AVA’S POV
"The look on their faces... it wasn't just disappointment. It was pure disgust."
I whispered the words to my own reflection in the marble-tiled restroom adjacent to the boardroom. My hands were still shaking so violently that I had to grip the edge of the vanity to keep from collapsing. The image of the Sterling partners men who lived by a code of honor and legacy staring at those grainy photos of me and Adrian felt like a brand on my skin.
I looked at the "Gutter Bride" staring back at me. For a moment in that meeting, I had actually felt like a Vice President. I had felt the power of my own voice, the way the room went silent when I spoke about the Sterling heritage. I had actually believed I could save the deal.
But Margaret and Sonia had been waiting in the tall grass.
T
