How to bake a scandal
Sutt
"Not the worst," he said, not a hair out of place. "For s
s. Sweat stung my eyes, blurring his stupid
ow arched
hat's next? A Himalayan trek? Stock market domination? D
the corner of his mouth. "
st the doorframe. "Final
-
me resent him more. No buttered toast, just avocado arrange
his is your daily 'I'm
dy. His thumb tapped the ceramic once
d at the avocado.
riti
s healt
eyes didn't laugh, but his t
t go. F
out-Ethan as a teen, grinning beside a woman with his same stubbo
-
ad been measured just that morning. We drove to Chase Tech in
hat could double as a runway, the city stretched below like a circ
already open. "
damp from my run-drenched back. "Just.
ms that could've been ema
I don't know, superv
rt. "Just f
CEO superpower: making spread
-
erns grilled, coffee brands dissected. Everyone leaned in when h
a spreadsheet rant,
ing once, fast as a flicked lighter. Barely there,
had knocked
flashed-**Miranda Hartley**-before he
. The woman who'd thr
ce smoothing into CEO blankne
nda in his i
-
ncil in his trash. Two jagged ha
lawless a
k pocket, right next to "avocado trau
een glare. Ethan hadn't moved, his
g flowcharts as evil lair blue
look up. "
m. "The emails. The eggs.
oze. "It's
pped out, sharp and raw.
ired, mouth softer. Then he stood, straig
stayed, staring at the fa
I sank into her secondhand couch, springs creaking under me, and held out my phon
ell me I'm not im
h administration-and squinted. *"'Avery, my office. Noon. We need to
ng. The case was cracked from that time I'd dropped it i
faded *Radiohead* tee wrinkled at the
ek. She replied,
stress ball across the room. It hit a stack of *Natio
l my palm ached. "What if she's s
ted. "Miranda still calls IT when her mous
one b
nda**:
ed at J
lips pressed
-
own a gas station taquito an
Greg from HR microwaved his daily tuna casserole, the stench
noc
n.
lowing at the edges, a mahogany desk scarred by decades of stile
t look up
d. The seat cushion sighed, releasing a puff
pen-*click, click, click*-against a stack of
ore than i
ifted, cold