JULIAN
The silence of the penthouse settled the moment the doors closed behind us.
Sienna’s heels clicked sharply against the marble as she walked ahead, her pace quicker than usual. I removed my cufflinks slowly, placing them on the console table, my reflection steady in the glass—composed, controlled.
Exactly as it should be. And yet… My thoughts refused to leave her.
Ava Ross.
The name had been circulating for weeks, whispered in the right circles, tied to numbers that demanded attention. Thirty-five percent of Harrington Global didn’t appear by chance. Power like that was built, earned… or taken.
Tonight, I had finally met the woman behind it. And something about her didn’t sit right.
“You barely looked at me the entire night.”
Sienna’s voice broke through, tight with restraint
