Elias POV

The drive back to the Lawson Group was a blur. My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were white, the image of that disappearing silhouette at Scott Enterprise burning into the back of my eyelids. But as the elevator rose towards my office floor, I forced the mask back on. I couldn't let Mara see the state I was in.

When I pushed open the door to her office, she was slumped over desk, her head resting on her crossed arms. She looked so small amidst the towering stacks of files and the cold glow of her computer screen. She looked vulnerable.

I walked over,...