epting the pearls was merely a gesture to avoid making Butler Parham stand there any longer. The butler, however, took it as a sign that Gwh had forgiven Hawthorne and happily set the box down.


    Gwh nced at it before cing the box in her nightstand drawer. Everything Hawthorne had ever given her, she would one day return to him, untouched. None of it meant anything to her—the jade, the pearls, the antiques, the paintings.


    The Langford family had seen its share of rare treasures; what Gwh truly cherished nowy hidden deep within her. The most precious thing in her life was her own belly. She wondered which parent the two children would take after. Betrayal aside, Gwh had been satisfied with Hawthorne in every other way—his looks, his intellect.


    She pushed thoughts of him from her mind, took out her art supplies, and, inspired by the pleasant view outside her window, set her brush to paper. The only sound in the quiet room was the soft, rustling whisper of her brush moving across the page.


    Meanwhile, Hawthorne drove to his office, where Patti was waiting. The secretary, noticing the firmly shut door to Mr. Everhart''s office, couldn''t help but curve her lips into a slight smile. It seemed the rumors about Mr. Everhart and this Patti were true after all. No wonder the wholepany was buzzing.


    "Hawthorne"


    Patti held out her phone to him. It disyed her chat history with James-though she had conveniently deleted any of the more lurid, flirtatious messages. Hawthorne scrolled through them, confirmed the contents, and handed the phone back.


    He then produced a hard drive and ced it directly in her hand.


    "Give this to James. He''s beenpeting with The Everhart Group over a project recently, both openly and behind the scenes. Now that he has the bid prices and the proposal, along with the core details of the project, hispany is guaranteed to win the next round of bidding."


    Patti''s eyes lit up as she took it. "You''re saying you''re just going to hand the project to James? But what about The Everhart Group?" Was he really going to take a real loss just to lure James into a trap?


    "Just do as I say," Hawthorne said, offering no further exnation.


    Patti couldn''t pry any more


    information out of him and had to let it go. She came from a


    well-connected family, the daughter of a high-ranking official, and had never had to worry about a thing in her life. Yet, she excelled academically, having studied economics and finance abroad. Hawthorne would never entrust her with hispany''s true secrets.


    "Okay," Patti said. She nced at him and asked tentatively, "Should we... get lunch togetherter?"


    Fearing he might refuse, she quickly. added James has a lunch meeting, so we might run into him. Wouldn''t being seen together add to our credibility?"


    Silence followed on the other end of the line. Just when she thought the call had disconnected, she finally heard Hawthorne''s t tone. "Fine."


    Patti was thrilled to get his approval. Using James as an excuse to get closer to Hawthorne-she was confident she could win him over.


    At noon, Hawthorne prepared to leave for lunch with Patti. He picked up his phone, wanting to call Gwh, but her number was still blocked. His messages went unanswered.


    Patti, having gathered her things, saw Hawthorne staring at his phone and guessed what he was doing. Her expression soured for a moment, but she quicklyposed herself and walked over, linking her arm with his.


    "James''s secretary just told me he''s already on his way." She added in a fawning tone, "I''ve got his secretary on my side. She''ll let me know if he makes any moves."


    James gave Patti a monthly


    allowance, which made it much easier for her to get things done. After maxing out Hawthorne''s twenty-million-dor card downt eight million, she didn''t dare@se it frivolously anymore. As for the luxury goods she''d bought with his money, she had already sold thems off and deposited the cash back onto his card. She knew that if she ever truly angered Hawthorne, the threat of awsuit was very real.


    ?


    Hawthorne tried calling Gwh twice more, but the calls were immediately disconnected. His number was still cklisted.


    "You go wait in the car," Hawthorne said, pulling his arm away. Patti, though


    embarrassed, respectfully replied, "Okay." She grabbed her purse and walked away, ncing back over her shoulder every few steps to see Hawthorne still on the phone.


    Back at the vi, Butler Parham answered thendline. Hearing Hawthorne''s voice, he immediately stood up straight.