Reynolds nearly dropped his tablet in shock when Jace emerged from his study, looking all rumpled in a wrinkled cotton blue shirt, faded colored loafers and tattered jeans.“Sir, is everything okay?” He asked incredulously, looking genuinely worried. “Are you ill?”“I want to take a stroll,” Jace replied with a slight nod. “Don’t wait up for me?”“Looking like that?” Reynolds asked incredulously. “You look like a hobo…forgive my manners.”Jace adjusted the faded green baseball cap over his brow and chuckled, “It’s a disguise, Reynolds. I would like to be anonymous and I don’t want to bring any unwanted attention to my self.”“Anonymous.” Reynolds scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You. The man who bought Luxembourg’s largest hospital by accident last Tuesday.”“Well, they don’t have to know that,” Jace laughed. “I am tired of staying indoors Reynolds.”“Ok…should I go with you?”“And blow my cover?” Jace asked as he opened the huge foyer doors. “No I don’t think so.”“You won’t be treated

“Mother” Stella cried out angrily as she steps down the wide staircase to the huge Withman hall. “I am not sure of Ethan no longer. He is up to something very shady.”“Tsk tsk darling…” Morana Withman crooned from the dining area. “Why do you say so child? You know that man loves you dearly.”“You heard of the rubbish he did recently?” Stella shrieked. “He invited Mila over to dinner at his family’s mansion, knowing very well I wouldn’t be there—”“How then did you get the information?”“I was coincidentally having dinner with the girls at La perle, mother,” she replied, “when Mila got a notification from Ethan, inviting her over to dinner.”“Oh.” Morana paused in her table arrangement as she stared at her in shock.“Yes. What insolence!” Stella spat angrily. “And do you know the worst part? I saw that slime dining at the restaurant.”“What slime?” Morana asked, as she pointed at the maids to set the table. “Darling, don’t you think you are overworking yourself over this….minor issue?

The Montgomery penthouse which was once a symbol of untouchable opulence, now felt like a bedazzled cage. The air was thick with the irritating advent of expensive whiskey and pure, undiluted panic.Ethan Montgomery paced the length of the Persian rug, his movements jerky and uncoordinated. The financial news channel was on mute on the massive screen, but the words at the bottom screamed the story loud enough…PARKINSON GROUP - 18.5%…MONTGOMERY MED - 22%… WITHMAN GROUP - 15%….“Eighteen percent!” Ethan roared as he finally snapped. He snatched the crystal flower pot from the wet bar and flung it into the fireplace and It exploded in a shower of glass shards. “In one hour! How is that even possible?”Stella Withman sat stiffly on a cream silk sofa, her posture perfect, her face a mask of fury. She was still dressed in the silver gown from the party, the glittering engagement ring placed on her finger now feeling like a chain. “You said it was done, Ethan. You said you had handled it. Yo

The Withman dining hall was like a stage, and every plate setting was like a prop. Stella, dressed in navy blue silk, played the gracious hostess, while Ethan, pale and tense, looked like a man waiting for his execution.“Mila, darling, I am so glad you came,” Stella purred as she topped up Mila’s wine glass with a vintage bottle that cost more than a car. “We simply had to clear the air after that….unfortunate misunderstanding at the penthouse.”Mila offered a thin, professional smile. “There’s nothing to clear, Stella. It was a Buisness dinner that ended abruptly. These things happen.”Ethan cleared his throat and traced his fingers nervously on the stem of his glass. “I owe you an apology, Mila. My behavior was….ungentlemanly. The pressure of the merger, the postponement…” He let the sentence hang like a pathetic plea for sympathy.“The pressure is understandable,” Mila said as she kept her tone neutral, without giving nothing away. She took a small, deliberate bite of her chocolat