pened doors most of Blackstone'

official act in the role was mapping the deal archive she now had clearance to search - and buried in that archive, filed under a case number rather than a n

INTERNAL REVIE

from her cursor, in the private records of the compan

verything in this building - careful, deliberate, never leaving fingerprints anywhere that mattered. Instead she opened it at 9:40 on a T

it, told her something was wrong - a review substantial enough to end

tion" in terms so vague they could have meant anything. A second memo, two weeks later, escalating the same irregularities to something closer to accusation - but

Alexander's father. Someone else entirel

cular stillness that came before her mind moved too fast

late, M

ehearsed exactly this moment without ever believing she'd need it, though

in the doorway, jacket off, sleeves rolled, the particular dishevelment o

t her screen - dark now, closed, but not quickly enoug

morrow," he said. "The archive you were ju

organized." It was, she thought, a reasonably good lie. It was also, she cou

ld his gaze - close enough that she was aware, in a way she resented, of exactly how the low light ca

ber instead of a name specifically so people wouldn't stumble onto it while browsing. That's not f

estricted access, who wanted to know wh

der an hour." His voice hadn't risen at all, which was somehow more unset

lena kept her face perfectly still, every muscle disciplined by seve

He's testing. He

ilt on, if I'm going to be trusted with running review on its acquisitions. If there's a seven-year-old scandal

that she watched something in his expression ease slightly - not trust, not yet, but a

ng guarded that made her wonder, not for the first time, whether his certainty about what had happened seven years ago

led that away, sharp and preci

an to overst

alf-second too long on her mouth before he caught himself and stepped back, putting professional distance between them with visible, deliberate effort. "You found somet

compliment,

slightly the further he got from her, though the current between them didn't fully disap

wa

e careful how deep you go without me knowing why. Some things in this company's history aren't dangerous b

moment afterward, his warning turning over in her mind alongside the unfamiliar name on both memos - a nam

ther's company. Someone still here. Someon

me, she didn't stop until she'd commit