Judith Harper chose a coffee shop with no private room and no reason for anyone to remember us. That told me almost as much as the meeting did.

She arrived two minutes early, ordered tea, and put her phone face down on the table. "I am not here to give you confidential in

Northstar took three weeks to say yes. They asked for everything: Tribeca's budget, our contractor references, Nadia's models, my vendor history, and a list of every project either of us had touched in the last five years. At the end of the third week, Caleb Ross calle

The first ugly story went up at six twelve the next morning. I was brushing my teeth when Nadia sent the link.

**FROM HOUSEWIFE TO DEALMAKER: DID MARA BENNETT BUILD HER NEW FIRM ON VALE CONNECTIONS?**

I read the first three paragraphs standing barefoot in my kitchen. An