Nine hours after leaving my husband, I shoved open the frosted glass doors of the top-floor executive suite. My thumb clamped down on the printed HR email, crinkling the Castellane signature block into a jagged crease.
The outer reception desk sat entirely empty. The double mahogany doors to the main office stood ajar.
I stepped over the threshold.
"Close it behind you, Quianna."
The voice hit the air before I even fully entered the room. Deep, resonant, and entirely familiar.
My hand froze on the brass doorknob.
I looked past the massive oak desk. A man stood with his back to me, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the morning city skyline.
Before I could process his presence, my gaze caught on an object leaning against the far wall.
A gray plaid umbrella with a curved wooden handle.
My pulse kicked against my throat. Three years ago, water flooded the downtown subway station. I stood shivering near the turnstiles, drenched to the bone after giving my coat to a crying toddler. A stranger walked past, pressed that exact gray plaid umbrella into my hands, and disappeared into the storm without a backward glance. The twin to that umbrella currently sat in the back of my closet.
"Are you going to stand there all morning?" he asked.
He turned around.
Tall, sharply dressed in a charcoal suit, with piercing dark eyes that locked onto mine instantly. The face matched the shadow from the subway.
"You're the man from the rain," I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
A faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched his lips. "I see your memory is as sharp as your test scores. Have a seat."
I released the doorknob, letting the heavy wood click shut. I crossed the plush carpet and took the leather chair opposite his desk.
"I am Roman Castellane," he said, taking the seat across from me. "The silent majority shareholder of this firm. As of six o'clock this morning, I am the acting CEO."
I kept my expression neutral, though my fingers gripped the armrests tightly. "HR sent an urgent summons. Usually, that means a termination package."
"If I wanted to fire you, I would have let the automated system do it," Roman replied. He picked up a thick, black file from his desk. "I called you here because I need someone who does not belong to the current executive clique."
"I am a mid-level account manager," I told him. "I handle client relations. I don't sign off on executive decisions."
Roman tossed the black file onto the space between us. It landed with a heavy thud.
"You handle client relations on paper," he corrected, leaning forward. He steepled his fingers. "But for the last six years, you spent your weekends passing the CPA exams. You quietly acquired your Mergers and Acquisitions legal certifications. You hold more financial qualifications than the head of our accounting department."
My stomach tightened. I had hidden those night classes from everyone. I studied in the laundry room while Andre slept, desperate to build a safety net.
"How did you get access to my private academic records?" I demanded.
"I own the company, Quianna. I own the servers you used to submit your credential updates to the state board," Roman stated flatly. "You are vastly overqualified for your current desk."
"I needed the steady paycheck," I shot back.
The truth tasted bitter. Six years ago, Andre lost his junior analyst job. I drained my personal savings, transferring exactly fifty-two thousand dollars to cover his gambling debts, our mortgage, and his expensive tastes while he searched for a new position. My current bank balance sat at a pathetic four thousand dollars.
And now, Andre was the golden boy of the newly merged acquisitions department. Renata, the senior VP, had fast-tracked his promotion last month.
Roman watched my face closely. He did not offer pity.
"I am restructuring the entire acquisitions division," Roman said, his tone turning sharp. "There is rot in the foundation. Millions of dollars are bleeding out through inflated vendor contracts and shell corporations. The board wants a quiet internal audit before the feds catch wind of it."
"You want an auditor," I said. "Hire an outside firm."
"An outside firm tips off the thieves," Roman countered. "They will shred the evidence before the ink dries on the contract. I need an insider. Someone the current executives ignore. Someone absolutely clean."
I let out a short, dry laugh. "They ignore me because I don't matter to them."
"Exactly," Roman said. He pointed at the black file. "They think you are just a wife pushing papers. They do not know you have the legal right to audit their books."
I stared at the folder. The leather cover looked heavy, packed with data.
A strange, foreign spark ignited in my chest. For eight years, I shrank myself to fit into Andre's shadow. I downplayed my intelligence so he would not feel insecure. I gave away my money, my home, and my career opportunities.
Just yesterday, Renata told me I was walking out with zero dollars.
Roman leaned back in his chair, studying my reaction. "I will double your current salary. I will give you full clearance to bypass department heads. You report directly to me."
"Why trust me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. "You gave me an umbrella three years ago. That hardly makes us allies."
"Because I pulled your bank statements," Roman said bluntly. "You live on a fraction of your income. You do not buy luxury cars. You do not dine at five-star restaurants. A person who lives that frugally does not embezzle corporate funds."
My jaw clenched. "Pulling my bank statements is a massive overreach, Mr. Castellane."
"It is a necessity," he replied, entirely unapologetic. "Do you want the job, Quianna? Or do you want to go back to formatting spreadsheets for executives who steal the credit?"
I looked away from his piercing gaze, my eyes landing on the gray plaid umbrella in the corner.
The rainstorm. The cold. The feeling of being utterly abandoned by Andre, who had promised to pick me up that night but never answered his phone.
I turned back to the desk. I reached out and pulled the black file toward me.
"I want full access to the encrypted servers," I demanded, flipping the heavy cover open. "And I want a dedicated office on this floor. If I start pulling records from my cubicle, they will notice."
Roman's lips curved into a genuine smile. "Done."
I looked down at the first page of the dossier.
I forced myself to exhale sharply, refusing to let the shock show on my face.
Printed at the top of the internal audit target list was the massive merger finalized just last week.
The exact merger managed by Senior VP Renata.
The exact deal that secured Andre's massive promotion.
Roman reached across the desk. He tapped his index finger against the third line of the spreadsheet, right next to Andre Verlowe's authorized signature.
"This account right here," Roman said, his voice dropping low. "Do you see the problem with it?"
