Back when Noreen was Seth’s assistant, she had asionally been lucky enough to attend these business dinners.


    But she’d never been important enough to sit at the table. Most of the time, her job was to stand by Seth’s side and turn down drinks for him.


    When there wasn’t any drinking to do, she’d simply wait outside the door.


    After all, these gatherings of power yers were always about business secrets that regr people could only dream of hearing.


    Yet now, Seth was bringing Bianca along openly, personally introducing her to hiswork, paving the way for her and handing her opportunities on a silver tter.


    Noreen couldn’t help but wonder: Just how much did Seth love Bianca, to go to such lengths for her?


    CEO Joyner seemed interested in Noreen’s project, but he was, at heart, a businessman–profit was always his bottom line.


    He closed the proposal and got right to the point, skipping the pleasantries.


    “I’ll be honest, I think your project has real potential. But as you know, the economy’s been rough these past couple of years, and the investmentndscape is full of risks. Most people are choosing to stick together for safety, pooling resources to minimize exposure. You know what I mean, don’t you?”


    “I understand.”


    “So,” CEO Joyner continued, “have you thought about showing this proposal to Mr. Harcourt?”


    “If Mr. Harcourt’s in, I’ll be happy toe onboard as well.”


    He spoke earnestly. “Miss Gilmore, you know as well as I do: it’s always easier to weather the storm when you’ve got someone powerful behind


    20:22


    you. Frankly, I’m leaning toward Director Lowell’s project–she has Mr. Harcourt’s support, after all.”


    But Noreen? She stood alone, with no one backing her.


    Who would be willing to take a chance on her?


    When Noreen stepped out of Evergain Capital, she was surprised to find it


    had started to rain.


    Not a downpour, but cold enough to chill her to the bone.


    Winters in Rivercrest were always like this–a little rain, and suddenly the damp cold crept right into your bones.


    Her phone buzzed with a message from ire: It was snowing in Brenton, the first snowfall of the year. ire wanted to know if Noreen wanted toe and see it with her.


    Both of them had grown up in Rivercrest, where snow was rare, and so they’d always had a special fondness for it.


    Noreen was tempted.


    But in the end, she replied, “Next time, honey. I’ve got a project that isn’t finalized yet, and I wouldn’t be able to rx if I left now.”


    ire, exasperated by her workaholic friend, could only sigh and remind her, “Don’t push yourself too hard. Take care of yourself, okay?”


    “I know.”


    “It’s not enough to know, you actually have to do it.”


    That little bit of care from a friend was enough to chase away the chill that came with the rain.


    Just as Noreen was about to leave Evergain Capital, her phone


    rang–Mina was calling.


    “Noreen! My brother’s sick–can youe to the hospital? He refuses to


    20.33


    stay overnight, and I can’t talk any sense into him!”


    Noreen hailed a cab immediately and rushed to the hospital. When she found Carman, he was arguing with the doctor, insisting he couldn’t be admitted because he still had too much work to do.


    The doctor, stern–faced, scolded him. “You’re still thinking about work in this condition? Are you trying to kill yourself? Look at these test results–your ALT levels are almost three hundred! Normal is up to forty!” Mina spotted Noreen and, as if seeing her savior, called out in a panic, “Noreen! Please, talk some sense into my brother!”


    “What’s going on?” Noreen asked, frowning.


    “It’s nothing serious-” Carman began.


    But Mina cut him off, determined to expose the truth.


    “Nothing serious? He’s been throwing up and passing out at the office! If his assistant hadn’t forgotten something ande back to find him, who knows what would’ve happened?”


    Fuming, she didn’t stop there,pletely ignoring Carman’s warning re.


    “Go ahead and re at me, I’m still going to say it! Noreen, you have to do something–he doesn’t care about his own health at all! He’s doing the work of ten people, basically living at the office–his assistant says he hasn’t been home in a week! Eating, sleeping, everything–he does it all at work! It’s like he’s trying to work himself into the grave!”


    <b>3/3 </b>