It was hard to believe that this was the guy who’d left her business in the dust. When she’d met him at the conference, he’d seemed … nice. Kind. Maybe even a little lost, a little like he was searching for something. Needless to say, she’d been completely tricked. It was probably just a ploy to get her into bed. Her cheeks warmed again at the thought that she’d hooked up with him. With him. What the hell was wrong with her? How could she not have seen that Hudson Craft was nothing but a giant man-baby with talented pecs?

Back in her office, Annika’s blood pressure—or as her yoga instructor Seetha called it, her “stress elemental”—took about forty-five minutes to get back under control. She got up to open the office door and help June, who staggered in under the weight of a gigantic whiteboard, the hot pink silk of her dress all rumpled.

Annika propped the board against the wall, right under the Make Up sign. “Wow. You, um, decided to go big, huh?” The monstrosity could double as a pool table.

“I didn’t want to do anything by half measures, you know?” June’s face was red and sweaty. She smoothed her hair off her forehead and fanned herself. “Is the AC on?”

Cheering sounded from down the hall. June looked at Annika. “What the…?”

“Our new neighbors moved in. And you’ll never guess who.”

“Who? Oh my gosh. Don’t tell me it’s Lady Gaga!”

June had a completely unhealthy obsession with Lady Gaga. Annika stared at her. “Lady Ga—what? No. This is a different performer, but one you’ve definitely heard of. Hudson Craft and the Break Up Cult.”

“What?”

Annika nodded and waited for June to process through all the stages of shock. First came knee-jerk denial, which was soon followed by intense disbelief, and finally, bringing up the rear, was heated indignation. Warm smugness seeped through Annika. She had someone on her side, too. Hudson Craft and his cronies could laugh and snicker, but Annika wasn’t alone in this. Not by a long shot.

June was still struggling to accept reality. “You’re kidding. Tell me you’re kidding, Annika.”

“You have no idea how much I want to tell you that.” Sighing, Annika walked over to her desk, rearranged her soothing bamboo picture frames, and sat in her chair, swiveling from side to side as she talked. “I already went over there and gave him a piece of my mind.”

June took her seat, too. “No way. What did you say?”

“Just that they’re all giant lying, stealing, plagiarizing pieces of shit. I also may have shot him in the face with a Nerf gun.”

“Oh my god!” June clapped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sure he deserved it. Did he admit it, then? That he stole your idea?”