The two massive security guards escorted Karmen to the third floor and shoved her into Earl's private study.
The heavy mahogany door clicked shut, the lock engaging from the outside.
Karmen stood perfectly still, her eyes rapidly scanning the room. The study was a fortress of dark wood, lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. In the center sat a massive, imposing desk.
She checked the corners of the ceiling. No visible cameras.
She walked quickly to the desk. Sitting on the polished wood was a high-end, custom-built workstation. The screen was black, currently in sleep mode.
This was it. The access point she needed.
Karmen reached into her pocket and pulled out the micro-USB drive. Her thumb traced the cold metal casing.
She stepped behind the desk, her eyes locked on the USB port on the side of the monitor. She reached out, her hand steady.
Just as the metal tip of the drive brushed the plastic port, heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
Karmen's heart leaped into her throat. She snatched her hand back, burying the USB drive deep in her pocket.
She sprinted silently across the thick rug and threw herself onto the large leather sofa in the corner of the room.
The footsteps didn't stop at the study door. They continued past it, entering the adjacent room. A moment later, Earl's muffled, commanding voice bled through the wall. He was starting a transatlantic video conference.
He was deliberately making her wait. A psychological power play to break her down.
Karmen let out a long, shaky exhale. She pulled the manila folder containing the M&A Rider from her jacket and tossed it onto the glass coffee table.
She leaned back against the leather cushions. The study was perfectly climate-controlled, a comfortable 72 degrees. The faint, expensive scent of cedarwood and old paper hung in the air.
The adrenaline that had kept her upright for the past hour rapidly evaporated, leaving behind a crushing, physical void.
She had slept less than four hours over the past three days, spending every waking moment trying to track her brother's location in Switzerland and reverse-engineering the Aegis code.
Her eyelids felt like they were lined with lead.
She pinched her thigh, trying to force the pain to keep her awake. But the plush leather, the quiet hum of the air conditioning, and the sheer exhaustion of her body were too powerful.
She grabbed a soft cashmere throw blanket draped over the back of the sofa. She pulled it over her chest, curling her legs up.
The blistering rash beneath her silicone scar continued to bite into her flesh like a swarm of angry wasps, a sharp and constant agony. She gritted her teeth against the throbbing heat. Just five minutes, she told herself, pressing the undamaged side of her face into the cushion. The pain was relentless, but the crushing, physical exhaustion of her body ultimately overpowered her raw nerves.
Her breathing slowed. The tension melted from her shoulders, and she slipped into a deep, unconscious sleep.
Two hours later, the door to the study violently swung open.
Earl strode into the room, his jaw tight with irritation. He fully expected to see "Kem" pacing the floor, sweating, ready to beg him to sign the contract.
Instead, the room was completely silent.
Earl stopped in his tracks. He looked at the sofa.
Karmen was fast asleep. She was curled into a tight ball, wrapped in his personal cashmere blanket. One of her leather shoes was dangling carelessly off the armrest.
Her face was relaxed, the fake scar pressed into the pillow. She looked entirely defenseless, breathing in a slow, rhythmic cadence.
A surge of profound, baffling fury hit Earl.
He had just spent two hours systematically ignoring this parasite to assert dominance, and the idiot had treated his study like a cheap hotel room. It was the ultimate display of disrespect and sheer incompetence.
Earl marched over to the coffee table. He grabbed the thick manila folder containing the M&A Rider.
He lifted it high and slammed it down onto the solid wood desk with all his strength.
BANG.
The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.
Karmen violently jerked awake. She bolted upright on the sofa, her eyes wide with panic, her chest heaving.
She blinked rapidly, trying to orient herself. She wiped a line of drool from the corner of her mouth, looking up to see Earl standing over her, his face a mask of absolute fury.
Karmen instantly remembered where she was. She forced her muscles to relax, sliding back into the lazy posture of the playboy.
She let out a loud, exaggerated yawn, stretching her arms.
"Finally," Karmen drawled through the modulator. "You take forever to finish a meeting, Calderon. I was having a great dream."
Earl pointed a rigid finger at the door. His voice was so cold it could freeze water.
"Get out."
