I step off the elevator and admire the large, backlit logo on the wall, just like I do every time I come and visit Nora at her office.

Little Black Book. It all started with her very own pocketbook and now she’s one of the wealthiest women in Chicago. I couldn’t be prouder of my friend. She wasn’t born into it like I was — making her the perfect role model for me as I embark on my fresh start.

I march through the desks scattered around. A few of her employees turn their heads up and acknowledge me with a brief nod. I nod right back. I might not work here but I come through here about once a week, so most of them know who I am outside of the Argento tabloids.

“Uh-huh,” I hear Nora’s voice as I come close to her office. “Yeah, we’ll have to do something about that.”

I pause in the doorway and knock on the frame. She looks up at me over the rims of her reading glasses and smiles, her desk phone gently balanced against her ear with her shoulder. I hold up the paper take-out bag and she raises an enthusiastic thumbs-up with her other hand.

“Well, you can tell Percy that he’s just gonna have to get over that,” she says into the phone. I walk in and quietly sit down in the chair across from her. “Sure. Okay, thanks, Rachel. Bye.”

Nora hangs up, exhales all the air in her lungs, and then bounces right back up. “Hey,” she says.

“Hi!” I smile and tear into the bag. “What’s up?”

“Eh,” she waves a hand, “just running into a few design snags with the new app. Percy likes this. Rachel likes that. I’m, of course, the tie-breaker, so now they hate each other. Blah, blah, blah...”

I hand her a pair of chopsticks and she breaks them apart. “They’re fucking, aren’t they?”

She pauses, thinking for a moment. “Actually, now that you mention it... probably.”

I chuckle as I set out the two small trays of sushi rolls. “I brought the usual today. Have at it.”

Her head tilts. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

“Only every time I feed you.”

She dunks a roll into the cup of soy sauce. “I love you,” she says before shoving it into her mouth.

I do the same. “Love you, too.”

We both sit back, silently chewing and making yum-yum noises. After a minute, Nora gestures to the other bags I brought with me.

“What’s all that stuff?” she asks.

“Well...” I smile wide, “tonight, I’m cooking for Lance.”

“Ooo!” She swoons. “Fun!”

“I got everything I need for my world famous carbonara. He’s gonna love it.”

Nora flashes a wink. “And then afterward... Dom or sub?”

I snort. “What?”

“Dom or sub?” she repeats.

“I don’t understand the question.”

“Bullshit.” She grins. “Trix, I know. You don’t have to hide it.”

“Hide... what?”

“I should have known all those Daddy jokes were just projection.” She points at me with her sticks. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

I wipe a bit of sauce off my lip. “Nora, I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Clive told me he saw Lance at Red Brick,” she says.

“When?”

“Earlier today. Clive went in to help put together some new equipment and he saw Lance was talking to Judy. Figured he was buying something naughty to use on you later.” She pauses. “You didn’t know?”

I lean back. “No...”

“You’re not secretly into BDSM?” she asks, looking disappointed.

“Nope,” I answer.

“Is Lance?”

“No. And I would be very surprised if he were.”

She raises her brow. “Then, what was he doing there?”

I pause to think. What was he doing there?

I know the neighborhood really well — and not just because I grew up in Chicago. Judy is an old friend of the family, a close confidant of my father’s. Is Lance looking into my father’s business contacts? If so, why? What does that have to do with his conspiracy charges?

“I don’t know,” I say instead.

Nora sighs as she pinches another roll with her chopsticks. “Sounds like the two of you need to work on your communication,” she says.

I nod. “Yeah, maybe.”

“It’s the cornerstone of every successful relationship. Studies show that...”

Her voice fades off into the back of my head. Honestly, I’ve heard Nora’s cornerstone speech a dozen times before. Not that she’s wrong or anything... I’m just not ready to look into that mirror yet.

Follow the crime rate. I never got a chance to read the rest of that email. Is that what Lance is doing? If so, then he’s obviously going after more than just my father at this point...

Marcus told me I should ask Lance why he took my father’s case. I brushed it off before, thinking it was nothing more than the ramblings of a jealous jerk but now I’m curious.

Maybe it’s about time I do that.