10:00 AM. Carter Group Headquarters.

Vivienne sat in her office, her posture rigid, her eyes burning from lack of sleep. She was wearing her sharpest suit a charcoal blazer that usually made her feel invincible but today, it felt like a costume.

On the desk in front of her lay her tablet.

She refreshed the page. And again. And again.

Simon had promised. “I’ll have the blogs scrubbed by morning. I’ll release a distraction story.”

She scrolled down the homepage of The City Insider.

The stories about the contract were still there. All of them. The comments were still rolling in by the thousands. The only thing that had changed...