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“I don’t know you and I’m not about to engage in questionable behavior.”

The woman’s lips curled in a smile worthy of the chill that slithered along Kate’s spine. She fought back the panic, warning bells screeching in her head.

“Rest assured, Katherine. We are two women with much in common. Two women who have had something dear to us mercilessly stolen. Something that belongs to us.” One of hergolden brows lifted as she leaned forward, each inch a calculated move meant to impress her power, her thrall. “Someone. Shall I indulge you? Mayhap you’ll find my offer appealing and sincere.”

“Who are you?”

The stranger tsked, wagging her finger one way, then the other before she folded said finger into her palm. The woman demanded her attention, compelled her to relax, like she floated on water.

“Someone was stolen from you by a woman whose path you’ve yet to cross, but that time will come. Soon.” The woman reclined back in the chair, crossing her legs. Unlike most clients who came into the office, this one exuded confidence, right down to her very poised, very relaxed demeanor. She had complete and utter control of herself. “The same woman stole someone from me. What would you be willing to barter if I could promise you’d get your man back in the end? To save yourself this heartache and shame, this…abandonment from being cast aside for another woman?”

That sparked her interest.

After all, Brycewashers. He belonged to her, andonlyher.

“What’re you offering?” Kate asked, lowering her voice to a hushed whisper.

“Simple, really. You want your man back. I want the woman he beds to suffer for her deceit. I wantmyman back.” In a half-breath, the woman’s expression turned ice-cold. Her eyes glowed. Really glowed! Kate could do nothing but stare. Nothing but relish the possibility of getting Bryce back, whatever the cost. “You have no idea how deep pain cuts, Katherine. None. This suffering you’re experiencing barely scrapes the surface of what I’ve endured.”

“How do you know what I’ve experienced?” she groused.

“Wait. Just wait.” With a dramatic sigh, the woman rose to her feet effortlessly, smoothing down her skirt before adjusting her cashmere scarf. “I bid you farewell with these parting words. Should you wish to take my offer seriously, meet me tomorrow eve. Otherwise, enjoy your time wallowing in self-despair and hatred while you watch the man whose arm you belong on escort another in your stead. Watch as the heart of the man who belongs to you races in the presence of another woman. Wonder over how he spends his eves, no longer in your arms, but in those of the woman who stole him from under you.” She shrugged casually. “’Tis your choice to wallow, or to do something tofixthe problem.”

Kate clenched the edge of her desk as the woman had the audacity to saunter away, taking her leave on the very notes that stoked a wild storm of emotions inside her mind. There was nothing good that would come of forming an alliance with this woman. Her gut assured her it would be a mistake.

Bryce made the mistake of breaking up with me. For another fucking woman. I’ll be the laughingstock of this damn county once the truth gets out.

As the woman twisted the doorknob, she paused, shoulders back in a regal stance.

“I will deliver on my offer, Katherine. Ineverfail.”

The woman slipped out of the office before Kate could stop her. She stared at the closed door, alone once more, her thoughts jumbled except for one thing.

She could get Bryce back.

Bryce would be hers again.

She wouldn’t be a shameful smear on her parents’ reputation. When the time came, the entire law firm would be handed to her, and her alone. She’d have her prestige, her social standing,herreputation intact.

Life as she always dreamed it would be within reach once more.

She shot to her feet and rounded the desk, catching her thigh painfully on the edge. She’d barely reached the door when it opened without warning. Her mother, brows shooting up, stepped into her office.

“You’re not leaving, Katherine. Are you?”

“N-no. I was just…getting fresh coffee.” She forced a smile. “I didn’t sleep well, after all.”

Her mother looked her over skeptically, then nodded. “Very well. I’ll come back in a few minutes to go over some details of the Martsen case.”

Kate put on her most confident expression as her mother walked back toward her own office. Kate looked up and down the hallway, but came up empty. No blond woman anywhere. She headed to the lobby and tapped the counter where the receptionist sat. The young woman stumbled over herself, dropping her phone as she stood up, cheeks deep red.

“Ms. Felton. I-I didn’t hear you—”

“Did a blond woman just leave here?”

The receptionist’s brows furrowed. She pressed her lips together before shaking her head. “No. We haven’t had any clients come in yet. First appointment is ten o’clock.”

Kate hurried to the front door and burst out of the building. She did a quick count of the cars, all parked in designated spots, as they were every morning. Nothing different. Nothing unusual. No cars leaving the parking lot.