I want to throttle him. But first, I need to look like I have my life together.
I get to work, covering the evidence of my lack of sleep with makeup. When I’m done, there’s color in my cheeks, and my eyes look awake and alert instead of exhausted and furious.
My hair gets tamed with product and a flat iron until it falls in smooth waves past my shoulders. Perfectly polished, as it should be.
I pick out my charcoal gray suit, the one that fits perfectly and makes me look like I could run a Fortune 500 company. I pair it with a white blouse, crisp and unwrinkled. As I go to get my heels, I slap on my minimal jewelry—nothing but small earrings and a watch.
By the time I’m done, I look exactly like what I am: chief strategic advisor of Moonvale Pack. Competent, confident, and completely in control.
My armor is in place. The anger is still there, simmering under the surface, but no one looking at me would know it.
The drive to the office passes in a blur, but my hands are steady on the wheel, my expression calm.
I park in my usual spot at Moonvale headquarters and sit there for a moment, looking up at the building. Glass and steel rising against the morning sky. My new office is on the fourth floor with a view of the city.
This is everything I’ve worked for. I’m not going to let some nameless asshole ruin my official first day…even if that asshole is my fated mate.
I grab my bag and head inside, nodding at security as I pass. The elevator ride pushes my anger back a bit, replacing it with excitement.
I open the door to my new office, and I’m met with an ambush.
“Surprise!”
I nearly drop my bag.
Violet and Anne are standing there, and there’s a small cake on my new desk with “Congratulations, Chief Advisor!” written in purple icing. There’s also champagne. At eight in the morning.
“Oh my goodness,” I say, but I’m smiling. I can’t help it. “You two are ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously amazing,” Anne corrects, pulling me into a sweet embrace. “And you love us.”
“I really do.” I hug her back, then Violet, and the knot in my chest loosens a little.
“I know you probably got enough congratulations at the party last night, but we couldn’t wait to celebrate with you properly. Just the three of us,” Anne says.
“Uh huh.” I nod as I stare at them. “With champagne at eight o’clock in the morning.” I fold my arms over my chest, but my tone is light.
Violet pops the bottle. “It’s never too early to celebrate a major promotion. That’s basically a life rule.”
“Is it, though?” I ask, already accepting the glass she holds out to me.
“Absolutely,” Anne says, cutting into the cake. “It’s just one glass. Besides, you earned this. Youngest chief strategic advisor in Moonvale history. That’s huge, Sienna.”
It is huge. It should feel huge.
I take a sip of champagne, but the bubbles don’t taste quite as good as they did last night.
Violet is watching me with those sharp eyes that miss nothing. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” Anne says, handing me a plate with a generous slice of cake. “You look amazing in that suit, by the way. But you’ve also got that look in your eye that you get when you’re ready to murder someone. What happened?”
I set my champagne down and sink into my new desk chair. It’s leather, expensive, and adjusts in about seventeen different ways.
“Okay, sit,” I tell them. “I have news.”
They exchange a worried look before settling into the chairs on the other side of my desk. Anne leans forward, concerned. Violet sits back, arms crossed, bracing herself for whatever I’m about to say.
