Page 194 of The Owner's Temptation

“You know, it’s okay if you need another week.” I see the sympathy in her eyes. Hovering over the words she’s not saying. “I mean, damn, take two.”

“Thanks, but I’m really okay. I’m ready to review some contracts.” I follow, my voice calm. Unshaken. “I want something… high-profile. Exclusive. Something that’ll make the room stop when I walk into it.”

Eve glances at me over her shoulder. “Making a statement?”

“Making a point,” I reply smoothly.

To him. To myself. To anyone who thought I couldn’t turn this heartbreak into power.

He wanted to act like I meant nothing?

Then I’ll show him what nothing looks like when it walks out of his club on the arm of someone richer, more powerful, and just out of his reach.

I’m going to find the perfect contract.

And when Lucian sees me with someone else—smiling, glowing, desirable—maybe then he’ll realize what he lost.

And maybe by then… it’ll be too late.

“Alright.” She turns and I follow. “Let’s get started.”

Iknow exactly what I’m looking for. I just need to find him.

Nothimhim—not Lucian. That ship’s been sunk and set ablaze.

No, I’m looking for someone who can help me make a very specific kind of point. Someone powerful. Exclusive. Desired. The kind of man who makes people stop and stare when I walk into a room on his arm.

I sit at the long, sleek conference table inside The Ledger’s private suite, a tablet in hand, Eve across from me sipping her matcha like this is just another Tuesday. And for her, maybe it is.

For me, it’s the beginning of my revenge arc.

I adjust the filters without hesitation. No short-term contracts. No casual play. I want long-term.

High visibility. Maximum impact.

The list tightens, half the names vanishing from the screen. I swipe through them, one after another. CEOs. Diplomats. Old money and new tech. None of them give methatfeeling. Not the one I’m chasing.

Until him.

Dominic Salvi.

The moment his name appears on the screen, my finger pauses mid-swipe. I remember him.

The luncheon. The one where I orchestrated my little performance with Mr. Langston. Salvi was there. Watching.

Even then, something about him made my skin prickle—like I’d stepped into a room with a predator. The kind that doesn’t need to growl to be dangerous.

That’s what it is.

Power.

It hums beneath his profile like static.

Lucian carries it too—that quiet, devastating sort of authority. The kind that doesn’t need to raise its voice. That looks you in the eye anddaresyou to challenge it.

I flick the file onto the big screen. "This one."

Eve glances up, then rises to read. Her brow arches halfway through.

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