A Debt in Red

r doors parted with

ionist. There was no waiting area. The carriage opened directly into a cavernous, gla

ed against the morning

that absorbed the light in the room. He wasn't on the phone. He wasn't looking at a computer monitor. Most men of his immense wealth treat

s gray, and the moment they locked onto he

ing wound, but she buried it under a layer of freezing adrenaline. She was Vivienn

r, stopping three feet from the

r voice rang with the crystalline precision she used to project to th

harp lift of her chin, and the fierce, protective grip she had on t

onant baritone that sent an involuntary shiver down her

rday morning. By yesterday afternoon, you had absorbed his entire debt portfolio, bypassed standard probate l

The absolute defiance radiating from her didn't ang

picked up a thick, cream colored folder and slid it smoothly across the

ting of the estate,"

was entirely steady as she fl

er father had bled dry. She saw the aggressive, unregulated secondary loans with interest rates that bordered on predatory. And final

e bottom of the page in b

, inescapable fin

closed. The heavy paper hit

s, even register. "The debt is four point two million dollars. The accelerati

ng," Casp

ts. Take the syndicate shares. Even with my instrument, you'll be taking a loss at a

ece of wood?" Caspian asked. His tone didn't rise, but a sudden, sharp e

st her ribs. "You specialize in hostile takeovers. You corner the asset, squeeze the margins, and st

from the desk. He took a s

etreat, to put distance between them, but

is worthless to me, Vi

h of anger in her chest. He stopped just close enough that she could feel the heat radiating fr

tinued, his eyes tracing the hard, defensive line

sing and falling with shallow, con

yo

between them, he

linding confusion piercing through he

a terrifying, unyielding focus. "I have spent the last two years building a cultural foundation. It is

, disbelief warring with pani

do

e opened her mouth to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the demand, but

al compliance. "You will sign a contract acting as the primary artistic director of the

or tilting beneath he

sted flat against the cover of the folde

angerously close to a threat. "The four point two