When Empires Fall by Katie Jennings Page A

red silk blouse with sleeves that barely covered her shoulders. With it she wore an engraved gold locket that had belonged to her grandmother on her father’s side, a sign of her bloodline and a respect to those who had borne her.
    And while it had been a bitch that morning to tread carefully over the slick snow covered sidewalk in four-inch heels and not trip, she’d managed just fine. A real woman could make such an outfit work, even in the dead of winter.
    “Carrie, what are my appointments for the rest of the day?” Madison quickly signed off on a few invoices at the front desk, then turned briskly to her assistant, who was standing at the ready beside her.
    Carrie, a petite brunette with sharp brown eyes covered by chic black-rimmed glasses, nodded with a polite smile, the appointment calendar already pulled up on her tablet computer. Madison, she knew, put up with nothing less than complete focus, attention and preparedness.
    “At one o’clock you have the restaurant staff meeting, followed immediately by final prep for the Lowell Society luncheon at one thirty.” The two started towards the elevators as Madison glanced briefly at the slim, gold designer watch at her wrist. “Three o’clock, your mother is coming in to discuss wine and dessert selection for the breast cancer fundraiser, and then at four o’clock you have an appointment for a mani/pedi here at the spa.”
    They stepped into one of the elevators, held open by a guest who had just vacated it. Madison glared at her own reflection in the elevator doors as they slid shut, pursing her lips in annoyance. This fundraiser was starting to get on her nerves, and it was taking up way more time than it deserved. But when her mother was involved, it was to be expected. “I want you to shuffle my salon appointment to tomorrow, I’m going to need more than one hour with my mother.”
    “Will do.” Carrie jotted down a notation on the tablet, her fingers sliding over the touch screen expertly.
    The elevator rose silently and Madison continued to eye her own reflection, reaching up to fix a stray strand of dark hair. Image was everything, she knew, especially if one intended to get a very specific, very clear message across. And oh, did she ever.
    Beside her, Carrie busily updated the schedule and then stood quietly, knowing that small talk just wasn’t acceptable. Madison Vasser was all business and a hard woman to work for. But she wasn’t unfair, nor was she cruel. She was just…honest. And Carrie, being a driven young woman herself, had been a perfect fit for her position the moment she had started two years earlier. It had been then that she had learned that with Madison, undying loyalty and a sharp mind were everything, and those who stayed true were rewarded greatly. Again, Madison was the furthest thing from unfair. You had to earn your place at her side, but once you had, it was well worth it.
    When the elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open, Madison led the way out into the waiting area, her eyes immediately honing in on Grant’s office and the glass walled alcove that held his new secretary. She kept her eyes on the woman as she approached, making her assessments quickly and silently with Carrie at her heels.
    Quinn glanced up at the two women who approached, and she found herself blinking once in stunned surprise. She set her fork down and pushed aside her lunch, rising to her feet dully.
    The woman’s resemblance to Grant was startling; incredible, really. She had the same rich brown hair, lightly curled at the ends, with intense amber eyes that were slightly lighter in color than his. But the bone structure and the serious, unreadable expression were undeniably the same, and Quinn found herself feeling more than a little awkward under the woman’s stern and very direct gaze. Somehow it was deeper, and more intimidating than Grant’s had been, as if this woman could recognize every hidden secret within a person by simply meeting