Deidre Joss’s right-hand man and senior VP met Piper in the reception area of the Joss Investment Group offices. Noah Parks was Piper’s regular contact, the person she’d had to call with the ugly news that Cooper Graham had made her. Even though he was an East Coast Ivy Leaguer, his buzz cut, blunt nose, and square jaw made him look like a former Marine. He gave her a curt nod. “Deidre wants to talk to you herself.”

Noah directed her through a set of glass doors into a light-flooded hallway where bands of cream-colored marble bordered the hardwood floors. At the end of the corridor, he opened a door into the office of the firm’s president and CEO.

Tall windows and sleek designer furniture projected stripped-down elegance. But the whiteboard that took up most of the end wall testified that this was a workplace, not a showroom. Its CEO sat at an imposing desk beneath an oil painting of her father, Clarence JossIII. Like Piper, Deidre Joss was following in her father’s footsteps, but unlike Piper, she hadn’t been forced to buy the business from a jealous stepmother. At thirty-six, Deidre was only three years older than Piper, but she seemed a generation older in sophistication and experience.

Tall and thin, with small dark eyes that tilted up at the corners, a long, patrician nose, and mahogany-brown hair, she looked more like a prima ballerina than a CEO. She was dressed in black, as she’d been at their only other meeting, a jersey dress with ropes of pearls. She’d lost her husband in a snowmobile accident a year earlier, so Piper wasn’t certain whether the black was a statement of mourning or an exceptionally flattering fashion choice.

Deidre came around the front of her desk and shook Piper’s hand. “I hope the traffic wasn’t too awful this morning.” She gestured toward the arrangement of couch and chairs. “Have a seat.”

Noah remained standing by the door while Piper took a gray leather conference chair and Deidre resettled in a chair nearby. This assignment had meant everything to Piper, and she’d been determined to do it so perfectly that Deidre would continue hiring her for future work. So much for determination. Now she was a loser kid called to the principal’s office.

“Tell me what happened.” Principal Deidre crossed legs long enough for a grand jeté.

Piper outlined the details, leaving out only the appearance of Esmerelda Crocker.

Deidre didn’t believe in padding her words. “I’m disappointed.”

Piper had no grounds to defend herself. “Not as disappointed as I am. I followed him too closely. It isn’t a mistake I’ll make again, but that doesn’t change what happened.”

She could have added that Deidre was the one who’d issued the order to stay close, but that would sound like an excuse.