SECOND LIFE: CEO's shadow

tal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, dripping with light that made the diamonds on everyone's necks sparkle like ice. In my first lif

liquid in his hand. He wasn't talking to anyone. He didn't need to. He had this gravity about hi

ngerous. Like a wolf that had walked into a room full

hed it. I had died once. There was nothing this ma

ase take your seats," the

. I watched the back of his head, the way his shoulders stayed pe

as coming. It was the piece Marcus had obsessed over in my first life-the Cursed Emerald. It was a dee

o men in white gloves brought out a velvet cushion. "T

Two million was a lot

was deep, smooth, and carried a weight

," a man in the

ir said immediately. He

sn't just about the money; it was about the fact that if you crossed h

mer. "Three million going onc

mill

ilding land on me. My heart was thumping so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest, but I k

er his shoulder. His eyes were like dark glass-unreadable and sharp. He looked at me, his

angry. He loo

said, his eyes n

d the money. It was my father's "emergency" fun

almost invisible smirk touched the

ing my name. Isn't that the Vane girl? Where

eer said, his voice trembling with ex

what I wanted him to pay. I wanted him to see me, to remember

horne for ten m

t looking at me for a long beat be

my veins like an electric current. As soon as the event ended and people started moving tow

ning against the wall, waiting.

want the stone," Alistair said. He didn't turn to look a

m. I could smell him now-cedarwood, expensive tobacco, and something col

e was no warmth in him, just a heavy, dark power. "And what do you w

that's going to happen in three months. A merger that will ruin your shipping

tall I had to tilt my head back to look at him. He looked down

erday, the shadow of a man like Marcus Reed?"

pered. "And the woman standing in front of you is th

n, he reached out. I expected him to grab my arm or push me away, but his hand stopped

ra," he said. "If you lie to me, I won't j

aid. "That's

car is outside. You have ten minutes to

if I was following. I took a deep breath, smoothed