anse of the corner office that had belonged to his f

rs balanced against her hip. "Are you done wi

forced partnership, and she hadn't shown a single crack in her professional armor. Today she wore a slate-g

sarcastically. "It is, after all, as

require your signature. They're the quarterly compliance filings f

ire expert knowledge of Chinese regulatory law?" Ja

y. "And there's a summary memo on each one

ck. "How thoughtful of you to make it si

e anger. "Contrary to what you seem to believe, Mr. St. James, I'm not here to un

"My father, who you conveniently grew closer to as his

the world," Harper said quietly.

don't know anything about my

know his last coherent words were your name." Harper's voice remained professional, but her eyes b

o-ceiling windows at the Manhattan skyline

n make this difficult, or we can be professionals. Your father built this compan

ally looked at her-not as his father's mysterious assistant but as a person standin

rofessional it is. What els

rrow at 9 AM. They'll expect you to address the tr

vision supposed to be? I

egy, with room for you to add your own perspective." She pulled a slim fo

rising himself. "Let m

hness of Harper's preparation. She knew every facet of the business, from financials to personn

er explained a particularly intricate joint venture in

nce I was a child. Buildings last. They shape how people live, work, interact." She stopped herself, as if re

y here for another six mo

otes. "Yes, well. We

ie found himself asking, "W

I never gave him reason not to." The impli

e drawer. Inside was a small frame he hadn't noticed before. It contained

w light would move through the space, the thoughtful intersec

director who had been remarkably helpful since his arrival: Drinks tonigh

lation, but Jamie had built his own company from scratch in one of the world's most competitive markets. He could surely navigate si

hear another perspective on the perfect assistant