like the start of

ng color and chaos past the tinted panes. Hardly having slept, she chewed on th

lo Mo

o had broken her will and was now pull

you doi

is job offer upwards, and left him standing the

hadn't

is office, signed the contract, and left w

ng toward her first day working

d out in navy pencil skirt, crisp white blouse, and heels borrowed from her roommate. Her ha

ou make it, sh

r a polite nod. "Mr. Moretti said you would b

urse

he window and sipped espresso as if he had all the time in the world. Sunlig

, and when they did, they traveled down her body with a mea

rs. "Do you always eye y

hly, plonking the empty cup down. "But you

h twisted.

For one nigh

her breath. She absolutely hated that he still had

for that," s

re here for the job. Shal

rkspace just outside his office. Her desk faced a wall of glass wi

ze files," he said. "You'll be present during some delicate

went up. "

slow look. "Things that

r way of war

This is my way t

dn't tell whether he meant it as

f the day came a

Niccolo floated in like an impalpable shadow through it all: always poised, always in control. Aria kept her

, she was runn

coffee, she stepped into the break room. As she pou

e eyes of a man who could have been an ad for Calvin

k. "I'm second-in-command. Or glorifi

"Nice to meet

now who

omach knot. There was no judgm

n't get personally hired by the boss. Or show up o

. "Is there a point t

st wondering how long

oice sliced through the air like a kn

ing ominously in the doorway,

d casually sauntered out

p clang. "Do you always stalk you

interest

have him gently catch her wris

it?" he asked,

h hitched

t ni

ing hard. She could

king into this office the next day and

before she felt the burni

esk, one thing rang clear i

ven c