Chapter 1 - The Loft Party
The corporate loft party was a sensory overload of pulsing bass, clinking glasses, and the forced laughter of people pretending they didn't have to be at work on Monday.
Mark stood near the exposed brick wall, holding a club soda, checking his watch. It was 5:45 PM. He had exactly twenty minutes before he needed to leave for Lily’s recital. He scanned the room, hoping to give Elaine a quick nod of appreciation for the Westridge account before slipping out the back.
He found her near the terrace doors, but she wasn't alone.
Richard Vance, the Senior VP of Operations, had her cornered. Richard was a man who wore his authority like a weapon. He was standing far too close, leaning into Elaine's personal space. His hand rested heavily on the wall just inches from her shoulder, physically blocking her path.
Mark watched as Elaine took a step back, her usually composed face tight with forced politeness. She was holding a martini glass with white-knuckled grip. Richard laughed at something he said, leaning in closer, his breath practically on her cheek.
Elaine looked trapped. And worse, she looked unsteady.
Mark had worked for Elaine for two years. He had never seen her drink more than half a glass of wine at a function. But as he watched, she downed the rest of her martini in one swallow, a desperate attempt to create a buffer, looking around for an escape route. No one else was paying attention. The other executives were too busy networking to notice a predator isolating his prey.
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Mark didn't think about corporate hierarchy. He thought about boundaries.
He walked straight toward the terrace doors.
