The mellow burn spreading through Blaine's limbs raised his tolerance for such necessary unpleasantness a few degrees at least. Let Brady play elastic with any ethical boundaries tonight. He was only here to look receptive and lend the encounter a veneer of legitimacy anyway. And perhaps supply theOdd timely scrupulous protest to make their ultimately damning revelations seem more organically fed and hard won. Yes, Brady could damn well be the unhinged attack dog blindsiding Tristan's pretty ponies tonight. Blaine would stick to subtly poisoning the trough instead. Their mark was too shrewd to confront so openly without inciting suspicion anyway.Before his scattered thoughts could chase themselves in any more useless circles, footsteps echoing down the hallway heralded the arrival of a liveried house servant. Blaine's heart rate instantly redlined. Time to set the stage then."Sirs, your car has arrived to convey you to the Pinetech Tower for your urgent 7 PM appointment," the stuff

The amber liquid burned a fiery trail down my throat, but did nothing to warm the cold dread creeping through me. I gazed out the rain streaked window of my grandfather's study, tumbler dangling from my fingers. Somewhere out there in the darkened city, forces were aligning silently against me. I couldn't shake Alex's ominous words upon returning to the estate, his usual unflappable demeanor shaken. He had come directly from a covert meeting with the notorious gatekeeper Naomi, proxy to the shadowy titans who secretly ruled Avalon. Her message was unambiguous - the coming days would push me to my limits under trials by fire. For good or utter ruin.Behind me, grandfather brooded in his leather chair before the crackling hearth, face etched with hard lines by the dancing flames. Our empire navigated treacherous straits indeed. But still he refused to speak first, ceding the opening move to me in this newest round of appointments and power plays. The game of thrones intensified among A

Vivian storms out of the failed boardroom coup, still reeling but determined to regain control. Shemeets with her leadership team and remaining loyal department heads to stabilize operations andstem the bleeding from the PR crisis fallout. Implementing austerity measures and tapping emergency reserves keeps the company solvent fornow, but Vivian needs a bold move to secure Hayes Cosmetics' future. She sets her sights oncourting billionaire investor Russell Pine - whose recent hostile takeover of a struggling Avalontech firm grabbed headlines. Vivian pours through every scrap of information on the reclusive financier. She learns Pine has apenchant for beautiful women and enjoys mingling with Avalon's celebrity socialites when notsequestered doing shadowy deals. Vivian has her assistant book her a breathtaking designergown for the upcoming Emerald Gala event she knows he will be attending a few weeks out.She will insinuate herself into his good graces using every all