The Rolls Royce glided smoothly into the brightly lit underground garage of The Penthouse.

The driver opened the door. Hayes stepped out first. Jocelyn wrapped the cashmere towel tightly around her shoulders and followed, her soaked heels squishing with every step.

They walked into the private elevator. The high-speed ascent made Jocelyn's stomach drop. She shivered, her teeth chattering from the cold and the adrenaline.

The doors chimed and opened directly into the top-floor apartment. Lightning flashed outside the massive windows, illuminating the dark, modern furniture.

Hayes peeled off his ruined suit jacket and tossed it to the butler. "Take her to the guest room. Make sure she showers," he ordered. His tone left no room for argument.

The butler led Jocelyn to a massive marble bathroom. She stood under the scalding hot water, scrubbing the mud and the humiliation off her skin until it turned red.

When she stepped out, she realized there were no women's clothes. The only thing resting on the counter was a crisp, white men's dress shirt.

Jocelyn took a deep breath. She put it on. The hem barely covered her upper thighs. She rolled up the sleeves and walked out into the massive, empty living room.

Hayes was sitting on the leather sofa. He held a glass of whiskey over ice in one hand. A tablet rested on his lap, displaying real-time stock data.

He heard her footsteps and looked up. His eyes slowly dragged down her bare legs, lingering on the curves hidden beneath his shirt. His Adam's apple bobbed once.

Jocelyn walked over and sat on the sofa opposite him. She kept her posture straight. "I want a long-term alliance."

Hayes let out a short, mocking breath. He set his whiskey down on the glass table. "You have nothing to negotiate with except your body."

Jocelyn smiled. It was a cold, sharp smile. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Check the M&A department's accounts for the last quarter. The numbers don't match."

Hayes's fingers stopped tapping the tablet. His gaze sharpened into blades. He stared at the woman sitting in front of him.

"Cam is embezzling company funds," Jocelyn stated clearly. "And as his shadow analyst, I have every single piece of proof. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. I've been backing up his files for three years. I have a complete log of his illegal insider trading, corporate espionage, and every dirty kickback he's taken. I have enough to send him and half his cronies to federal prison."

The air in the room grew heavy. The pressure radiating from Hayes was suffocating. "Why are you selling out your fiancé?"

Pure venom flashed in Jocelyn's eyes. "I want him destroyed. And you want to clean house. We both win."

The room fell dead silent. Only the sound of the rain lashing against the glass could be heard. Hayes studied her face, evaluating her like a high-stakes investment.

Suddenly, he leaned forward. His hand shot out and gripped her chin. His fingers pressed hard into her jaw.

"Making a deal with the devil comes with a price," he warned, his voice a low scrape. "Are you ready to be my plaything?"

Jocelyn didn't blink. She stared straight into his dark eyes. "I don't care about the price. Just give me the power."

A flash of dark approval and extreme possessiveness crossed Hayes's face. He let go of her chin. His thumb brushed slowly across her bottom lip.

"I will protect you," he declared coldly. "I will give you the power you want. Until I get bored."

The contract was sealed. Jocelyn's tense muscles relaxed for a fraction of a second.

Hayes didn't give her time to breathe. He grabbed her waist and yanked her forward. Jocelyn tumbled onto his lap, straddling his hard thighs. Two buttons on the white shirt popped open.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the body wash mixed with his own cedar cologne.

Jocelyn froze for a second. Then, she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, playing her part in this game of power and lust.

His mouth moved from her neck to her lips. The kiss was frantic, demanding, and completely overwhelming. Jocelyn's logic short-circuited.

The tablet was knocked off his lap. It hit the thick rug with a dull thud, the stock numbers glowing in the dark.

Lightning tore across the sky outside, illuminating their tangled bodies on the sofa. The taboo fire exploded in the middle of the storm.

As her mind went blank, Jocelyn knew one thing for sure: she had just secured the sharpest knife to stab her enemies.

The morning sun filtered through the blinds, hitting Jocelyn's face. She woke up in the guest room bed.

She rubbed her aching lower back and sat up. The space beside her was empty. Hayes was gone, as cold and efficient as always.

On the nightstand sat a brand-new encrypted smartphone and a set of perfectly tailored designer clothes. The contract was real.

She had just finished buttoning her blouse when the new phone started vibrating. Hayes had already mirrored her old SIM card.

The screen read: Eleanor. Cam's mother.

Jocelyn took a deep breath and answered.

Eleanor's shrill, vicious voice immediately pierced her eardrum. "Where were you yesterday? You missed the brunch and the family dinner last night! You have zero class. You can't even keep your own fiancé in line!"

Jocelyn pulled the phone away from her ear. She listened to Eleanor use the Schroeder family's 'charity' to guilt-trip her.

"If you can't help Cam secure his position at the company, you can pack your bags and get out of the Upper East Side!" Eleanor threatened.

Jocelyn's eyes turned to ice. "Is it my fault I can't keep him in line, or is it because his soul is currently tied to some whore?"

Dead silence on the other end. Then, Eleanor exploded. "How dare you speak about my son that way! You're a liar!"

Jocelyn hung up. She switched the phone to silent. She walked over to the desk and opened the laptop Hayes had provided.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Over the years, Cam had foolishly used the same password for everything, a password she knew intimately from managing his daily work accounts. She typed it in, bypassing the basic login screen and accessing his private cloud storage, where she found the bank statements he'd carelessly saved.

A massive transaction popped up on the screen. Five million dollars. Transferred to a real estate agency in Tribeca.

Jocelyn traced the routing numbers. She pulled up the digital deed.

The name on the property title was Kiley Lane.

Jocelyn stared at the photos of the luxury penthouse. She thought about the countless nights she had stayed up until 3 AM writing Cam's reports so he could get his bonuses. A bitter laugh escaped her throat.

She downloaded the bank statements, the property deed, and a security camera screenshot of Cam kissing Kiley in the lobby of that exact building. She zipped the files.

She opened her email and sent the package anonymously to Eleanor's private address. Eleanor cared about nothing more than the family's public image.

The 'Sent' notification chimed. Jocelyn could already picture Eleanor screaming and throwing things.

She closed the laptop. She picked up the new encrypted phone and texted Julian, Hayes's assistant. I need a seat at the executive board meeting this afternoon.

Jocelyn grabbed her purse and walked out of The Penthouse. She hailed a cab straight to the Cooper Group headquarters.

When she walked into the lobby, the receptionists gave her pitying, mocking looks. The whole company knew Cam had ditched her last night.

Jocelyn ignored them. She kept her spine straight, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. She got into the elevator and pressed the button for the M&A department.

The doors opened. The open-plan office immediately went quiet. Dozens of eyes watched her.

Cam was sitting in the Director's glass office. His feet were propped up on the desk. He was laughing, flirting on the phone with Kiley.

Jocelyn pushed the glass door open.

Cam jumped. The phone slipped from his hand and clattered onto the desk. His face flushed with anger. "Where the hell were you?" he yelled. "Don't think my mother's backing gives you the right to walk in here like you own the place!"

Jocelyn walked up to his desk. She planted both hands on the glass surface and leaned over, looking down at him. Her eyes were dead.

"You better prepare yourself for the board meeting this afternoon," she said softly. "The financial audit is going to be very entertaining."

Cam's face paled for a second. Then he forced a arrogant smirk. "You're just a shadow analyst. You can't do shit."

Jocelyn didn't argue. She turned around and walked out of the office, leaving Cam staring at her back with a sudden gnawing paranoia.

Jocelyn sat down at her tiny cubicle. She looked at the clock on the wall. She waited for the storm.