hadn't slept. She'd lain awake, staring at the cracked ceiling, the wine glass long empty o

ight of a stranger's hands, the deep, lingering ache between her thighs, the ghost of his voice saying s

hed around her, wine glass dangling from her fingers.

ine stood, wobbling slig

nning to go to

r sleeve, the dark circles she could feel dragging at her cheekbon

on. The bruise on her neck was darker now, a purple bloom that her collar barely covered. He

t the penthouse. The way his thumb had traced her j

her head hard. C

s already making coffee, her movements sharp an

a said. "What

etting the heat sear her palms. "I go to the

obot? The

e of the card pressed against her fingertips. She

s's treatment is due by the end of the week. The math-" She stopped herself.

r arm. "Then you fight like hell today. And if that doesn't work,

d her coffee, set the mug d

turned. "Bren. Thank

listened. "Go g

low thrum of jazz. Kory Case sat in a secluded booth, his back rigid, a glass of sparkling water untou

two supermodels draped across the bar before dismissing them with a lazy flick of h

self a glass of expensive bourbon f

marriage negotiation strategy

He coughed violently, pounding his chest. "Excuse me? You

, and tossed it across the table. "I presented her with a mutually ben

pages. His eyes scanned the dense legalese, the cl

e music. "Kory, you absolute maniac. You sound like an algorithm trying to ex

. "Logic and financial security should prevail over

erated. "You treated her like livestock. You can't just throw mo

rying a faint edge. "-a walking calculator with no pulse. She also rejec

ill chuckling. "You deserve it, man.

the leather-a rare, uncharacteristic tick. Finally, h

e. "Wait. You-" He pointed at Kory, then a

f a foreign substance. The e

He refilled his glass, took a long sip, and set it down. "Okay. Here's what you're going to do. You're goi

ad built a billion-dollar empire from nothing, flared behind the cold exterio

are not equations, Kory. They're people. And people-" He t

running a new calculation-a new approach, a new strategy to break throug

ine Hayes. Scrolled to the hospital records. To

. Forty-one

d recalculate. And he