Emily’s POV

The rest of the afternoon blurred together in a haze of mind-numbing corporate gossip and high-society drama.

Victoria sat in the main living room, sipping chamomile tea, pacing the length of the silk rug while detailing every single insult she’d endured from European art brokers.

"And then Herr Weber had the nerve to suggest that I take a fifteen percent cut on the Munich gallery acquisition!" Victoria announced, throwing her hands up in dramatic outrage. "Can you believe the sheer audacity, Daniel?"

Daniel sat gracefully on the opposite leather armchair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, looking like the picture-perfect, attentive husband.

"Unbelievable," Daniel murmured smoothly,...