“Can this wait?” “Your mother turned off the air conditioning upstairs after I told both of you I needed the room for a meeting.” There was a familiar pause on the line — not surprise, but calculation, as Dorian decided how little effort might make the problem disappear.

“Just turn it back on, Marisol,” he said softly.

“That’s not the point.” “Then what exactly is the point?” “The point is that she did it on purpose,” Marisol said, her eyes on Gwendolyn, who was listening openly, “because she thinks she gets to decide when I deserve to use utilities inside my own house.” “Please don’t phrase it like that.” And Gwendolyn gave a triumphant little smile, and something inside Marisol went unexpectedly still.

Chapter 3 — I Know