The Quiet Assistant's Roar

peeling paint on her Br

e y

g just Ava, the qu

ed up he

number she knew lik

he said, her

's

en, "I'm co

t of silenc

iment... i

le, flowed through the

hick with emotion, "O

"Whenever you are, sweethe

life, the love, she thou

e hardened

pter was

ity hummed with its us

Velvet Hour," a place where whisp

ng lightly on her back as they

t, observant, a faint smi

ere already there, sprawled in a p

d, his smile dazzling. "Y

ed. "Of

f a few minutes in

o Ethan, a phrase she'd picked u

go to the

dows near their booth, partially

for her benefit, was different

a definite go," Skip said,

erms yesterday,"

at about... the gallery girl?

ught. Gallery gi

," Ethan said smoothly. "Low risk,

ew corporate structure," Skip added, a smirk in hi

i-billion dollar private equity firm, u

stment. Host

bout her as if she

und that sent a shar

Ava," he said, hi

's simple, she'll be fine. Probably fin

blood drain f

ng on the fern'

thought she

d arrived, Ethan had

d her han

" he' d whispered, his eyes full

Av

hoed with a sick

r, keep her docile until t

he table a moment later, made

aloging dusty paint

llege education prepared you for this leve

om some Ivy League secret

, assuming she wa

ly smile

, the word a silen

rse' is kind

cuss shifting global markets and multi-

thoughts, would now glimpse the ste

suppressed her natural ac

surfaced,

rst anni

htly burnt hotdogs Ethan had insisted on g

en adoration, his usual polish stripp

," he'd said. "Th

ed memory and the cold, calculating

, cold and comp

t Ethan acro

arming, practiced smile that h

st looked

d, clear and sha

done. I

powerment, of liberat

man with thoughtful eyes and a qu

d direct

voice polite but firm. "Yo

ffened be

um, about... ten years ago?" the man contin

om the summer program. She' d used

lian to Ava, a frown crea

han asked, his tone

sion, a near-exposure she