Chapter 2
"Can I get a pony?" Angela asked, her small voice filled with hopeful innocence.
Helen Vittorio glanced down at her daughter, her heart melting at the sight of the four-year-old’s wide eyes. "A pony? Where would we keep a pony? We live in a two-bedroom condo," she said with a smile, trying to keep the logic intact.
Angela tilted her head, her eyes sparkling as she splashed through the puddles with joyful abandon. "He could sleep with me! Like a puppy!" she suggested, the idea clearly full of promise in her mind.
Helen couldn’t help but laugh, her heart lifting at her daughter’s imagination. "A pony is much larger than a puppy," she said, brushing a lock of soft hair from Angela's face. She almost added that a pony came with a mountain of poop, but thought better of it. Her daughter was still happily lost in a world of dreams, and Helen wasn’t about to add reality to her hopes and dreams.
There was a moment of silence as Angela looked at her shoes, deep in thought, her brow furrowed slightly as she worked through the problem. Helen waited patiently, knowing her daughter’s determination was unstoppable. Sure enough, Angela looked up, her cheeks rosy from the cold, and grinned. "Then, I could get a bigger bed," she suggested.
Helen chuckled, shaking her head as she ruffled her daughter’s hair. "Honey, your room isn’t big enough for a larger bed. It’s already overflowing with all your stuffed animals."
Angela’s eyes widened, as if this new dilemma only presented a fresh challenge. She chewed on her lip, her small steps growing slower as she mulled it over. Helen couldn’t help but smile at her daughter’s serious expression. It was clear that Angela wasn’t finished yet.
"But... I thought you got a big raise with your new job," Angela said thoughtfully. "So, maybe we could move to a bigger house!"
Helen raised an eyebrow at that. If only it were that simple. Housing prices in Chicago were ridiculous, and though her new job had come with some nice perks, a house with a yard big enough for a pony, or even a puppy, was still a long way off.
"We’ll see," Helen replied, keeping her tone light. She had learned the hard way that if she gave even a hint of encouragement, Angela would launch into a full-fledged argument complete with charts and lists. The last thing she needed was an impromptu negotiation at 8 AM on a soggy morning.
Angela, ever the optimist, smiled brightly at the idea. Helen smiled back, but her thoughts drifted for a moment as she watched her daughter. She looks just like him, she thought, the bittersweet memory of the man with the dark, penetrating eyes flashing in her mind. The one who had stolen my heart in a matter of days. But then the thought was gone, replaced by the warmth of her daughter’s hand wiggling in hers.
She shook her head gently, pushing the past aside. Angela was her world now. She didn’t need the ghosts of the past when she had this bright future in front of her—one she was building every day. And if the job did offer those perks, well, maybe it would be enough to keep her moving forward, away from memories and toward something new.
“So, what are you working on today, Momma?” Angela asked, her voice light and carefree, as she did a little skip, swinging her mother’s arm despite the cold. Her energy seemed boundless, even as the city around them remained grey and miserable.
Helen smiled down at her daughter, her heart swelling with affection as she caught Angela’s contagious enthusiasm. "Today, I’m working with my boss to entice a buyer for a property that another client wants to sell," she said, her voice steady, though a flicker of tension tightened her chest as she spoke.
Angela, ever curious, pressed her lips together in a thoughtful line, her small brow furrowing for a moment as she processed the information. Then she gave a quick shake of her head and bounced back, eager to enjoy the world around her. But something in Helen’s tone had sparked doubt in her young mind, as if there was more behind the words than she could understand. She didn’t voice it, but there was a sense of unease—an unspoken worry that things weren’t as straightforward as they seemed. Helen brushed it aside, attributing it to the stresses of work, but deep down, she couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling of doubt that had settled in her gut over the past couple of days.
She had only been at the new job for two weeks, still acclimating to the fast-paced demands and office dynamics. There was no room for uncertainty in this position—not when it had been such a hard-won opportunity. She couldn’t afford to let personal suspicions interfere, not when she was working alongside some of the most powerful figures in the financial industry. Yet, despite her attempts to dismiss the doubts, she couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that there was something more to the deal—something hidden, tucked away just beneath the polished surface.
