Aria escaped the estate at 7 AM, her car eating the miles to the city, her coffee bitter and necessary.
She needed distance from Julian — from his contempt, his dismissal, the image of him in the dark that she couldn't erase from her mind.
Her job was her sanctuary. Meridian Solutions, mid-level marketing, anonymous and consuming.
She'd worked here for eight months, paying her dues, climbing slowly. The company was massive, shadowy, owned by some reclusive billionaire who never showed his face.
She settled at her desk, grateful for normalcy, for spreadsheets and deadlines and colleagues who didn't look at her like she was trash.
Then the email came: Emergency all-hands meeting. Conference Room A. 10 AM. Attendance mandatory.
"What's this about?" Aria asked her coworker, Jen.
Jen's
