back, the heel of her shoe catching on the plush carpet. The small stum

ott," she said, her voice tight but impressively steady. "I don't understand what you mea

thing. It was a wall, and she was desperately

nored her words. Instead, he walked past her, moving with a fluid, predatory grace. He went direc

inant, that a hot surge of anger shot through B

d of the table. His gaze swept over the surface, landing on a single, thick folder

oration. Re: Intellec

ead from the hotel room came rushing back, ten times str

e had know

up at her, his expression unreadable. "Bina Sullivan. Graduated top five percent from Columbia Law. One of Gable & Finch's rising stars

d leaving her exposed. The air in the room felt thin, and she struggled to breathe. She was no longer a lawye

first page with a dismissive air. He flipped it sh

reasonable tone that was more terrifying than any shout. He

in the air, col

e obsessive man from a one-night stand. He was using it. He was leveraging the most humiliating night of her life

led over, eclipsing the fear. Her eyes, which ha

This is my job. I have a fiduciary duty to my client.

ontempt as she could muster, trying to throw

sing the distance she had tried so hard to create. The pressure of his approach was suffocat

ore she could react, his thumb brushed lightly against her lower lip. It was the same spot he had kissed so th

ed, turning her head sharply

low caress that made her skin crawl. "That'

tail that made her feel sick. "That was a mist

h gone. "Then fix it with a correct decision now. Drop the

shing deal. He was offering her a way out, but the price was

lames than accept. She would rather be publicly humiliated, fired, d

. She met his gaze without flinching. "If you want to discuss the Preston case, have

y fought back, not with profession

s quickly replaced by something else, something deeper. A

time, though it held no warmth. "Good,

relaxed, as if he had already won. He left a wake

and looked back at her,

d," he said, not as a threat, bu

s gone. Bina stood frozen in the center of the room, her body tre