James POV
The press conference was at nine.
At eight fifty-three, I was still in the elevator.
Marcus stood beside me, quiet, which meant he already knew nothing he said was going to change anything. The elevator hummed upward. I stared at my own reflection in the polished doors and barely recognized the man staring back.
Patricia had sent me a revised statement overnight.
The doors opened.
The conference room was packed. Cameras lined the back wall, reporters filling every available seat. The low murmur that came with a room full of people waiting for something to go wrong.
My phone buzzed. It was Sofia.
I declined it and handed the phone to Marcus.
"Whatever she sends, forward it to legal," I said quietly.
He pocketed it without a word.
Patricia was waiting near the podium, he
