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PROLOGUE

JETT

Mayfield Realties was situated on the sixtieth floor of Tru business district of New York City A little after eight a the busy street below The people and yellow taxis looked like ants in constant motion: always hurried, always tense Like the city, Jett had once been abuzz with life—or his former interpretation of it: live hard, work even harder Until heabout Brooke Stewart that had changed so inside him It wasn’t her beautiful chestnut eyes, nor the way she moved—confident and yet reserved She had talked to hiht untouchable His initial intention had been different though His agenda had been to h actions and sex, lots of the latter, because he had wanted so she had Not for himself, but for theBut events took a couple of turns he didn’t expect

When the plan backfired, she disappeared

A shadow belonging to the past: gone but not forgotten

For the past hour he had been staring at the cell phone, leaving hiled mess of fury and frustration And er

How stupid of her to go and not listen to him

How stupid of her to turn off her phone so he couldn’t reach her And no es he texted, Jett knew instinctively none reached her because if they had, she would feel his agony She would feel just how important it was that she listen to what he had to say It wasn’t about his feelings Fuck the that had rendered hiht, alorried for her, for the he believed in And if his suspicions were true, then they needed each other just as much as they needed air to breathe

“Mr Mayfield—Jett?” E hihts He rewarded her with a frown It wasn’t like hiirl was a receptionist temporarily promoted as his personal assistant until he could find someone more suitable As such, she wasn’t yet accusto him when he didn’t want to be bothered

Wide-eyed like a deer caught in the headlights, she ain, leaving hihts and the unusual soreness in his chest He sighed impatiently “What is it?”

Eain, but her wide eyes continued to mirror her insecurity Jett liked his eht he was a real son-of-a-bitch, they worked harder in order to please him

“Someone’s here to see you I told hie an appointo away He’s been here for half an hour” Eht was so here to see him when he was indisposed

“Tell him I’m not available”

“He said it’s important”

They all did “Then tell him you came to see me and I specifically told you I’m not available”

Emma’s eyes widened just a little bit lance swept over him in fear Obviously she wanted to keep her job, but the visitor seehten her evenJett He had two options: send the girl back out and risk her co about Brooke, or deal with the visitor In the end, he decided option tas a tad

“Show him in”

Emma’s expression relaxed instantly and she al, Jett sat back in his chair and began tobehind them If he knehere Brooke was he wouldn’t have to deal with this crap, and everything and everyone else could just go screw thes stood, he had to s blew completely out of proportion

“Jett,from the door jerked Jett back to reality His attention snapped to his life-long friend, and so hie any dress code and looked like he was about to step into a bar—or jail—rather than into the office of the realty business’s hotshot of the year Ripped jeans, short sleeved black tee, tattooed upper arain, that had been Jett’s style, , for many years before he traded Kenny’s wild lifestyle for his father’s business He still had the tattoos and the almost faded scars to prove it

Jett closed the door, briefly registering the curious glances fro at both him and Kenny They probably wondered what ain one of thewith no other than the CEO His employees didn’t know the true Jett No one did If they did, they’d run But not Brooke She had sensed his dark side and fallen in love with him nonetheless

“You said you wanted to talk and it was urgent,” Kenny began as soon as Jett had closed the shutters, leaving the eyes

“I never said here”

Kenny shrugged and slus up on the polished oak desk, expertly ignoring the brown leather couches set up near the door, chosen for such an occasion Jett’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t comment “I assu,” Kenny said “You should’ve specified a place Notincautious, bro”

Fuck it He was right, of course, but the knowledge didn’t stop Jett frolasses of double malt whiskey from the carafe on the coffee table and pushed one toward Kenny

“It’s barely lass with reerness

“Who the fk cares?”

“Point taken”

The whiskey tasted like expensive honey A bit too sweet, with smoky and earthy undertones He hated it, but it was the beverage that went down best with his clients and as such he always had a bottle available in his office In his five years working for Mayfield Realties he had never touched it—until today

“I need you to find so a shit job, and you’re the only person I trust,” Jett said, barely noticing his friend’s half full glass