Page 145 of Perfect Satisfaction

Kyle agrees. “JB points us in a direction with a target and a date.”

O’Connor just nods emphatically.

I roll my lips together to suppress the laughter. “Program manager of the year he’s not.”

Kyle drops his tablet to the side and crawls on his knees. “Please, come back and save us, Sula.”

“Get up, you arse.” But now I’m well and truly distracted from what’s awaiting me downstairs.

My husband.

The last obligation I have.

Then, maybe I can accept the absolution offered to me by those who know what my life’s been like.

I hold up a hand. “I’m tied to New York for the foreseeable future.”

They groan in unison.

“But I won’t rule it out.”Besides, you may need to run away after this year is up with Arek. Are you really going to be able to live in the same city he does?When I take in the three beaming faces seated before me, I scold them, “No promises. Now, back to work.”

After the three of them leave my office, I give myself a few moments of privacy. Checking out my image above the mirror, I’m not surprised by the frown. Then suddenly it hits me. Something could be wrong.

Rushing out of the privy, I press the button to call Helen’s desk and ask her to escort Arek up.

Then I sit down and wait.

When there’s a knock, I take a deep breath and call out, “Enter.”

He looks remarkable in a custom-made suit and tie—like he belongs in this world and in my life.

Like he should have always been by my side.

Yet, I know that’s so far from the truth, my stomach cramps with the agony that now MSW will have the taint of Arek Ronan’s ghost when we finally part. Evenly, I comment, “Fancy running into you here.”

CHAPTERSEVENTY-FOUR

Conversation starter: Have you ever had to report yourself to your employer for breaching protocol? Releasing information you shouldn’t? Without naming corporations (those responses will be deleted), what was their reaction?

—Moore You Want

I don’t know why I expected to be escortedto Joshua Basset’s office, but instead, I find myself ensconced in cool, classy elegance done in shades of gray. The effect is powerful and feminine, much like the woman sitting behind it.

Three mismatched chairs in front of her desk cause me to frown. “I interrupted something.”

Sula waves her hand. “We’d just finished.”

I stroll into the room, hearing the door snick behind me. “Anything important?”

“You drove to the outskirts of London just to ask me that question?”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No, that’s not why I came to see you.”

She hasn’t stood as I make my way around her desk, much the same way she did mine the day she confronted me at StellaNova. I hitch a hip on the edge of her desk and even though it’s for the briefest of seconds, I catch the twitch of her lips into a smile.