomac

n this house. While her surgeon's salary was substantial,

ixed on her. He held all

. The cat goes, or your financ

between her emotional solace and her survival. The weight of his