And my little charity isn’t the one representing her.” I stood and opened the door to the adjoining conference room.

Chapter 8 — Kurt Rothwell

Kurt Rothwell walked in with two attorneys from his firm, and I watched the color leave Dalton’s face in real time.

He had recognized him instantly, of course — you do not forget the face of the man who controls whether your merger closes.

Kurt had been my law partner for eight years.

He was also, as Dalton knew better than anyone in that room, the outside attorney chairing the independent ethics review for the merger — the one clean set of hands the whole deal depended on.