Chapter 4

The Metropolitan Business Conference buzzed with the energy of a thousand networking conversations, but I felt like I was moving through water. Three days had passed since the strawberry incident at the company dinner, and I still couldn't shake the image of Milani's satisfied smile as I'd fled the ballroom.

I was reviewing my notes near the coffee station when a familiar voice called my name.

"Annabelle Henderson. I thought that was you."

I turned to find Lukas Turner approaching, his confident stride cutting through the crowd. We'd known each other in college—both business majors, both driven, both certain we'd…