The cold air of the penthouse hallway hit Hayley's wet legs. She shivered violently. Instinctively, she curled inward, her damp body brushing against the solid heat of Edward's chest.

The slight friction made Edward's jaw lock. He snapped his head down, glaring at her with eyes that promised violence.

Hayley froze. She widened her eyes, forcing the tears to pool but not fall, playing the part of a terrified, innocent infant.

Edward didn't slow down. He marched past the master suite and kicked open the door to the adjacent sitting room.

The motion-sensor lights flickered on, illuminating the massive space. Edward held her out at arm's length, his eyes scanning the room like a predator looking for a dumping ground.

His gaze locked onto the wide leather sofa. Draped over the back was a beige Loro Piana cashmere blanket, worth several thousand dollars.

He walked over, grabbed the blanket with his free hand, and yanked it down. He tossed it roughly onto the center of the glass coffee table.

Without a shred of gentleness, he opened his hand.

Hayley dropped onto the soft cashmere with a heavy thud.

She immediately tried to roll away from the wet spot she was creating, but Edward's large hand clamped down hard on her stomach, pinning her in place.

He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a silk square. His face twisted in disgust as he aggressively wiped the moisture from his fingers.

When he was done, he threw the ruined silk into a nearby wastebasket like it was infected.

Then, he grabbed the top left corner of the cashmere blanket.

With jerky, unpracticed movements, he pulled the heavy fabric tightly across Hayley's body, pinning her left arm to her side. Before she could process what was happening, he grabbed the right corner and yanked it over her other arm.

Hayley let out a muffled grunt of protest. She tried to kick, but he folded the bottom of the blanket up, trapping her legs.

He rolled her over once, pulling the fabric taut.

She was completely immobilized. A tightly packed baby burrito.

Hayley stared up at the ceiling, realizing she was now not only sitting in her own urine, but she was also completely paralyzed.

With the threat contained, Edward finally addressed his own disaster. He ripped the ruined silk tie from his neck and threw it on the floor.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket, shrugging it off in one violent motion. The custom dress shirt followed, peeled off and discarded on the expensive rug.

Hayley's eyes widened. She was forced to stare at the man's bare torso. His chest and abdomen were corded with lean, hard muscle, scarred slightly on the left ribcage. She quickly squeezed her eyes shut, her adult mind screaming at the inappropriate exposure.

Edward stalked into the attached walk-in closet. He emerged seconds later, pulling a black silk robe over his shoulders. He tied the belt loosely around his waist, the fabric hanging off him with a dangerous, predatory grace.

He stepped back to the coffee table and stared down at the tightly wrapped bundle. Only Hayley's large eyes and nose were visible.

The physical separation calmed his immediate panic, but the cold, calculating rage remained. Someone was going to pay for this. The staff had failed him.

He leaned down and slid his hands under the thick cashmere. He lifted the twenty-pound bundle effortlessly.

The blanket was so thick Hayley couldn't feel the heat of his body anymore. All she could smell was the sharp, clean scent of his body wash clinging to the silk robe.

Edward carried her out of the sitting room and toward the spiral staircase that led to the main living area. His face was a mask of cold fury.

Faint sounds drifted up from the lower level. The obnoxious laugh track of a reality TV show and the sound of someone chewing loudly.

Edward's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. He adjusted his grip on Hayley and began to descend the stairs. His bare feet made absolutely no sound on the steps. He moved like a panther stalking its prey.

Hayley lay stiff in his arms. The system pinged a low warning in her head. Someone was about to die.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the living room came into full view.

Brenda, the night nanny, was sprawled across the white sofa. Her feet were propped up on the table, and she was digging her hand into a large bag of potato chips, laughing at the television.

Edward stopped on the final step.

"Enjoying the show?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the noise of the TV like a razor blade.

Brenda whipped her head around. The bag of chips slipped from her hands, spilling across the floor. All the blood drained from her face, leaving her pale and trembling.

The air in the living room turned to ice.

