Page 69 of Secret Heir For The Billionaire Twin

I remember waking before dawn in her hotel room and knowing, with a clarity I did not appreciate, that leaving before the morning became anything else was the safest decision available to me. Sophie is writing about my family. I am giving her access no journalist has had in years. She has a career built on independence, and I have a surname capable of turning an ordinary mistake into a public spectacle.

Those facts were true before I kissed her. They were true while I carried her toward the bed. They were still true when I woke beside her and wanted, with an intensity that unsettled me, to stay there.

I look down at the report again. My phone sits beside it. There has been no message from Sophie, but I haven’t sent any either.

We will see each other soon enough. Her remaining New York interviews are already on the schedule, followed by Italy. The assignment has structure. There are dates, locations, interviews, people responsible for moving both of us from one place to the next.

Structure is useful.

It gives everything a name that requires no further examination.

A knock sounds against the open door, and Daniel steps inside carrying another folder.

“The revised Singapore briefing,” he says.

“Leave it.”

Daniel places it on the corner of my desk, then glances at the report in front of me.

“How did the infrastructure meeting go?”

“Fine.”

“Was there a larger issue?”

“No.”

His gaze lifts to mine. Daniel is too professional to ask why I spent two hours attending a meeting about a problem that did not require me. I am equally uninterested in explaining it.

“Anything else?” I ask.

“The Zurich call moved to 3:30. I also cleared tomorrow morning for the strategy review.”

“Good.”

Daniel nods and turns toward the door.

“Daniel.”

He stops.

“When is Callahan back in the office?”

The question is out before I can decide whether I need the answer. Daniel checks the tablet in his hand.

“Tomorrow. Her first archive session is scheduled for 1:00.”

“I thought that was Thursday.”

“No. It was moved up at Ms. Callahan’s request. She has another commitment Thursday afternoon.”

I keep my expression neutral.

“Fine.”

“Do you want me to adjust anything?”

“No.”