At forty-one, Claire is the secret girlfriend and chief of staff of her boss, Nathan Cole. She has waited three years to marry him, but he denies their relationship in public and pushes her out of the family photo. During a rainstorm, a landslide strands them on the mountain; with only two seats on the rescue helicopter, Nathan abandons her to save Vanessa—the heiress his family wants him to marry—then sabotages her MBA acceptance to keep her trapped. Her love finally dies. Quietly, she accepts a job offer from Laurent Global, her boss's biggest rival, and leaves with her daughter, Emma, in the night, taking nothing but her dignity.Three years later, at forty-four, Claire has risen to Senior Vice President of Global Acquisitions at Laurent Global—and she is married to Adrian Laurent, the rival chairman. When Cole Holdings teeters on the brink, she leads the acquisition herself.