Brenda scrambled off the sofa, her knees hitting the floor. She tried to hide her grease-stained hands behind her back, her chest heaving with panic.

Edward didn't even look at her. He walked straight past the trembling woman toward the massive marble bar counter.

He set Hayley down on the cold stone.

The chill of the marble seeped through the thick cashmere blanket. Hayley shivered, her eyes darting between Edward's rigid back and the terrified nanny on the floor.

Edward pulled open a drawer behind the bar and took out a sleek Bluetooth earpiece. He shoved it into his ear and tapped the side.

The call connected instantly.

A man's frantic, screaming voice bled from the earpiece, loud enough for Hayley to hear. It was Arthur Finch, a rival CEO.

"You bastard! You can't do this! You're destroying my life!" Arthur shrieked.

Edward leaned his hands on the marble counter. He stared blankly at the wall, his voice dropping to a deadly, monotone whisper. "Your debt-to-equity ratio was a joke, Arthur. I just expedited the inevitable. The acquisition is done."

"I'll kill myself!" Arthur sobbed through the speaker. "I swear to God, Edward, I'll jump off my balcony right now!"

Edward's lips curled into a cruel, humorless smile. "Make sure you pick a quiet street. Don't make a mess on the Manhattan pavement."

He tapped the earpiece, cutting the call dead.

Brenda let out a choked whimper. Her legs gave out completely, and she slumped against the base of the sofa.

Hayley swallowed hard. The system wasn't exaggerating. This man was a monster.

Edward finally turned his head. His gray-blue eyes locked onto Brenda. There was no anger in his gaze anymore, only the cold detachment of a man looking at a broken tool.

"Mr. McClure," Brenda stammered, tears streaming down her face. "I swear, I only sat down for a minute. The baby was fast asleep-"

Edward let out a short, harsh breath. He pointed a long finger at the cashmere bundle on the counter.

"Asleep?" he repeated, his voice dangerously soft. "Asleep enough to roll out of her crib and urinate on my suit?"

Brenda stared at the tightly wrapped baby, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. She realized the magnitude of her mistake.

"You're fired," Edward said. "You have three minutes to get out of my penthouse."

"Please!" Brenda crawled forward, reaching out as if to grab his legs. "I need this job! I have rent-"

Edward stepped back, his face twisting in disgust. He reached over to the wall panel and slammed his palm against the security button.

Less than ten seconds later, the heavy front doors swung open. Two massive men in black suits stormed in.

Edward didn't say a word. He just nodded toward Brenda.

The guards grabbed the screaming woman by her arms, hauling her off the floor. They dragged her backward toward the elevators. Her cries for mercy echoed down the hall until the heavy doors slammed shut, cutting off the sound completely.

The massive living room fell dead silent.

Edward stood by the bar, rubbing his temples hard. He looked exhausted, the kind of bone-deep fatigue that came from dealing with incompetence.

He turned around and leaned against the counter, looking down at Hayley.

Hayley knew she was on thin ice. She needed to diffuse his irritation. She forced her mouth into a wide, gummy smile and blew a large spit bubble.

Edward stared at the bubble. The hard lines around his mouth twitched, just for a second, before settling back into a frown.

He slowly raised his right hand. He extended his index finger, bringing it closer to her face. He looked hesitant, like he was reaching out to touch a strange, unpredictable animal.

Hayley held her breath. She didn't move a muscle.

His clean, long finger gently poked her soft cheek.

The skin yielded easily under his touch. Edward's eyes widened slightly. The extreme softness seemed to catch him off guard. He poked her again, a little firmer this time.

Hayley decided to lean into it. She turned her head slightly, rubbing her cheek against his finger like a puppy asking for affection. She let out a soft, happy coo.

Edward yanked his hand back as if he had been burned. He cleared his throat, looking away quickly.

Before the silence could stretch, a loud, rumbling growl erupted from Hayley's stomach.

The loud growl echoed off the marble countertops.

Edward's hand froze mid-air. He looked down at the cashmere bundle, his expression twisting into a mix of disbelief and deep annoyance.

