“Carter, please let me explain,” Mia started as soon as she walked into the conference room where Carter, a stoney-faced Liam, an angry glaring Frankie, and a smug Darius waited. Mia was the last to enter the conference room thanks to the little tête-á-tête she’d had with Liam, which required a quick trip to the bathroom to fix her smudged makeup before showing her face in this meeting.

Carter held his hand up to forestall Mia’s explanation. “Sit, Mia,” he said, his tone not giving anything away about how he felt about the current situation.

Mia slid into her seat and tried to catch Liam’s eye but he studiously avoided...