Adrian POV
Marcus Hale requests the meeting himself.
That alone tells me something has changed.
Marcus has always preferred indirect conflict. Lawyers, public statements, corporate maneuvers. Clean battles were fought through numbers and influence.
Requesting a private meeting means emotion has entered the equation.
Emotion weakens strategy.
Which means this conversation will be useful.
The location is a private lounge on the top floor of the Meridian Tower. Neutral ground. Quiet. Discreet. The kind of place wealthy men pretend is private while knowing perfectly well that half the city’s power structures have used it for negotiations.
When I arrive, Marcus is already there.
Standing near the window.
His posture is stiff, shoulders tense beneath a dark suit that probably costs mor