Helen kept her thoughts locked tight, unwilling to let her worries bubble to the surface. The deal with the Grishoms, the legendary family she was working with, seemed too big, too important to question outright. It was a major step forward in her career, and she was determined to make it work. She would tread carefully, keep her concerns to herself until she had solid facts, something concrete she could act on. Her instincts screamed at her to dig deeper, but she knew she had to play her cards right. Time would tell.
Angela, meanwhile, didn’t fully understand the weight of her mother’s worries. Her attention was focused on the immediate—her feet stomping along the concrete sidewalk in order to make the soles light up, the rhythmic sound of her little feet skipping along, the bustling of the city all around her.
Helen sighed softly, trying to push the unease from her mind as they approached the daycare. "Here we are!" she announced, her voice bright, though she couldn’t quite shake the tension in her chest.
Next year, Angela would start kindergarten, a milestone that Helen both dreaded and looked forward to. But for now, the daycare suited her little daughter perfectly. It was a challenging environment—one that pushed Angela’s intellectual curiosity and gave her the space to grow. The new program was much more demanding than the one near Helen’s previous office, which was a relief. Angela thrived on new challenges.
Though it was more expensive, Helen could afford it now. The new job had its perks, and this one felt like a small victory, a reward for all the hard work she’d put into securing her place here.
Angela’s face lit up as she spotted the familiar faces of her teacher and friends. With a squeal of excitement, she rushed through the doors, eager to start her day. Helen watched her daughter with a soft smile before she sighed, a mix of pride and weariness tugging at her.
Helen watched as Angela shrugged out of her coat and scarf, the backpack, laden with Angela’s lunch, snacks, forgotten at her feet. Angela was completely unbothered by the orderliness of it all. With a quick shrug of her arms and shoulders, Angela was freed from the heavy wool, seemingly in a hurry to abandon any form of structure so she could race off and join her friends.
Helen shook her head with a soft chuckle, watching her daughter disappear into the classroom, her tiny feet barely touching the ground as she skipped toward the day ahead. There was something pure about Angela’s boundless enthusiasm, her joy in the simplest moments. And for just a moment, as Helen stood alone in the quiet hallway, she let the smile linger, pushing her worries to the back of her mind.
Helen hesitated for a moment, considering calling her daughter back to remind her about the importance of tidying up after herself. Angela knew the rules—they weren't allowed to leave things strewn across the floor. However, a quick glance at the time sent a surge of adrenaline coursing through Helen's veins.
She couldn't afford to dawdle. With a mounting sense of pressure weighing heavily on her shoulders, Helen realized she needed to rush into work. There was no time to waste. She had to delve into her notes, needing to unearth the source of her unease regarding the building her boss was attempting to sell for another client.
Every passing second was precious, every minute lost potentially holding the key to unlocking the mystery that had been gnawing at her subconscious. With a determined resolve, Helen picked up her daughter’s coat and hung it on the appropriate hook, then turned to make her way out the door.
Ten minutes later, Helen walked into the offices of Grishom and Grishom. She felt a burst of pride whenever she walked through those impressive glass doors. She had a corner office that looked out over the city. It wasn’t as impressive as Paul Grishom’s office, which looked out at Lake Michigan. Paul’s son, Nathan, had the other corner office with that view. But Helen was satisfied with this view. For now.
At the moment, she wanted to dig through the details of the deal they were going to propose to their new client. Dark Angel Investments was a group with a great deal of money. They were a new group, so she didn’t know a lot about them. But she did know that they were interested in buying an office building that had been built in the seventies. The plan was to modernize the current building and fill up the space with commercial and retail rentals. Another client of Paul’s owned the building and wanted to sell it. Paul, Nathan, and Helen were working on bringing the two clients together. Helen would earn a generous commission if the deal went through.
So, what was bothering her about the deal?
“Mornin’, Helen!”
Helen looked up, her attention snapping away from her desk as Nathan Grishom stepped into the office. She offered a warm smile, though the flicker of unease she’d been trying to suppress still lingered in her chest. “Hey there, Nathan. How are you?”
He grinned widely, his charm on full display. “Ready to make another few million dollars,” he teased, his tone light and confident as he set a steaming cup of coffee down on her desk. “Are you all set for the meeting this morning?”
