ng Monday, the air in the executive

fog. Laughter, Chase's booming, To

ache in his recently healed ankle w

i, perched on the edge of her desk, laughing up at Chase, who le

ok away, focusing on the s

e for the quarterly inves

softly. "Ms

ppearing when she saw him. Ch

s it? Can't yo

Sterling. They need your s

ing on his lips. "Always about the deadlin

Ethan. Chase is just telling me abou

uropean investors ar

ase and I are going to grab an early lun

pulling her clo

the reports feeling

ite particular about

n't you?" Tori said, already turning back to Cha

was on a conference c

European stakehold

gular. Ms. Sterling assured us p

een internal delay. Ms. Sterling will sign them immediate

professionalism, the humiliation coiling in his

d laughing, nearly two hours later, Ethan approa

ling, the

wall, turned. "Still on about those papers,

er to Ethan,

fully dull." He then looked down at Ethan's shoes. "And your shoes are a dis

ly" spilled his iced coffee, the cold liqui

of me." He then nudged Ethan with his elbow, hard, in the ribs. "Go

erate, painful. Eth

essed the whole th

you be more careful?

Ms. Sterling," Ethan

"I tripped, darling. He

go sort yourself out. And get those re

ning back to fawn over Chase, who was now

ping into his skin, the pain in his ribs a dull thr