CHAPTER 21“You look like shit ,” Rose said to him as soon as she stepped down from the cab, not bothering to hide her satisfaction.“Thanks for the warm welcome.” Benjamin winced as he tried to stand. “You look pretty tonight.”Rose rolled her eyes. “You called me a bitch a few nights back. Now I’m pretty to you?”“I was drunk.”“You were honest.” Rose crossed her arms. “Now talk. What’s this about Jensen and Charlotte?”“What’s with the attitude?” He asked her.“I know your father temporarily froze your assets. So you have nothing now. Speak Benny. Don't waste my time.”Lana arrived just in time to catch the question. Her heels clicked against the pavement.“Make it quick,” Lana said. “We have better things to do than babysit guys.” She snapped at him.“Of course you brought the gremlin.” Benjamin shot Lana a glare. And then a wink. Lana quickly avoided his eyes, blushing lightly. Rose did not see this.“And here’s the part you’ll actually care about. Jensen wasn’t out tonight do

CHAPTER 23Ping!A text from Principal Luthor’s office, into Jensen’s phone.[Mr. Pike. The principal requests your presence at your earliest convenience. His office. Main administration building, third floor.]Jensen stared at it for a moment, running through the probable reasons. The fights. The absences. The fact that he’d paid for a dinner that cost more than the university’s catering budget for a semester. Any one of them could justify a formal summons.He forwarded nothing to Geena, told Coleman he’d be back, and walked across campus alone.Jensen arrived at the block.The secretary showed him in without making him wait, which told him something before he’d even crossed the threshold.And that unusual smile on her face? Definitely Suspicious.Principal Luthor stood when Jensen entered, hand already extended across the desk.“Mr. Pike. Thank you for coming so quickly.” He gestured toward the chair across from him. “Please, sit. Can I offer you anything? Coffee? Or perhaps someth

CHAPTER 25The lobby of Whitmore Asset Management went quiet the moment Jensen stepped through the doors.Then the applause started.Two hundred and sixty employees arranged in a reception line, clapping in unison, faces arranged into expressions of welcome that ranged from genuine to carefully performed. Jensen walked in, Geena a half-step behind, Fae silent as a shadow at the rear.He clocked the three deputies immediately.Greg Worthington stood dead center at the front of the line — mid-fifties, and broad.His applause was slower than everyone else’s. Deliberately.May McBride stood to Greg’s left. sharp-eyed, composed, clapping correctly while her eyes ran a rapid, private calculation across Jensen’s face.Bruce Hull stood to Greg’s right. cold and economical with his presence.Jensen walked the line. He nodded. Said nothing, and let them look.The whispers underneath the applause traveled with him like a current.“He’s younger than I than I thought…”“They really skipped Gre

CHAPTER 27The CEO office looked different when it was just the two of them.Bigger, somehow. Geena moved to the window. Jensen sat on the edge of the desk, jacket off, studying the city below.It has been 24 hours already, 24 hours since he became CEO of Whitmore.“Found something on Greg.” Geena said to him.“Walk me through it.” Jensen replied.“He expected either to be named GM, or to have enough influence over whoever was named that the difference wouldn’t matter. When I got GM and you came in as CEO, he lost both assumptions simultaneously.” She crossed her arms. “What made it worse is that he thinks I’m on his side. Or was. He’s been operating under the impression that I resented being passed over, that I’d be willing to undermine you quietly to make myself indispensable.”Jensen looked at her. “Is that what he thinks, or is that what someone told him to think?”Geena’s expression shifted. “That’s a good question.”“Because if someone positioned you as his ally before I ar

Chapter 29The restaurant had no name on the door.That was the first thing Jensen noticed.“You want me inside?” Seth asked as Jensen stepped out of the car.“Close. Not beside me.”Seth nodded once and killed the engine.Brian was waiting at the door, which Jensen had expected. Brain was composed on the surface, the way he always was, but something underneath that composure had gone tight and brittle. He shook Jensen’s hand and held it a beat too long.“I need you to understand something before you go in,” Brian said, his voice very low.“The last man who requested a meeting like this, walked out with three fewer fingers and a very clear understanding of his new position in the world. The Godfather is a dangerous man, Jensen. Handle this accordingly.” Brian said to him.“Thank you for the context,” Jensen replied to him, genuinely unfazed by the warning.“Shall we?”Brian stared at him for a moment. Where did he get his guts from? Forcing a smile, he said to Jensen’s. “Follow me.