Page 122 of The Echo of Forever

“Running in here guns blazing wouldn’t do me any good. I know when to pick and choose my battles, and this one isn’t worth the trouble yet. However, it can be.”

She slid her chair closer to the desk and regarded me before asking, “How do you know Seo-Yeon won’t follow through?”

I waited a beat and then whispered, “Because I’m already married. No one can make money off my name but me and my husband.”

And if I had to guess, Demetrius would prefer I made money off him instead of the other way around. He was such a simp.

My simp.

Destiny’s mouth curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Married,” she repeated, testing the word. “That’s quite the bombshell to drop. "

She tapped her manicured nails against the desk, considering her options. I could practically see the calculations running behind her eyes.

“I’ll take care of my portion by end of day,” she finally said. “But I’m curious about something, Forever. If you’re already married, why come here at all? Why not just let this play out naturally?”

I stood and turned toward the door, only responding after pulling it open.

“Because I respect your family, and it’d be a shame to have you all swept up in what’s to come. Oh…” I tapped the door frame and glanced at her over my shoulder. “What’s up with the monthly spa appointments that recently turned weekly? Anything I should know?”

I watched her face for any sign of recognition, that telltale flicker of panic that confirmed my suspicions. Her mask slipped for a fraction of a second before she recovered.

“Taking care of myself isn’t a crime,” Destiny replied coolly. “Unless you’re suggesting something else?”

“Just making conversation.” I smiled broadly. “Interesting that you took it as an accusation, though.”

I left without waiting for her response, feeling her eyes burning into my back until they couldn’t anymore. That little seed of doubt would be enough to keep her off-balance until somebody made a mistake and revealed the truth.

Either way, I meant what I said about not wanting to personally involve her family, but it was clear they were already in the mix.

Something about my wife sneaking out on me again doesn’t feel right.

I smiled at Demetrius’ text as I slid into my car.

I’ll be in your arms at the end of the night.

Don’t make me come looking for you.

Instead of replying, I locked the phone away in the glove box, went home to change, and headed for the office to meet with Carmen.

“You good?” she asked, looking me over as I stepped off the elevator, having been waiting there for me.

“You know me,” I said, entering my office to find she’d already lit the vanilla candle on my desk.

The usual ache in my head had dulled a little after taking the ibuprofen, but I knew there was more to be done before they regulated completely.

“Eliel put in a request to come before the trustees. For now, it’s still pending, but someone leaked the news, and word is spreading fast amongst the newbies. I think now’s the perfect time to pay them a visit.”

I nodded and looked down at my fit, sighing at how inconvenient the chocolate brown pant suit and six-inch nude pumps had become.

“We can pop in now…” I sat down and pulled my heels off, replacing them with the Sambas I kept beneath my desk. “Any urgent contracts in the queue?”

She set two files down in front of me, and I slid my chair closer to read over them.

“They move fast,” I murmured, handing Aurelia’s file to Carmen. “Hold on to that one for me. As for this one…” I quickly read over the details and stood. “Let’s put it up for grabs with the new recruits.”

We set off to the basement level, where one of our five training facilities was housed. There were three layers of security in place to gain access, and only Carmen and I could move about freely with our weapons.

“Ms. James. Ms. Greene,” the head of security greeted, buzzing us through. “They’re in the main gym.”