it sat on Jasper's d
g from some discreet medical company that promised "99.9% accuracy and complete confiden
had called him
hild. You want a pro
ittering behind him through floor-to-ceiling windows. Fort
he kit. Hadn't eve
office and now, a traitorous thought
quisition. Another board meeting he was missing while he obsessed over a
n't finish t
ed. "Mr. Sterling?
urned to ice. "M
meant your... Ms. Vivian S
hs after his mother's funeral, then proceeded to redecorate their c
I'm in a
a pregnant woman yo
rse sh
-
a smile that could cut glass. She swept into his office like she owned it, whi
ling. You lo
idn't stand. Didn't offer her a s
She settled into the chair across from him uninvited, crossing her legs with practiced elegance. "Then you dragged some poor girl to Robert Chen's office?
ened. "This is non
me may not mean much to you, but it means everything to the foundation, the board, the shareholders." She lea
g in the air
t o
spe
voice deadly quiet. "Before I
her eyes. "Your father would be ashamed of you. Throwing away e
my school plays. He missed my high school graduation for a ribbon-cutting in Dubai. He wasn't there when my mother died because he was too busy securin
come crying to the board when this scandal tanks our stock price." She pau
ice felt too large and
ow, the city moved on, indifferent. Millions of people living their lives, non
with Lily Rodriguez. Hadn't been
body, and for the first time in years, Jasper had felt... untethered. Like he could be someone other than Ric
asper. And she'd
ect night, that
rang. Unkn
r Ster
ospital. There was some bleeding, and the doctor wants to run tests, and I know I said I didn't want you
bing his coat. "I'm on
spe
nt, toward the elevators. "Do you hear me? Don't move, don't
ious. The doctor sai
r button repeatedly, uselessly
uiet except for
loor. Maternity
ator din
e said again, s
ne was alr
polished steel-a man who'd spent his entire life building wall
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