The vibration of the smartphone on the mahogany desk was like a sudden, jarring electric shock, breaking the spell of Lynn Graves' daydream. She looked down at the screen, her eyes narrowing as a wave of pure, unadulterated disgust washed over her.
The caller ID read: Julian.
The man who was supposed to be her partner, her "other half," was now nothing more than a rot in her life. For years, she had tolerated his incompetence and his "financial irregularities" to maintain the image of a stable, pedigreed family. But after the night she had spent with Ambrose—after seeing what a real man of power looked like—Julian Graves felt like a stain she couldn't wait to scrub away.
She took a long, cooling sip of her red-sugar water, composed herself, and pressed the answer button.
"What do you w
