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And she wanted that Oh, how she wanted things to be different, with the possibility of throwing their agendas out theand just connecting as man and woman

It was e could not be trusted under any circus, not clarified thes that were iht

He left without arguing, which dug under her skin and sat there irritating her for no apparent reason Why? He’d done what she asked—whatin her bed That was reserved for men anted to stick around and he wasn’t the type A few days and then gone

She knew that But that didn’t stop all the needy dreaht where he curled around her in bed and stroked her hair and told her everything was going to be okay, that he was here for her and she didn’t have to be strong with him That he understood her and cared about her

Clearly a dreae material and she didn’t need a man hispered pretty lies in her ear about the state of things There was no guarantee even one blessed thing in her life would turn out okay The investigative work she’d done on her own tiiven up any information either, which meant she was still at square one

Around 5:00 ae off her body and soul with a hot shower It was Friday Reckoning day Trinity had scheduled a ress report on the leak It was shaping up to be a shortto report

It took twice as long as nor hands and partly due to the necessity of taking extra care to present her best “I’ve got this” face to the world Then, she dressed carefully in a black suit with a knee-length skirt and red silk shell The look radiated power and control and she needed both today

By nine, the other ladies filed in to take their customary seats around the conference table Cass had been in her chair for fifteenher nerves It should have been the other way around Lots of progress, cool as a cucumber

There was a distinct possibility she ht throw up

New fine lines around Harper’s eyes spoke to the heightened level of stress on Fyra’s chief science officer She’d been clocking long hours in anticipation of presenting Foret with the program Trinity tapped one foot, impatient and ready to draw blood the ular Soal pad, Alex wore a slight frown, as if this boardroom was the last place she wanted to be and Cass had interrupted the CFO’s enda items for the day

“Thanks for taking tian set her emotions under control She’d failed to do her job and her partners needed to know it, no ether

If only she’d gotten so so close to the surface If only she’d checked her one all night with hi useful Instead, she’d kicked hi, let alone herself

“I’ll cut to the chase,” Cass said and aze of each of her partners in turn “I haven’t found anything yet”

The three woer

Alex spoke first “What do youyet? You’ve had all week” She sank down in her chair an inch, as if Cass’s news had physically added weight to her shoulders, which increased the general despair in the room “This is awful We should have involved the authorities fro”

“We couldn’t have,” Cass reminded her She cleared the catch from her throat They’d had this discussion on Monday when the trade ain on Tuesday in their board ue, reate ourselves”

“Which has failed miserably” Alex crossed her arms and stared at Cass “We trusted you with this We could have all been working on it but you said you’d handle it What, exactly, did you do all week?”