than Giana Thompson. Under that frigid exterior, was she
taking real delight in this? This was just the grand finale to the
nightmare she’d been forced to live for so long.
She shoved out of the chair, jumping to her feet, and curled
her hands into fists at her sides. She felt volatile in a way she
never had before. “I hope that one day you learn the pain of
losing everyone you love. I hope that one day, when you come
begging for an ounce of charity, just one small molecule of
mercy, that it isn’t granted to you. I hope that one day, all you
know is pain and that there will be no end to it.”
Giana’s eyes narrowed, and at her full height, she was
nothing short of threatening. “Careful,” she hissed. “Throwing
threats around like that can get you into real trouble.”
“Yeah?” Coralyn was past caring. “Well, it’s a good thing
they aren’t anything but words. Have a good day, Ms.
Thompson. Have a great fucking life.”
Giana’s palm came down hard on the surface of her desk,
and the sound of that smack was somehow immensely
satisfying to Coralyn. She wasn’t shaking with fear anymore.
She was shaking with a dangerous anger that she’d never felt
before. “You need to leave. Now.”
“I’m going.” She didn’t move. She planted her ugly winter
boots on the tile instead. She crossed her arms and stared
Giana down, daring her to make the next move. Call security.
Deal with the problem in her office. The problem who wasn’t
even a person to her. Coralyn hoped Giana would remember
this day, this moment, and her face for the rest of her life. That
when her empire crumbled, if the world should be so kind,
she’d recall this meeting as the start of it all.
Giana shook her head. She plowed forward, and her hand