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“You’ll be in the office?”

She nodded “Just fiddling today”

“Good Don’t leave until we’ve spoken again” He turned and walked out of her office and she sank to her knees, her hands shaking, her entire body wound so tight she wanted to curl in on herself

She was so stupid Nothing new She’d spoken without thinking As per usual Only this tined her checks

Everything was in his hands now Her future Her family Her money

“Time to learn to think before you talk,” she said into the empty office Unfortunately, it was too late for that Way, way too late

Dante finished with the last iteenda and turned to his file cabinet, placing the last document on his desk into its appropriate spot Then he put his elbows on the desk and leaned forward, staring at the newspaper on the shining surface

He’d studied the news story again when he’d co piece on how the impostor of the Colson family moved people around like pawns on a chessboard It was stacked with details about theout on an i event

The press had covered it a week ago, too, since Carl had gone screa to the papers over discrimination of some kind In Dante’s mind, it wasn’t discris, no ame of a five-year-old’s T-ball season or not

Still, it had been another of those juicy bits the ainst hienerally didn’t matter to him

But one thing in that article stood out to him: Can she reform him?

Could Paige Harper reform him? The idea amused him He had the bare minimum of contact with her She did her job, and she did it well, so he never had a reason to involve himself But he had noticed her Impossible not to She was a blur of shiy and a sense of the accidental radiated from her