Helen nodded, keeping her expression neutral as she accepted the coffee. She could feel his gaze linger on her, his presence in the room a strange mix of familiarity and subtle discomfort. Nathan was a decade older than her, exuding a polished, effortless charm that made him hard to ignore. His reputation in the industry was undeniable, and yet… there was something about him.
He settled into the chair across from her desk with the casual grace of a man used to being admired. His features were handsome—broad, strong jaw, and those crisp, blue eyes— they lacked the sort of depth that would have made him memorable. Instead, Helen couldn’t shake the sense that he was a mannequin, a perfectly constructed figure designed to fit the mold of success, but missing something essential.
His smile was easy, practiced, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Not really. Helen found herself studying him, noting the way he adjusted his tie, every movement precise, too practiced. There was an odd softness to his face, a hint of something that dulled the sharp edges of his conventional good looks. And yet, that softness only made the lack of substance more apparent.
Helen’s stomach tightened with the flicker of a thought she could never quite shake. Nathan, though he seemed pleasant enough, always left her feeling slightly unsettled. His attentions, though flattering, felt hollow, like they came with strings attached—strings she couldn’t quite see but could feel in the back of her mind.
He had invited her to dinner several times, his interest in her growing more apparent with each passing day. It was tempting, in a way, to accept. After all, she couldn’t deny the appeal of the lifestyle he seemed to offer, the success, the luxury that surrounded him. But every time she considered it, a wave of hesitation washed over her. She wasn’t sure if it was her instincts or simply her cautious nature, but something about Nathan didn’t sit right.
Was she being overly cautious? Her mind was filled with swirling doubts as she sat there, unsure of herself for the first time in a while. Was she overthinking this? Maybe he was just being friendly. But she couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling that there was more—something she was missing, something that lingered just beyond the surface.
The image of a man flashed into her mind. A tall figure with piercing dark eyes, a rugged, muscled frame, and an intensity that seemed to burn through her. The memory hit her like a bolt of lightning, quick and hot, sending a shiver of both longing and fear down her spine. She quickly banished it, pushing it back to the dark recesses of her mind where it had lived for five years.
That man had once held her completely, seductively captive. He’d burned through her every defense, leaving her in a tangle of passion and need. But he was gone now. Disappeared into the abyss, without a word of explanation or closure. Gone, as if he had never existed.
Helen clenched her fists beneath the desk, forcing the thoughts away. It was time to move on. To let go of the past. She couldn’t keep being pulled back into that dangerous world of obsession and uncertainty. She had a new life now, new opportunities, new people in her life. There was no place for shadows from the past.
With a deep breath, Helen straightened and forced her attention back to the present, refocusing on Nathan’s eager expression. She forced her smile to brighten. “Yes,” she said, her voice steady. “Very ready. This deal seems like it should be profitable for both clients.” She added with genuine enthusiasm, “I wish I’d been on the team prior to this. It’s a solid opportunity.”
Nathan's smile widened at her response, and for a moment, she almost believed it was real. But that feeling of disquiet remained, tugging at the edges of her thoughts. It was time to dive into the deal. Time to push aside the past, time to focus on the future. She would keep her instincts in check, at least for now.
Nathan chuckled. “You’ll be in on all the meetings going forward so that you can learn how we work. Your role is…essential…to the success of the deal. And if this one goes through, you can broker the next deal.”
Helen’s smile wobbled. Had she imagined the slight pause?
Nonsense! Helen reprimanded herself. This was her moment. Today’s meeting would seal her role as a broker. Helen had worked hard to address the problems with the proposal that they would present to the client.
“Sounds wonderful. Thank you.” She already had several ideas for future projects. But she wanted to keep quiet until she knew how Nathan and Paul worked, focusing instead on this deal. Once she knew Nathan and Paul’s process, she’d present her ideas in their preferred format. Today’s meeting was sort of a training exercise for Helen, a way to prove to them that she knew her stuff.
“Enjoy your coffee,” Nathan replied and pushed himself out of the chair. “You’re going to need it. Today is going to be a marathon meeting.” He chuckled as he left her office.
Helen stared at the coffee for a moment, but didn’t take a sip. She knew that coffee was most people’s drug of choice, but Helen had given caffeine up when she’d become pregnant with Angela and, after getting over the miserable headaches, she’d discovered that she felt much better without coffee. In the past, she’d struggled to sleep at night and constantly felt achy the next day. But after giving up drinking coffee, she’d felt significantly better.
