Ashton held the Aureate Awards program open across his lap, scanning the list of sponsors.
Up ahead, the freshly built stage gleamed under the overhead lights.
Contestants would be presenting their concepts there once the clock ran out.
A rehearsal was in progress—host on stage, production crew scattered, checking mics and blocking.
Rows of folding chairs faced the platform, half of them still empty.
Only a few audience members had filtered in this early.
"Ashton!"
He looked up at the sound of his name.
Octavia jogged up, out of breath. "Your wife's getting screwed over and no one's doing a damn thing about it! The organizers aren't even pretending to investigate. They've already decided Mirabelle has cheated—and that I was in on it."
Ashton asked her to sit. "
