Whenever Juniper took a nap, she would always wake up to find him at the desk in the room, handling his work. But today, the room was empty. He was gone.


    Juniper frowned, picking up her phone and seeing the mountain of messages from Lue. Already in a sour mood, the endless scroll of texts and minute-long voice notes only made it worse. She promptly changed Lue''s contact name to "The Reaper."


    Juniper: [You pick the ce.]


    Fine, she''d let them meet. Otherwise, the nagging would never end.


    Juniper: [But you behave yourself.]


    Lue: [Already behaved. Have mercy.]


    Soon after, Juniper received a text from Lue with the location: a restaurant in a five-star hotel. She happened to love the food there. She saved the address and confirmed the time.


    Then, she slipped on a jacket and headed downstairs. The kitchen was empty. The living room was empty. The entire house felt deserted.


    "Ms. Payne, you''re awake," Dana said, returning from grocery shopping with a smile. “There was an issue at thepany, so Mr. Schwartz had to go in."


    "Oh."


    Any lingering hope of finding him in the living room vanished. Juniper copsed onto the sofa like a boneless rag doll. The meeting with Lue was at six, less than an


    hour away.


    Unable to find him, she opened her phone. Shanley''s name was pinned at the top of her chat list. He left for the office without telling her? Not even a text? He''d been acting so strangelytely, getting angry over nothing. Why were men so hard to figure out?


    Remembering how much money Lue had scammed out of him, Juniper felt a pang of guilt and sent him a simple message: [1]


    At that moment, Shanley was sitting in his office, his head in his hands, radiating an icy aura. Outside his door, the executives shivered, none of them daring to go in and face his wrath.


    A notification chimed. Shanley opened his phone and saw the message from her: [1].


    It was adorable.


    Shanley''s lips twitched into a faint smile. He replied: [You''re awake. I''ll be back as soon as I''m done with work.]


    Juniper: [Is it that busy?]


    From what she knew of him,


    working on a weekend meant it was a real emergency. Maybe she should reschedule the meeting? But she had already told Jimmie and Melvin, who were probably on their way to the hotel.


    Juniper thought for a moment, then typed: [I have a get-together this afternoon. Want toe with me? I''ll introduce you to a friend.]


    Shanley''s hand froze. A friend? What friends did Juniper have that he didn''t know about? It couldn''t be... Lue, could it?


    The memory of Lue''s messages shed in his mind, and his fingers tightened on his phone, his eyes turning a frightening shade of red. Was this it? Was Juniper going toy her cards on the table?


    Shanley: [Send me the address.]


    No matter who it was, he had to see for himself. And if it really was Lue...


    Shanley pinched the bridge of his nose. A heavy weight settled on his chest, making it hard to breathe.


    "Felton."


    "Yes, boss?” Felton and Flint pushed the door open together, their words catching in their throats. "What... what can we do for you?"


    They had never seen him look so terrifying.


    "Juniper is taking me to meet


    someone," Shanley said, rising from his chair and striding toward the door, his expression grim Have the department store prepare a few outfits. I''m on my way to try them now."


    on


    Who was their boss going to meet that required such a formal preparation? The two exchanged a look and sudden, dreadful understanding dawned on them. It had to be Ms. Payne''s childhood sweetheart... the one she''d shared a bed with for over a decade.