Sometimes, she pretended to drink coffee, but it was only to appear social. In reality, Helen only drank herbal tea. She grabbed her travel mug and took a long sip of her blueberry tea and turned back to her computer. She toggled over to a google maps page on her computer and typed in the address. There were pictures of the area printed out in the proposal, but Helen wanted to look at a larger view of the area.
That’s when she realized what was bothering her about the deal.
Helen's pen scratched furiously across the paper as she scribbled down some notes, her brow furrowing in concentration as she skimmed through the numbers they would be quoting to the client. She then recalculated the numbers with estimates based off of previous projects she’d worked on at her former firm. Despite the glossy images depicting a gleaming future for the site, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.
With a deepening sense of unease, Helen surveyed the online images and compared them to the images in the proposal, her gaze lingering on the online images that showed weather-beaten, time-worn buildings that stood as a silent red flag.
As she delved deeper into the financial details for today's meeting, Helen's heart skipped a beat. The amounts simply didn't add up. They were off by... millions of dollars. A cold dread settled in the pit of her stomach as she realized the magnitude of the discrepancy. This wasn't a minor error; it was a gaping chasm threatening to ruin the entire deal. How could she be the only one who seemed to have noticed? Had no one actually visited the site? Had no one else noticed that the surrounding buildings might collapse to rubble at the smallest sigh of distress?
Helen grabbed her notes and the binder, glanced at the time on her phone, then rushed down the hallway. She had her notes pressed against her chest as she knocked on Paul’s door. It was open, but she waited until the older man looked up.
“Helen!” Paul called out. “Come in!” he said with a friendly smile and a wave. “We are just about to go into the meeting with Dark Angel Investments. Are you ready to dazzle?” He chuckled at his joke. “Nathan is eager to get these two clients together.” He winked at her as Helen walked deeper into his office. “You’re going to romance the client too, right?”
Helen paused, a flicker of concern dancing in her eyes as she pondered why Paul's words felt so unsettling. The way he had phrased his comment sent a shiver of warning down her spine, a sensation that made her skin crawl as if she had just dropped into a cesspool of sleaze.
A sudden urge to cleanse herself washed over her, as if she needed to scrub away the lingering residue of Paul's insinuations. Yet, despite the discomfort his words evoked, she couldn't deny the underlying truth—she wanted to impress the clients, to leave them awestruck by her abilities. But it wasn't with superficial charm or artificial allure that she sought to dazzle them; it was with the brilliance of her intellect, the depth of her knowledge, and the strength of her integrity.
Paul's comment had struck a discordant chord within her, suggesting a means of captivation that felt cheap and degrading. She refused to compromise her principles, to succumb to the notion that her worth lay in anything other than her merit and capability. As she squared her shoulders and prepared to face the impending meeting, Helen vowed to assert herself on her own terms, to impress the clients with the substance of her expertise rather than the shallowness of superficial charm.
Shaking off her concerns, she focused on the reason for her visit. “Paul, I think we might have a problem with this deal.” She pulled her new calculations out and handed them to him. Paul rested a hip on the corner of his wooden desk as he glanced over her calculations, then shook his head, handing them back to her.
“These are wrong, Helen,” he said with a low, irritated growl.
Helen straightened and shook her head. “Paul, I don’t think that the presentation today is right. I did some digging on the property’s history and I think that it’s going to take a great deal more money on the buyer’s side to turn this property into a profitable investment.” She pointed to the images she’d printed out of the street view. “Look at this intersection. There aren’t any businesses around. That means–”
“Helen!” Paul snapped, stopping her explanation. “I brought you into my company to dazzle the client,” he continued in a fierce, low tone. He leaned in, his eyes giving her a silent warning as his tone turned ominous. “The numbers in this package are what we’re presenting today.”
Nathan came in and Helen glanced in his direction. The man’s casual smile was gone, replaced by an angry facade that startled her. Dread was seeping into her, but she wasn’t sure why.
Helen tried again, needing them to understand the import of her new understanding. “Paul, you and Nathan are the rising stars of the investment world here in Chicago. You both came out of nowhere two years ago and have created such a buzz about the work you’re doing.” She glanced at Nathan again, noting that he was clenching his jaw. “Don’t ruin your reputations with this deal!” She tapped her notes with her pen. “It isn’t going to work. The numbers aren’t right.”
