The sunlight was perfect.
M stared nkly at the white curtains billowing on the balcony, rocking gently in her chair, her gaze unfocused and lost.
She felt oddly grateful.
During the call just now, Conrad hadn''t tried to use Felicity as leverage against her-not that it would''ve worked anymore. She was done being swayed. Still, if he''d brought Felicity up in this moment, the only scrap of good memory she still had of the Montgomery family would have shatteredpletely.
That memory belonged to her and Felicity alone.
She was d Conrad hadn''t mentioned it.
d she could keep that one, untarnished piece of the past.
She was still lost in thought when the sound of the sliding ss door behind her broke the quiet. Before she could turn around, something cold and damp pressed against her sun-warmed cheek. She yelped-"Oh, that''s freezing!"—and jerked away, only to look up and see Forrest grinning as he stepped inside.
He was holding a tall ss of pink juice, brimming with chunks of fruit.
"Freshly made peach lemonade. Want to try it?"
He gave the ss a gentle shake, ice cubes clinking. M, still curled up awkwardly in the rocking chair, leaned forward and took a sip from the straw he offered.
Sweet and tart, bright and refreshing.
The chill trickled down her throat, soothing the ache that had been burning there all morning.
She took another long sip. "This is amazing. Maybe a little too cold."
"A little bit won''t hurt."
Forrest casually pulled over a chair and sat beside her. His hand was steady, holding the ss as he watched her drink, a smile ying on his lips. "I''vee up with a few more recipes. I''ll make them for you to try, one by one."
M nodded, still sipping. "This one''s really good."
After another few gulps, a thought suddenly struck her. She looked up, puzzled. "How do you even have time to make juice? My phone''s been ringing off the hook for hours. Don''t you have calls to answer?"
It didn''t make sense.
"Oh, my phone?" Forrest lifted his chin, thinking for a moment, then shrugged. "No idea. I gave it to Vance he can handle the negotiations. I''ll just keep in touch with a few close contacts myself."
M stared at him.
Why hadn''t she thought of that?
Without another word, she set her juice aside and quickly called Cara, telling her toe take her business phone. One private number was all she needed to stay in touch.
She didn''t have a housekeeper, but she did have a secretary.
She really had let herself get flustered.
"Dummy," Forrest teased, chuckling.
"I was just overwhelmed, okay?"
M bristled, only half-joking, and reached out to swat at him from her rocking chair. Before she couldnd a blow, Forrest caught her wrist instead, pulling her gently closer until their foreheads touched. His softughter was warm against her skin, his voice low and intimate.
"Careful, you''ll spill the juice."
The ice in the ss rattled, and for a second it sounded unbelievably loud, echoing somewhere deep inside her.
With their foreheads pressed
together, M could see every detail of Forrest''s face behind his
sses the sharp lines of his brow, the amusement in his eyes, and her own dazed expression reflected
back at her, along with the gentle rise and fall of his breathing.
She could smell the sweet tang of peaches in the air between them.
The curtains fluttered. M stayed perfectly still, dazed by the moment, until a shrill ring shattered the peach-scented quiet.
It was Cara calling back.
"Yes?" M answered, pushing herself upright in the chair, gesturing to Forrest that she was heading to the study.
Forrest just smiled and followed with the juice in hand.
Inside, M settled behind her desk, phone tucked to her ear, typing rapidly on herptop as she sorted through documents Cara was forwarding from headquarters.
"Got it. I''ll take a look," she said, ending the call.
Forrest came over and set her drink on the desk, not bothering to look at theputer. "Something wrong?"
M shook her head. "Nothing too
?
serious. It''s just, I told you I wanted to cut ties with the Montgomery family, but technically I''m still a board member at Montgomery Holdings. I''ve stepped back from day-to-day stuff, but there''s a lot I used to handle-it''s not that simple to just walk away."
She clicked through the files, scanning each one.
When she opened a particr document, her brow furrowed. "Most of this is fine
-I can hand over a lot of it to Chairman Montgomery. But this one..."
"Trouble?" Forrest asked.
"Yeah."
She looked up at him. "You
remember that Al automation
research project Giselle Harvey is running? It''s only just started. I. wanted to keep a close eye on it, figure out what she was really up to
before dealing with her and the Harvey family. But if I step down
now, I can''t monitor the project anymore. That could be a problem."
"Silly girl."
M blinked. "What?"
Forrest leaned over, resting a hand on the edge of her desk and smiling. "What are you worried about? Did you forget? That project''s tech team is my people— I''ve got someone keeping tabs on the real progress. I even have thetest raw data. Want to see?"
"Yes!"
He grabbed his ownptop, logged in, and pulled up the file for her.
M skimmed it, her expression turning incredulous.
"Unbelievable. All the progress reports Giselle''s been sending to headquarters are doctored the real pace is way ahead of schedule. She''s been using Montgomery Holdings'' research funds and scamming headquarters at the same time?"
Impressive, in a way.
Forrest just smiled, unsurprised. "She''s got ambition, I''ll give her that. You can see
for yourself—she''s technically researching Al automation, but the real focus isn''t what she''s telling the board. She wouldn''t dare report the truth.”
M nodded.
She''d read every report, and the actual research never quite matched what
Giselle imed.
The raw data was fascinating.
"Is she... insane?"
After a long moment, that was all M could say.