ire
nd champagne flutes. Evander stood beside me, his hand possessive on the
e mask. I smiled, I nodded, I accepted birthday wishes with a quiet
uced as Evander's "indispensable executive secretary." She hovered near us, her hand occasional
er texting: After tonight, everyone wi
"My hands are cold," I murmured, pulling away to wrap th
ander tapped a glass for attention, his
ul wife," he announced, gesturing toward
m once, years ago, that the sound reminded me of a swarm
He spoke of how we met, of my brilliance, of the accident.
love of my
in a movie. I tilted my head just enough tha
e in perfect formation, their lights bli
nd resting proprietarily on his forearm, he
ed by the drones wa
went through the crowd
AT
andalized whispers. I didn't need to see th
ed into the logo of a Rober
hievement," he announced, his voice smooth as silk. "Katia Lynch has just secured the largest contract i
etary's victory party. He hadn't just f
's hand, raised it in a toast, and said, "To success!" Then h
alone, the punchli
mous whisper only I could hear. "Happy birthday. And t
took off my sunglasses. My vision was perfectly clear. I raised my phone and took a phot
off. They neve
I was going to make sure t
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