“Focus,” he told himself, shaking his head. He couldn’t allow himself to feel anything for the girl. He took pride in the level of detachment he steadfastly maintained on every job he took. It was this cold professionalism he had become known for; it made him one of the best and able to demand higher fees.

He continued his research and, sure enough, he found the famous feud between Daniels and Aspen that had led to his hire. Apparently, Aspen owned the second largest technology company, second only to Jupiter Tech. They had been rivals for years, but just a few years ago, it was rumored that Daniels had stolen some component that would have made Aspen millions and catapulted his company to number one. Even though Aspen had taken Daniels to court over the matter, there had been no evidence of any wrongdoing on Daniels’s part, and he had gotten off scot-free. Thus, the feud had begun.

Moving on, Shadow kept digging, looking for their homes, their work building—searching for the best way to complete his mission. He ran his hand through his chestnut-brown hair and exhaled. This was going to be harder than he’d thought.

He had just decided to pack his bags and leave for New York to study them in person when he refreshed his screen.

“Hello. What is this?” he asked himself. “Jupiter Technologies partners with O’Cleary Cancer Foundation to host Charity Gala at the New York Opera House,” he read aloud. The article detailed the collaboration of the gala to be held at the Metropolitan Opera House in two weeks. And Simon and Scarlet Daniels would be attending. Shadow could hardly believe his luck. He would have to hurry, but it could be done.

He pulled open his desk drawer and carefully lifted the false bottom, cleverly hidden and rigged to set fire to the contents if opened incorrectly. He reached in and pulled out his most useful defenses: his passports and false IDs. Shuffling through, he pondered whom he should be this time. He chose one at random, his bed beckoning him.

After locking the room behind him, he returned to his bedroom and slipped back into bed. Then he reached over and woke the unknown woman, having decided he was going to celebrate his new life of luxury a little early and get rid of the image of the beautiful Scarlet Daniels while he was at it.

She was just as eager as before. Her legs wrapped around his slender hips, pulling him in deeper. Dropping his mouth to her neck, he unwillingly thought again of his next target. He wondered how she tasted and imagined tracing her lips with his fingers. And when the woman beneath him cried out in pleasure, it was still Scarlet he was imagining.

The woman was breathing heavily, still feeling the aftershocks of her climax, when Shadow gripped her neck tightly in his hand.

“Oh, someone’s naughty,” she said seductively.

“You have no idea,” Shadow said huskily. “I hope your little attempt at eavesdropping was worth it.”

The woman’s eyes grew wide with fear as Shadow’s grip tightened on her throat.

Reaching up, he grabbed her chin, and she slowly started to relax. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, though, his other hand came up to the top of her head, and he twisted. Her neck snapped easily, and Shadow shoved her body off the bed. It landed with a muffled thump on the plush rug.

Deciding to deal with it later, he turned over in his now empty bed and drifted to sleep, his mind swimming with the promise of a fortune while a beautiful raven-haired girl danced at the edges of his dreams.

2

The night of the gala, everything went according to plan. Everyone on her team had really pulled through, and Scarlet couldn’t have been more proud of the way things had come together. Her first big project was a massive success.

Even her father looked better than he had in months. He was smiling and had even told her that he was proud of her, something that had only happened twice before: at her graduation from Brown—majoring in business, of course—and when she had broken up with Bradley.

Though, Scarlet thought to herself, he probably only said it that time because I was doing what he wanted.

He had really outdone himself this time. His tux was perfectly tailored to hide his weight loss, and his hair and makeup had been expertly done to hide his sunken cheeks and thinning hair. Trying to maintain a sense of privacy, only his doctors, board members, and Scarlet knew of his terminal illness.

As always, Julie stood close by just in case he needed anything. He looked like the giant she had grown up with, and she couldn’t help smiling at him.

It was as if the universe had aligned in her favor for once, though it had been a difficult process. While the Opera House had immediately agreed to host the gala, there had been a few snags along the way. The caterer they had originally booked had cancelled only three days before. Scarlet had nearly torn her hair out in frustration. Fighting the urge to scream, she had personally called every other caterer in town before finally finding one on such a short notice who was willing to take over—at almost double the price, of course. She was still annoyed by that.

O’Cleary’s Cancer Foundation had decided to give her the runaround the first few days, too. Her assistant, Julie, had reached out to their public relations representative within minutes of Scarlet’s request, but the rep, Starla, had refused to call or email Julie back until several days after the original phone call. To her credit, Julie had called and emailed several times a day. As a result, Scarlet had pulled some strings and called Mr. O’Cleary herself, explaining the situation. He was deeply apologetic and promised to resolve the matter himself.

“I am so sorry for any trouble you may have experienced, Ms. Daniels. Of course, we would be more than delighted to partner with you for such an event, and I will personally make sure that everything is taken care of post haste,” he had said in his deep Irish brogue.

True to his word, not even an hour later, Julie had received both an email and a phone call from the new public relations representative for the Cancer Foundation. It seemed Starla had been relieved of her position.

Scarlet whirled around the floor in her sparkling midnight-blue gown, her black hair tumbling around her face in elegant curls as she marveled at the scene around her, her eyes taking in every detail. The Opera House was her favorite place in New York, and the beautiful lobby was packed with people. New York’s elite had all turned out, anxious to see if the rumors that Scarlet was taking over Jupiter Tech were true.

Taking a deep breath, Scarlet allowed her mind to wander for a blissful moment, admiring the beautiful chandeliers that always reminded her of fireworks and the glorious winding staircase before being snapped back to attention.

“Great party, Scarlet!” one woman called.

“Such a great cause!” an elderly woman said, grabbing her wrist to try to chat.

“You look stunning!” came from an older gentleman Scarlet knew was only looking for a young woman to accompany him home.

With so many people talking and trying to get her attention, Scarlet’s head was spinning. She thought she would get whiplash from trying to speak to each person as she worked her way through the crowds, security trailing behind. One of the first lessons her father had taught her was how to mingle with the who’s who of society. As proud as she was, it was still crushing to hear the biting comments many had about her and her rumored ascension to CEO. For each positive comment, every piece of praise, she heard two in disagreement.