Heat moved under my skin, quiet and exact. I looked out at the pale pool because looking at anything else felt like admitting defeat.
“You should go before one of us says something irresponsible,” I said.
“Too late.”
“Nick.”
“I’ll call after the reports. After I sleep,” he added, before I could object. “Accurately.”
Then the line ended.
I stood in my kitchen with the phone still in my hand. Morning had moved fully into the house while we talked. Pale light filled the edges of the minimalist cabinets and laid itself across the countertop. Water clung to the patio stone in dark patches from the automated sprinklers. My coffee had officially surrendered.
I lowered the phone and opened the laptop.
Summer’s email waited at the top of my inbox.
Subject: Mercer Response Received
I clicked.
Nick’s formal reply filled the screen. Every sentence did exactly what he had said it would do. D.C. first. Family commitment. Possible Maris Key meeting afterward. Scope, access, timeline, conflict boundaries. A meeting to determine fit.
Professional. Restrained. Accurate.
My mouth curved before I gave it permission.
Below Summer’s message, my calendar waited. Vendor calls. Staff reviews. A security meeting with Gabriel. A finance check-in with Annie. A life already full before Nick Mercer had ever stepped into it.
I added one note to the empty block after the security review.
Mercer consultation: prepare terms.
Then, after a moment, I added another line beneath it.
Buy better coffee.
My phone buzzed before I could close the calendar.
NICK: One condition.
My thumb hovered over the screen.
ME: For the consultation?
NICK: No. For after.
ME: State your terms, Mercer.
The reply came before I could set the phone down.
NICK: Personal terms. Not professional.
NICK: Dinner first. Then I want you behind a door I’m allowed to lock.
Chapter 35
Professional Misconduct
