Chapter 6

The morning sun hit the glass facade of the Hall Corp headquarters, reflecting a blinding light.

Ava stepped out of the Maybach. She wore a charcoal grey, three-piece bespoke suit. Her hair was slicked back perfectly. She adjusted the heavy Rolex on her wrist, rolling her shoulders to settle into the commanding posture of a CEO.

Miles Porter, the executive assistant, hurried to her side, holding a tablet.

"Good morning, Mr. Hall," Miles said, his voice tight with the usual anxiety he felt around his boss.

"Morning, Miles," Ava replied, keeping her voice low and clipped.

She walked through the grand lobby. Security guards straightened their spines. Executives waiting for the elevators quickly stepped aside, bowing their heads in greeting.

Ava felt a rush of adrenaline. The absolute power, the unquestioning respect-it was intoxicating. She stepped into the private elevator and swiped the keycard.

The doors opened to the top floor. Ava walked into the massive corner office. She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the city. Then, she walked around the heavy mahogany desk and sat down in the leather executive chair.

She picked up a folder containing a merger acquisition proposal and started reading.

The intercom on the desk buzzed.

"Mr. Hall," Miles's voice came through the speaker. "Ms. Bird Blair is in the lobby. She says she has a personal delivery for you."

Ava's fingers tightened on the edge of the folder. A cold smile touched her lips. The white lotus had come to secure her territory after last night's drama.

"Send her up," Ava said.

A few minutes later, the heavy double doors opened. Bird walked in. She was wearing a soft pink cashmere sweater and a modest skirt. She carried an expensive-looking insulated thermos. Her smile was sweet, completely erasing the viciousness she had shown in the restaurant.

"Hi, El," Bird said softly, walking toward the desk. "I know you've been working so hard, and after the fall... I stayed up all night making this artisan vegetable broth for you. It will help you heal."

She placed the thermos on the desk.

Ava leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't look at the soup. She looked at Bird, her eyes calculating.

"Thank you," Ava said, her tone neutral.

Bird sensed the distance. She walked around the desk, stepping close to Ava's chair. She reached out her small hands and placed them gently on Ava's broad shoulders, beginning to massage the muscles.

"You carry so much tension," Bird whispered, leaning down so her perfume filled the air.

Suddenly, the office doors burst open.

The security guard outside yelled, "Ma'am, you can't go in there!"

Eldridge stormed into the office. He was wearing a pair of flat loafers and a simple trench coat. He was panting, his face red with exertion and anger. He had rushed here the moment he realized Ava had actually left for the office, terrified she would ruin a billion-dollar deal.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

He saw Bird standing behind the desk, her hands intimately massaging his own shoulders.

A wave of pure, blinding rage washed over Eldridge.

He marched across the thick carpet, heading straight for the desk. "Get your hands off him!" Eldridge yelled.

Bird looked up, her eyes widening in mock terror. She saw "Ava" charging toward her.

In a fraction of a second, Bird's eyes darted to the side table next to the desk. Miles had just placed a fresh, steaming cup of black coffee there five minutes ago.

Bird took a step backward, positioning herself perfectly between Eldridge and the coffee cup.

Eldridge reached out, intending only to grab Bird's arm and pull her away from the desk. His fingertips barely brushed the sleeve of her cashmere sweater.

Bird let out a blood-curdling scream.

With a swift, deliberate flick of her wrist, Bird knocked the ceramic cup over. The boiling hot black coffee splashed directly onto her own forearm and splattered down the front of her skirt.

"Ahhhh!" Bird shrieked, collapsing onto the floor. She clutched her arm, tears instantly streaming down her face. Her skin was already turning a violent, angry red.

Eldridge froze, his hand still suspended in the air. His brain short-circuited. He hadn't pushed her. He hadn't even grabbed her.

Miles and three senior executives, drawn by the screaming, appeared in the open doorway. They gasped.

The scene was damning: The hysterical wife standing over the weeping, burned mistress.

"I... I didn't touch her!" Eldridge stammered, looking wildly at the executives in the doorway, then down at Bird. "She poured it on herself!"

Ava sat in the executive chair. She had watched the entire performance. She saw the calculated flick of Bird's wrist. She saw the insane lengths this woman would go to in order to frame her.

Ava stood up. She walked around the desk.

She knelt on the floor and pulled the sobbing Bird into her arms, shielding her from Eldridge.

Ava looked up at Eldridge. She channeled every ounce of Eldridge's cold, terrifying anger into her gaze.

"Have you completely lost your mind? !" Ava roared, her masculine voice echoing off the glass walls.

Eldridge stared at her, his mouth open in shock. He was trapped in his wife's body, watching his own body hold the woman who had just framed him. The injustice of it felt like a physical weight crushing his lungs.

"Eldridge, it hurts so much," Bird sobbed into Ava's chest. "Please don't be mad at Ava. I shouldn't have come. I provoked her."

The classic, textbook manipulation made Eldridge nauseous. He took a step forward, wanting to grab Bird and shake the truth out of her.

"Let me see the burn," Eldridge demanded.

Ava stood up, blocking his path. She shoved him hard in the chest.

Eldridge, lacking the physical strength and balance in the female body, stumbled backward and fell hard onto his backside on the carpet.

The executives in the doorway murmured, their eyes full of pity for the CEO and disgust for the crazy wife.

Ava looked at Miles, her face a mask of furious authority.

"Miles," Ava commanded coldly. "Call security. Throw this crazy woman out of my building."