At least two months.

Seeing that Jamison still had a shred of sanity left, Ivy Windsor shot him an exasperated glare. “So you know, and you’re still making a fuss?”

“I can’t help it… It’s been way too long. I really can’t…” He leaned in, lips brushing the curve of her neck. His large hand, caught in her grip, twisted deftly and captured her smaller one, guiding it to his waist.

Ivy felt her whole body flush with heat. “You-”

But Jamison didn’t give her the chance to pull away. He swooped down, scooped his now-melted wife into his arms, and strode out of the study as if she weighed nothing at all.

He had plenty of ways to keep things safe—and still leave them both utterly satisfied.

Meanwhile, on WhatsApp:

Sophia: Where’s Ivy? Didn’t Dr. Ludwig say she’d be done soon?

Jay: It’s this late already. Pretty sure she’s busy with… something else now.

Dale Sullivan: Looks like it—Dr. Ludwig’s missing too.

Coach Murphy: Ivy’s profile just updated. Go check it out.

Sophia: [smirking emoji] She had time to post a new market review, but can’t reply here? Hmm… I think I get what’s going on.

Jay: No spicy talk in this group, please…

Ivy became an overnight sensation at work.

All because, during the previous day’s trading, she’d warned about a looming risk. Her colleagues in the Trading Division ignored her and went the opposite direction, leading to a one-day loss of over $30 million.

Sure, investing comes with wins and losses, and for a giant like Quantum Hedge Securities, $30 million is hardly catastrophic. But from the boss’s perspective, profit is always preferable to loss.

So the Trading Division got absolutely roasted by upper management.

As an intern, Ivy wasn’t involved. She sat at her desk without a hint of guilt, focused on her own work—gathering international intel, scanning the latest industry news, and analyzing policy trends.

Suddenly, her manager, Zoe, appeared at her desk. “Ivy, come with me. Meeting.”

Ivy blinked, glancing up at her direct supervisor. “Me?”

“Yes, you. Move it—Mr. Shaw’s waiting.” Zoe’s expression was sour; after getting chewed out by the higher-ups first thing in the morning, who wouldn’t be in a bad mood?

Hearing Edmond Shaw’s name, Ivy immediately guessed what kind of meeting this was.

But it was odd—she was just a brand-new intern. How did she get invited to such an important meeting?

Clearly, her warning from yesterday had reached the top and made an impression.

Suppressing a secret smile, Ivy rose smoothly, grabbed her ultra-thin business laptop from her bag, and hurried after Zoe.

As soon as she left, the Trading Division went abuzz.

“An intern? That’s against every policy!”

“Policies are made by people. If you’re good enough, management will bend the rules.”

“Come on, she just got lucky once.”

“Or maybe she had inside info. The Ludwig family is big money, after all.”

“Is it so hard to admit someone’s just talented? I heard she was a star back in school—top of her class, all-around prodigy. If her family hadn’t sabotaged her and she hadn’t been kidnapped, she’d have finished her master’s by now and probably could’ve landed an even better job.”

That last bit drew surprised looks. “Seriously? Ivy’s that impressive?”

“We went to the same school. Ask around and you’ll hear all about it. Mr. Shaw only hired her outside the usual process because she’s the real deal—not just because they’re both alumni. And you really think she married into old money on looks alone? Please, families like that care way more about brains and pedigree.”