face. The car sped off, leaving her in a cloud of dust. It was a calculat

na, her cousin: Saw the pics of Caleb and

and Beatrice leaving a club at 2 AM, looking glamorous and un

s under her eyes. She popped a Xanax from the prescription bottle she kept in her pocket-the one E

stranger in the elevator. The way his hand

wa

s. But he had paid her mother's medical bills.

The Sapphire Resort

ame into view, her feet were blistere

of glass and white marble. A massive chandel

e faltered when she saw Vanessa's wi

I hel

Montgomery," Vanessa

to her computer. "Mr. Montgomery is in the VIP bungalow. Bu

rse he

r own credit card-the one with a limit of five

isdain. "We are fully booked, except for a

take

room. She couldn't. If she stopped moving, she w

y music. The main pool area was transformed into a nightclub. Blue

wouldn't be in the open. He

He was wearing a white linen suit, holding court. Beatrice was on his la

humiliation was a cold stone in her gut. She was supposed to w

urn around, to find a bathroom where

ned too

ight into a soli

eld by the man she had collided with, tipped over. The dark liqu

"Oh my god. I'

look

y died in

own at her. The same sharp jaw

The man from

e men in earpieces stepped forward from behind

f the guards said, his

ckw

Wall Street. The man who bought companies just to dismantle them for sport.

t with Julia

t with Beatr

from her face so

t look at the stain on his shirt. He looked only at her. His

Sterling," he said. His voice was low, a velv

name. He had

he stammered. "I'll pay

wasn't insulting; it was a cold assessment of her curre

onal space just like he had in the eleva

u're about to fai

ne," sh

toward the VIP cabana where Caleb was still laughing. Hi

down. "I have

ed. The word sounded forei

a scene," sh

ed out, his hand hovering near her elbow, but

h me," he

't. Ca

ice dropping to a lethal whisper. "An

t of the pool area. He didn't look back to

-