Chapter 5

Audie balanced a scalding cup of black coffee in one hand as she speed-walked through the open floor plan of her Wall Street investment bank.

The chaotic noise of ringing phones and shouting traders faded into the background.

She reached her supervisor's glass-walled office and slapped the thick, bound Jarvis Dynamics analysis report onto his desk.

The loud smack of paper hitting wood made him jump.

He flipped through the first three pages, a look of genuine surprise and approval washing over his face. He waved a hand, signaling her to keep pushing.

Audie walked back to her cubicle.

The second her skirt hit the mesh fabric of her desk chair, her internal phone line began to flash red.

She picked up the receiver.

"Audie," the receptionist whispered, her voice tight with panic. "There is a man named Ryder down here. He's screaming at the security guards."

Audie's stomach dropped. A hot flash of pure rage seared through her veins.

"I'll be right down."

She grabbed her security badge and marched toward the elevators.

When the doors opened to the ground-floor lobby, she saw him.

Ryder was being blocked at the main reception desk by two massive security guards, his face red as he screamed her name.

His eyes were bloodshot, the dark circles under them making him look deranged.

"Did you find some old Wall Street sugar daddy to pay your rent?" he spat, his lips curling into an ugly sneer.

Dozens of corporate professionals in tailored suits stopped walking. Eyes turned toward them.

Audie didn't blink. Her expression was absolute ice.

She lifted the half-full plastic cup of iced Americano she had quickly grabbed from her own desk on her way out.

With a flick of her wrist, she threw the dark, freezing liquid directly into Ryder's face.

The ice cubes hit his forehead with a sharp smack.

The brown coffee dripped down his nose, staining the crisp white collar of his expensive dress shirt.

Ryder gasped, his mouth falling open in sheer shock. He stood frozen, water dripping from his chin.

"If you ever show your face at my office again," Audie said, her voice deadly quiet but carrying perfectly across the silent lobby, "I will file a restraining order before you hit the sidewalk."

She turned around, swiped her badge against the scanner, and walked through the turnstile.

She left Ryder standing in a puddle of coffee, his face burning red with humiliated rage.

When Audie finally sat back down at her desk, her hands were shaking slightly from the adrenaline.

Her cell phone vibrated violently against the wood of her desk.

The screen flashed: Eleanor Bell.

Audie squeezed her eyes shut. She grabbed the phone and walked quickly into the empty, soundproof breakroom.

She pressed the green button and held the phone to her ear.

"Audie," Eleanor's voice was sharp, arrogant, and carried the weight of absolute authority.

Eleanor didn't mention the email. She didn't ask how Audie was.

She immediately started talking about the quarterly yields on Liam's medical trust fund.

"The market has been volatile," Eleanor lied smoothly. "As the legal guardian of the trust, I might have to freeze the disbursements for his medical care next month."

Audie's fingers dug into the edge of the breakroom counter.

"What do you want, Eleanor?" Audie asked, her voice tight, fighting the panic rising in her chest.

"There is an engagement party tonight at The Plaza," Eleanor said lightly, as if discussing the weather. "You will attend. You will smile. You will show everyone that the Bell family is united and thrilled for Tatum."

Audie's stomach violently rejected the idea.

They wanted her to stand there and play the supportive sister to the woman who stole her boyfriend.

"No," Audie started to say.

"Liam's surgery bill for next month is forty-two thousand dollars," Eleanor stated, cutting her off completely.

The number hit Audie like a physical punch to the gut.

Her salary couldn't cover a fraction of that.

Audie bit down on the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted the sharp metallic tang of copper.

"Fine," Audie forced the word out of her throat.

Eleanor let out a soft, victorious hum and ended the call.

The dial tone buzzed in Audie's ear.

She lowered the phone and stared out the breakroom window at the gray concrete jungle of Manhattan.

Her thumb rubbed furiously against her knuckles.

If they wanted her at that party, she would go. But she was going to make them regret it.