an umbrella to shield Nina’s delicate skin from the July sun. Juliet had been hired as a personal assistant shortly after Edward’s death, when Nina was inundated with messages of condolence and had no patience for replying. The lie of it all. She wasn’t sad, she was free. Juliet took the annoying bits off her hands. Small and dainty, in her customary uniform of black pantsuit and glasses, her dark hair pulled back, she had an air of bland efficiency that Nina found soothing. As Nina stepped into a bigger role at the company, Juliet came along, making the transition seamless. Now she was indispensable, a combination personal and executive assistant and paid companion. She traveled with Nina, and spent weeks on end at Windswept, overseeing the household staff when that responsibility felt like too much. Nina could disappear into her love affair with Connor, knowing Juliet would be there to pick up the slack.
They went over the day’s schedule as they crossed the soaring marble lobby to the company’s dedicated elevator bank.
“Board meeting in thirty minutes,” Juliet said as they got on the elevator, “giving you time to review the packet I prepared. Hank canceled your dinner date—”
“He canceled?”
Hank must’ve heard the gossip about Nina and Connor. This could be touchy.
“Do you know why?” Nina asked.
Juliet shot a meaningful look upward to the top corner of the sleek chrome cab, where a shiny cylinder concealed a camera. They were being watched. That was expected at Levitt Global, and they were well-versed in the location of surveillance dead spots. They got out on the executive floor and Nina followed Juliet down the hallway to an overlooked corner behind a potted plant.
“My take on it is, he’s upset about your relationship with Connor. You should know, he and Lauren are going after him,” Juliet said.
“Going after Connor? How?”
“Complaining about his work on the Saudi deal. Levitt Global is getting trashed in the press. They’re blaming Connor, saying he mishandled the roll-out.”
“I warned Hank that deal would not be popular. Of course the press is bad. You can’t spin shit into gold.”
“He’s leaning on Lauren to move up Connor’s performance review. Since Connor’s only been at the company for ten months, he’s technically on probationary status. A negative performance review could lead to termination.”
“This is personal, you know. Hank’s jealous.”
“I believe you.” She shrugged and raised her eyebrows, as if to say, What can you do?
“I’m going to speak to him right now,” Nina said.
“You’re not in his calendar.”
“You’re telling me he’s trying to ruin Connor’s career. I won’t sit still for that.”
Juliet followed Nina down the hall. The corner suite occupied by Hank and his staff had once belonged to Edward. Nina had an office just across the elevator bank, the better to keep an eye on company business. She was an activist board chair, and Hank didn’t like that. He didn’t fancy being overseen by the founder’s widow. Interesting that his aggressive push for a personal relationship with Nina coincided with her growing role as a check on his corporate ambitions. She wondered whether he truly cared, or just wanted to control her.
As Nina swept through the anteroom, Hank’s two assistants popped up from their desks like Whac-A-Moles to intercept her. She waved them off. Juliet ran interference, stepping in to mollify them.
Hank looked up from his computer, his eyes mild behind his glasses.
“Ah, Nina. What a surprise.”
But, was it? Hank would have known the second she entered the building, if not sooner. Knowing Hank, he had spies at the helipad. She sat down in a leather chair across from his enormous glass desk. He’d had the office gutted and redone. It was sleekly contemporary now, where in Edward’s day it had been all dark paneling, cigars, and power. The view behind the CEO was the same, however—the island of Manhattan laid at his feet.
Hank looked past her to his assistants, who stood at the door with worried expressions.
“Bring Mrs. Levitt her beverage of choice, please,” he said.
They scurried off. Hank leaned back in his chair.
“Here to review the Saudi deal before the board meeting?”
There were other, more pressing concerns on her mind.
“Back off,” she said.
He looked amused. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re screwing with Connor because you’re jealous.”
“Ah, right, got it now. Look, Nina, Lauren told me he put in a leave request for a ridiculous amount of vacation this summer—”
“Since when do you care about the inner workings of the PR department?”
“It affects the bottom line. Have you seen