The carpet was thicker here, the air more rarefied. Julian's executive assistant, a woman named

she said, her surprise e

tight, profession

a meeting, Mrs. Carlyle-Spencer.

could hear the low rumble of male laughter from within. A casua

s soft protest and

ter died

d. His two best friends, Caleb Sterling and Owen Hayes, were in armchairs opposite h

eplaced by a rigid annoyance. He looked at her as if sh

is voice cold enough to f

s, her steps measured and deliberate. She stopped at his massive, em

the desk. The sound, a soft slap of paper on

the folder, his brow

voice was steady, devoid of any em

solute. Caleb and Owen looked as

f a laugh. It wasn't a sound of amusement.

oft click. He picked up the folder, flipped it open with a flick o

ntaminated. He leaned back against the desk's edge, cros

e, Cecelia? Trying

isn't a game. The terms are inside. I don't want anyth

It was replaced by a dark flicker of anger. The anger of

she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He was so much taller

can just walk in here and end this? This marriage was an agreement between the Fischer

mpt to de-escalate. "Julian, maybe you

d on Cecelia. He pointed a finger at the agre

m your grandfather, Arthur Fischer. And while you're at it, get one from t

all else. And the Carlyle-Spencer patriarch was an even more formidable obstacle. He was throwing down a gaunt

is voice dripping with condescension, "

aw the trap he had laid for her. She felt no ange

mply n

ka

ked out of the office. She didn't look bac

calm departure left him standing in the middle of his office, an unsettling silence descending where the storm should have been. For