The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

When Haynes O'Brien arrived, Stella Cameron wasted no time. She dove straight into her plan, outlining every detail for him.

Haynes listened quietly, his attention unwavering.

It wasn't until Stella mentioned wanting to find an opportunity to undercut Israel Williams that Haynes glanced up at her, his eyes sharp.

"Did Neville Connolly come up with this plan for you?"

Stella was a newcomer-there was no way she could have devised a scheme like

this on her own. Even with relentless study of business strategy, no one could hatch such a bold idea without having survived real storms.

Whoever was advising her was no amateur.

It couldn't be Antoney Watson; he was just as green as Stella and nowhere near this calculating. And Foreman Richards? If he could think this far ahead, he wouldn't have fallen for Leonard Lerman's trap in the first place.

Haynes's gut told him it

intelligence he was plenty sharp. But Neville was mostly aboveboard, and this plan wasn't something you could execute with clever talk alone. It required getting your hands

her head.

let it drop. Maybe it was Mr. Burton, or Antoney's father stepping in behind the scenes. Haynes leaned forward, his voice steady. "Star, before you go any further, I have to warn you. If you want to lure

of the scheme in a single

fallen into his trap. Only then

let Israel come after you.

nodded lightly. "I

to take some losses. That's how you'll get him to lower his guard. But your company is thriving right now. If you take a hit, your reputation will suffer of course, if you pull this off and buy in at the bottom, it'll all be worth it? But if you lose, you'll

a dangerous

to catch her if she fell, everything Stella had fought for could

even if

Williams Group, she'd be

a name on the payrol nothing more. She'd probably never get