Chapter 10 Embers Beneath The Ashes

• Ariana’s POV
• Ariana adjusted the thin strap of her blouse as she stepped into the boutique agency’s lobby, trying not to fidget. A soft chime echoed when the glass door shut behind her, the sound oddly comforting. The space smelled like jasmine and fresh ink—small, local, intimate.
• Nothing like Sterling & Locke, the firm where she had once worked under Ethan Carter’s slick smile and empty promises.