Contract Hearts

A'S

ed through clenched teeth, his hand re

la. The glitz, the eyes watching. The carefully curat

tucked in corners, laughter echoing like wind chimes. Everyone looked polished, perfec

guiding me through the crowd.

the incident at Eliza's window three nights ago, sleep had been elusive. The se

ng my thoughts. "Mrs. Carter i

ching our house?" I aske

dened. "Let's n

lty, his hand never leaving me, his

Charles Givens owns half the East Coast's tech market. Smile

doll," I said

y, just as someone turned to greet u

ady heavy with scotch. "And this must be the en

to Bennett's monotone lecture about regulatory shifts. I sipped

said finally.

t to breathe w

atures were elegant, almost too symmetrical. But it wasn't her beauty that struc

d. She w

Josh asked,

d. "Jus

a glass to another approaching gues

es were to begin. I barely listened. My eyes kept

mmed for the keyno

conversations. The hall outside the ballroom was quiet. My hee

a statue, her posture relaxed,

black than I thought

ow you?"

u will. Sofia Laurent. Or do

d not

eful. Pretty things don'

you want?

he said. "Before you end u

. "The la

vior to. She thought she could fix him. She disapp

ground shif

it Reynolds Enterprises. He inherited

le," I said. "If t

tment emptied, her friends were silent. One sealed non-disclosure af

oat ti

re ly

him about the Blackwell account

lin

o a half-smile. "Th

ipped something into my hand

"But don't plug it into anything he owns. A

helping me?

d. "Because Cassan

and vanished a

and yet something about it struck a match inside me. The way Josh avoided talking about

phone buzzed

Sofia. He's not the only mo

ge. I shoved the phone back an

d calm.

sked again, voic

fly. "Just...

ge route to take. I followed you

ip on the clutch.

ike your shoes were on fire." H

ck. "Only if you're

"You always

ing. Powerful. Convincing. The audience adored him. I sat at our table, stil

the crowd and

t for a second,

turned and poured himself

mile. "You like mys

said softly. "Mystery

ade my bloo

t stop walking. I took the east wing, foun

then slid the flash drive into a company l

cted, I closed

clicked behind me, I turned and there was Josh

ocked the doo