I slept soundly in our master bedroom.

The next morning, the Texas heat was already thick by eight o’clock.

I dressed in a tailored charcoal suit and a cream silk blouse.

I wore no jewelry other than my watch.

I drove my own modest sedan downtown, parking in the garage beneath the glass tower of Apex Bank.

The lobby was cool and smelled of polished marble and expensive cologne.

I took the elevator to the twentieth floor.

When the doors slid open, Sterling was waiting for me in the reception area.

He carried a thick leather briefcase.

“Are you ready, Jocelyn?” he asked.

“I am,” I said.

“The lenders are already in the main conference room,” Sterling said.

“Graham is there with his attorney.”

“His mother is there too.”

“Gloria?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Sterling said.

“She arrived ten minutes ago.”

“She told the receptionist she was there to oversee the family’s interests.”

I smiled, a cold, brief movement of my lips.

“Let’s not keep them waiting,” I said.

We walked down the carpeted hallway toward the double glass doors of the boardroom.