Victoria was deeply, profoundly grateful for every single person sitting around the conference table, because every body in this room was one more reason she did not have to be alone with Alexander Sterling, a very acute appreciation for the value of witnesses.
Her fingers moved across the laptop keys. Meeting minutes. Date, attendees, action items. She kept her eyes on the screen.
She could feel him behind her.
He was sitting one seat back and to her left, close enough that she was aware of him.
Lucas Chen, she thought, typing, you did not ask me if I wanted to do this.
She typed faster.
"—that would be all for today," the presenter was saying, and there was a shuffle of papers.
She was already closing the laptop.
Around the table, people were looking toward Alexander with the att