Nathan moved over to the coffee machine and started brewing a fresh cup. Helen ignored him and focused on Paul. “This deal,” she continued, “is bad! The current property owner is facing a major lawsuit and, if we sell it to this investment company, then the potential new owner will have to take on the burden of the lawsuit. It could be financially devastating and derail any profits for…,” she hesitated, shaking her head. “Well, when I include the potential construction costs and the possible liability, there won’t be profits for decades.”
A steaming cup of coffee appeared in front of her and she jerked back, startled.
“Have a fresh cup of coffee before we go into the meeting, Helen.” Nathan leaned forward, his face less than an inch from her own, a frown on his blandly handsome features as he glared at her. “And keep your mouth shut!”
Paul sighed and Helen automatically accepted the cup. He stood up and took the hand-written notes from her. “Your job today is to dazzle the client. That’s the reason we brought you onto the team, Helen.” His voice was low and firm. He braced his hands on his desk. “If the clients start to question this deal, it’s your job to distract them.” He paused, letting the implication hang in the air for a long moment. “Do you understand, Helen?”
She didn’t, but Helen nodded, feeling as if she were being threatened. His next words confirmed her suspicions.
“Good,” Paul said with a slow nod. “You wouldn’t want anything to hurt your beautiful daughter, would you?”
Helen’s breath caught in her throat as she stared wide-eyed at the man. Was he seriously threatening Angela? She replayed the man’s words in her mind, trying to translate them into truth. Had he just…?
The coffee mug started to burn her fingers. She shifted her hold, her grip trembling.
“Let’s go,” Nathan announced without any of the threat lingering in his voice now. “Just drink your coffee and let’s get this deal closed. I want Dark Angel Investments signed as a client and everyone agreeing to the terms of the project by the end of the day.”
Helen stared into the man’s eyes. Gone was the friendly guy. The man standing in front of her was glaring at her. She looked at Paul and he merely lifted a pale, blond eyebrow at her.
As those two bustled around, gathering up papers and coffee mugs, pens and notes, Helen stared at them, sifting through the relevant words and coming to one horrifying conclusion. “You hired me to…distract the clients?” she whispered, feeling like a fool.
“Now you’re starting to understand,” Nathan replied. Paul chuckled.
“We hired you for your looks and killer figure, honey.” Paul winked at her. “Oh, and your reputation. Now, why don’t you undo another button on that blouse before we enter that conference room, eh? It will help you do your job.”
Paul had the audacity to pat her hand as he walked by her. “Let’s go, Helen. We can’t keep the client waiting!”
Helen moved towards the door because…what choice did she have? Angela was in danger! Her baby darling, her precious, sweet, little girl was being threatened if she didn’t…what? Seduce the client? Distract some disgusting man from realizing that Paul and Nathan were leading them into a money pit of a deal?
Helen turned and carefully stepped forward, only because Paul and Nathan were waiting for her. Her thoughts were spinning with emotions and fears, so she almost stumbled. Did they have someone at Angela’s day care, ready to take her if she didn’t cooperate?
Helen couldn’t take the chance.
She needed time. Time to figure out a plan. And perhaps the best way to do that was to go along with their demands. Or, at least, pretend to go along with them, for now.
So, instead of tossing her coffee into the bastard’s face, she continued towards the doorway. She jumped in surprise when Paul pulled the papers out of her arms. He didn’t even allow her to hold on to the briefing.
“You won’t need these,” Paul told her, then put a hand to the small of her back and nudged her out of his office.
The conference room was right next door, so it was a short walk, not enough time for Helen to figure out a plan. Should she just continue walking down the hallway? Her office, where her purse, her keys, her wallet with her id and credit cards, bank card and everything she’d need…was on the other side of the building. There was no way she could get all the way there, then get down the elevator or stairs, then out of the building before Paul or Nathan stopped her.
So, she entered the conference room, unaware of the stunned, terrified expression on her face.
“Sit down,” Nathan hissed into her ear low enough so that only she could hear. “Drink your damn coffee and smile.” He patted her butt. “We’ll do the rest.”