Hayley wanted the floor to swallow her whole. Being wrapped like a mummy made the humiliation ten times worse. She blinked up at him, trying to look apologetic.

But the hunger was real. Her infant stomach contracted painfully, and the damp, cold diaper was making her skin crawl. The adult logic in her brain tried to suppress it, but the biological demands of the baby body won.

Her lower lip trembled. A small, pathetic whimper escaped her throat.

The whimper quickly escalated. Within seconds, Hayley was crying loudly, her face scrunching up in genuine distress.

Edward dragged his hands down his face. The noise was drilling directly into his skull. He leaned over the counter, getting right in her face.

"Cry one more time," he hissed, his voice dropping to a lethal, quiet register, "and I will throw you in the dumpster downstairs."

The sheer malice in his eyes triggered Hayley's adult survival instincts.

She gasped, choking on her own spit. The crying stopped instantly. Not a slow fade, but a sudden, unnatural silence.

She held her breath, her chest frozen, her eyes wide with terror.

Edward narrowed his eyes. The sudden silence was too perfect. Too calculated.

He leaned closer, his face inches from hers. His gray-blue eyes searched her face, analyzing the fear in her expression.

"You..." he started, his voice slow and dangerous. "You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

System Warning! the voice in Hayley's head screamed. Identity compromise imminent! If he suspects adult cognition, you will be institutionalized!

Cold sweat broke out on Hayley's forehead. She had to fix this. She had to act like a stupid, irrational baby.

She sucked in a massive breath and let out an ear-splitting, chaotic shriek.

She thrashed her body wildly inside the cashmere blanket, kicking her legs and shaking her head from side to side. She forced the tears to flow like a river, screaming with zero rhythm or reason.

Edward flinched hard, slapping his hands over his ears. The sheer volume of the noise shattered his suspicion. No rational being, adult or otherwise, would make a sound that obnoxious.

He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. Arguing with a baby was pointless.

He pushed off the counter and stalked over to the massive kitchen island. He stared at the row of high-tech bottle warmers, sterilizers, and formula dispensers like they were alien artifacts.

He grabbed a plastic bottle. He didn't bother checking the instructions. He turned on the hot water tap, filled the bottle halfway, and grabbed the tin of formula.

He scooped three massive, unmeasured spoonfuls of powder into the water. He screwed the cap on, barely twisting it tight, and shook it violently.

He walked back to the bar, his face set in a grimace. He grabbed Hayley's chin with his large hand, squeezing her cheeks to force her mouth open.

He shoved the nipple in.

The water was too hot, and the powder had formed thick, gooey clumps that immediately blocked the hole. Hayley sucked hard, but nothing came out.

She gagged on the hot plastic, spitting the nipple out. She let out a furious yell, glaring at him.

Edward scowled. He pulled the bottle back and looked at the nipple. Seeing the blockage, he shook the bottle again, harder this time.

Because the cap wasn't screwed on properly, the pressure forced the hot, sticky milk out.

A stream of white liquid shot through the air and hit Edward directly on the bridge of his nose.

Edward stopped breathing.

He froze, the warm, sticky liquid dripping slowly down his nose and splashing onto his lips. For a terrifying second, the urge to follow through on his threat and hurl the offending creature across the room was overwhelming. His hands twitched with dark intent. But then he looked down. The baby was blinking up at him in pure, unadulterated confusion, her tiny hands grasping at the empty air where the bottle used to be. The sheer, ridiculous absurdity of the situation slammed into him, forcefully deflating his murderous rage into a long, agonizingly suffering sigh.

He wiped the milk off his face with the back of his hand. He tightened the cap until the plastic creaked, shook it once more, and shoved it back into Hayley's mouth.

It tasted awful. It was gritty and too warm. But Hayley was starving. She clamped her gums down and drank greedily, the loud swallowing sounds filling the quiet room.

Edward watched her eat. The tension in his shoulders slowly drained away. He let out a long, heavy sigh, resting his forehead against his hand.