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Nina lowers her head, opens the door, and holds it with her foot while she picks up her bags. On the threshold, she pauses and looks back at us.

“Merry Christmas.” Her eyes are full of tears. Then she turns and lets the door swing shut behind her.

The three of us don’t move.

Three of the richest, most powerful men in the country, and it doesn’t do a damn bit of good when it comes to making her stay.

“What do we do now?” Jarek finally asks.

I can hear the heartbreak in his voice. I can feel it in my own chest.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Pascal says.

He walks into the study, and I think I catch him wiping his eye with the back of his hand. A second later, I hear the bourbon decanter open.

“Maybe he’s figuring out how to get her back,” Jarek says.

He’s a professional actor, and he can’t even fake a smile.

I spend the rest of the day holed up in my room, staring at my phone and half-answering investor emails. By sundown, I’m pacing, spinning on my heel every time I hit a wall.

There has to be something I can do. Or maybe I’ve done enough, since punching her ex clearly didn’t help.

I’m about to throw a book at the wall when my phone rings. I grab it, hoping it’s Nina.

It’s not. It’s one of my attorneys.

“This had better be good,” I growl. “I’m not in the mood for bad news.”

“I can tell. I guess it depends on whether you find what I’ve got useful.”

My lawyers are working on exactly two things right now. The first is shoring up my company’s liability protections, since the gossip has given some investors cold feet. The second is Nina’s dirtbag of an ex.

I stop pacing. “Go on.”

“I’ve got more information on Reid Smythe.”

“Is it something I can use?”

“Depends on what you want to use it for.” There’s a hint of sarcasm in his voice, and it gives me hope. “Turns out Reid has a few secrets of his own.”

“Send me everything.”

This could fix all of it. It could give Nina a reason to come back. If I can shut that guy up for good, every loose end goes away.

I stay on the line while he sends the files. Some of them are videos.

“Want me to walk you through it, or would you rather enjoy it yourself?”

I let out a short laugh. It must be good if he’s willing to joke with me after I told him I wasn’t in the mood. And it helps. For the first time all day, I have something I can actually do.

“I’ll look these over and let you know if I need anything else. And thank you. Your timing couldn’t be better.”

“Great! So I should expect a raise?”

My attorneys rarely have a sense of humor, and they never ask for money. Whatever he found must be good.

“Tell you what,” I say. “If these files do what I think they’ll do, you’ll get a raise and first-class tickets for you and your wife to anywhere in the world.”