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The streets of New York looked vaguely foreign by time I’d returned, but that of course was on me. I’d been away for far too long. Even worse I’d been cheating on Manhattan with a whole different city, and the odd way the streets stared back at me it was almost as if it somehowknew.

“Boss!”

Aric hadn’t seen me in so long he rushed into my office with what promised to be a crushing bear-hug. As I turned sideways however, he caught my profile and stopped dead.

“Oh my God…”

His jaw dropped. He whipped off his glasses.

“You’rehuge!”

“I prefer the term well-rounded,” I smirked, not really caring what my assistant called me. “But yes. I’m definitely getting up there.”

My baby bump was a full-fledged hill now, and would likely be a mountain soon. Which is why I didn’t have any time to waste.

“Aric, what do you think about this office? Do you like it?”

By the look on his face, it was the last thing he expected me to ask him.

“Sure, boss,” he replied, glancing around at the four glass walls. “It’s got a great view.”

“Good. It’s yours, then.”

His expression was mild amusement. “Mine?”

“I’m giving it to you.”

A crease formed on Aric’s brow, right below his perfectly dark Clark Kent hairstyle. All he needed was that little errant lock hanging down to complete the picture.

“And where are you going to—”

“I’m not,” I cut in. “I’ll be gone.”

The crease turned into several angry lines.“Gone?”

“Yes, I’m heading out,” I confirmed. “Not coming back. And Aric… I’m leaving this whole place to you.”

He looked stunned. Frightened. Pissed.

“You’requitting!?”he practically shouted. “Just giving up?”

“No, I—”

“Selling out to Skyline?” he demanded angrily. “Please tell me you’re not going to let those asshats win? After all the stuff we went through, after all the things you said—”

“Aric, I’m not,” I assured him. “Shameless Marketing’s not going anywhere. In fact, we’ll be stronger than ever. Especially with our new Southwest office.”

My last words were greeted by a long span of stunned silence. He didn’t understand.

“You’re taking over New York,” I told him. “And I’m opening an all new branch in Phoenix. There’ll be more reach, more coverage. More contacts. More everything.”

His expression still hadn’t changed. He looked like a man who’d been struck by lightning, but it still hadn’t registered yet.

“But more than that, I’m making you a partner. Fifty-fifty. Equal votes when it comes to everything. We can work out the details and the money and the legalese, but this place will be yours now. You can shape and mold it into something all your own.”

My assistant wasn’t just stunned, he was overwhelmed. And on top of that, he was in tears now.

“W—Why would you do this for me?”