Liam's office at seven PM was different than during the day.
Quieter. The aggressive energy of business hours replaced by something softer. City lights twinkled through the floor-to-ceiling windows. He'd ordered Chinese food from somewhere expensive, not the usual takeout. Real plates. Cloth napkins.
"You didn't have to do all this," I said, settling into the chair across from his desk.
"I wanted to." He poured wine, handed me a glass. "Besides, if we're going to be business partners, we should celebrate properly. You finished the business plan."
I had. Two weeks of late nights, research, projections, strategy. Carter Consulting Group. My own firm. Marketing and brand rehabilitation for companies in crisis. I knew that world intimately now.
"I finished it," I confirmed. "Doesn't mean
