prologue
Jaclyn
“What the hell was I thinking?” I murmur for the fifty-millionth time as I unlock the door to the apartment I share with my bestie. As I walk in, I groan under my breath. I’m supposed to be at my desk reviewing the contracts Snyder dumped on my desk last night. But where am I? Home. Why? Because I just had to send that damn email. Fuck my life.
Cheri yells from the other room, even though I was quiet as I came in, hoping to avoid this conversation for a while. “Jac, why are you home already? What happened?” I swear the woman could hear a mouse fart a mile away. God help her kids; they won’t get away with shit.
She comes around the corner from the kitchen as I kick off my black pumps and leave them on the mat, then set my purse on the table.
“Are you all right?” Cheri asks when I don’t answer right away. She changed out of her footie PJs after I left for work. Now she’s wearing lavender leggings and a violet T-shirt that says Are you Daddy Material? Her dark brown hair is in a messy bun, and she’s got a pen stuck through it. “Hey, what the fuck, girl? Did you get struck mute? It can’t be that bad.”
“No,” I reply with a deep sigh. “I’m okay. Yes. No. Maybe? Fuck. I don’t know. I should never have sent that email,” I mutter, but she still hears me, because of course she does.
“What email? Did you get fired? What the freaking hell is going on? You need to explain.” Her eyebrows draw together with concern. She closes the distance between us and pulls me into a tight hug.
Since the day we met, hugging has been our thing. We’re sad—we hug it out. We fight—we hug it out. We have something to celebrate? Yup, we hug it out. I didn’t realize how much I needed this right now until she squeezes me so hard, I’m waiting for my eyes to bug out of my head. It’s hard to believe we’ve known each other for eight years, but then again, it feels like forever.
I hug her back with equal intensity. For a few seconds, the stress churning in my stomach quiets. At least until she steps back and stares at me. Besides having Guinness World Record hearing, she’s also the most intuitive person I’ve ever met.
“You look like you lost your best friend, but I’m standing right here. Never going anywhere, remember? C’mon, let’s get some coffee and you can explain.”
She drags me into the kitchen and over to her pride and joy. I swear the gleaming silver espresso machine she bought with her first royalty check is her most prized possession. Every time she travels, she kisses it goodbye with tears in her eyes. She measures out the coffee and adds it to the filter thingy. I couldn’t use the machine if my life depended on it. You’d think after all these years I’d have figured it out, but nope, instead I have my trusty Keurig.
Cheri works her magic, then turns to give me the hairy eyeball as I sit at the island. She leans against the counter and crosses her arms over her chest. “You’ve stalled long enough. Start talking,” she demands with a raised perfectly sculpted eyebrow. Have I said this woman is gorgeous inside and out? She is the perfect depiction of a mafia princess from one of our romance books—without the mafia. I think.
“Remember last week when we were talking about a weird thing I found at work?”
“Yup. The little you said anyway. When I tried to pry more info out of you, you wouldn’t elaborate, as usual.”
“NDA, remember? I can’t discuss any contract stuff with anyone outside the company. And only those who need to know inside it. I still can’t tell you any details, but let’s just go with ‘something was way off’.” Even thinking about it makes me groan. How was I so stupid? I should have just left it alone. I’m the newest staff member in the JNG Contract Law department. This is my first job out of law school. At least one other attorney had already reviewed the contract. Why was I the only one to question it?
“I get it. Still doesn’t explain why you’re here. Or why you look like you swallowed broken glass. Did you even make it into the office?”
“Yeah, but not for long. I was going through my emails and sipping my coffee before the staff meeting when Ronald Snyder knocked on my office door.”
“He’s your boss, right? The lead contract attorney?”
“Yup. Remember how I told you he gets that tic in his jaw when he’s pissed off about something?”
Cheri nods.
“Well, this time, both sides were doing the tic thing. I figured I was toast for something I’d done. That he was there to tell me to pack up my desk and get the hell out. The only saving grace—no security guards to escort me out of the building. But I think this might be worse.”
“Worse than losing your dream job? How is that even possible? I mean, unless you’re getting arrested. You’re not, are you?”
“No, but he said that my presence has been requested at the Gallant Mountain compound.”
Cheri’s eyes widen with surprise, her lips part, and she exclaims, “Gallant Mountain! Where those gorgeous mountain-man brothers live?”
“Oh yeah, that very one. But these guys are my bosses. And from the office gossip I’ve picked up over the last few months, no one—and I mean no one—is ever invited there.”
“Then why are they demanding your presence?”
“Good question. I’ve been asking myself that since I found out. But I’d bet my last paycheck, because I’m sure that’s what it’ll be, that it’s because of an email. When I found the discrepancy, I wrote to Andrew Gallant.” As I say the words, I cringe and bite the inside of my cheek.
“Why on Earth would you do that? Isn’t he the CEO?”
“Yup. But he’s also the one who signed the contract. I haven’t worked with my coworkers long enough to know who I can trust yet. And Snyder gives me the creeps with the way he looks at me. I can’t tell whether he’s just waiting for me to fuck up or wants to get in my pants. They treat me like a pariah—like I’m worthless since I’m the only one who didn’t go to an Ivy League school.”
