And those questions kept gnawing at Ashley’s mind for days. She still had that habit of glancing at the clock and the door around lunchtime, but now she wasn’t skipping meals anymore.

Instead, she’d slipped back into her old routine—the Ashley Fortisiano who first stepped in as Executive Director of The Empress Line. That meant holing up in her office, chewing on a cold tuna sandwich from the cafeteria, and burying herself in work.

The truth was, Ashley wasn’t ready to face Vance ...