Jennifer
The morning sun slanted through the glass walls of my office, catching on the crystal decanter on the side table. I poured myself a splash of bourbon, early, I knew, but the burn steadied my hands. Today wasn’t a day for weakness.
I glanced over the mock-ups on my desk: the joint venture proposal. My empire’s next move.
Lucian and I, two unstoppable forces merging for the ultimate fashion takeover. That’s what the press would say. That’s what they’d be fed.
Except Lucian didn’t seem as thrilled anymore.
I’d seen it in the meetings, in the careful way he avoided my gaze, in the curt replies to my late-night messages.
And last night, when I’d tried to get him on the phone to finalize the launch timeline? Straight to voicemail.
I clenched my jaw, staring down at the contract d
