Game Of Hearts – Game Over – Sophie Andaz (1)

Mateo stood in the hallway, his hands held up in surrender while a woman in a pantsuit pointed a can of mace right in his face. The woman whipped toward me when I opened the door, redirecting her aim. “I’m armed and I’ll take down both you motherfuckers,” she spat.

I raised my hands in surrender as well, eyes wide. What the fuck? The crazed woman spotted Violet behind me, and her shoulders sagged. “Oh my god, I thought something happened!” She rushed to Violet and gathered her in a hug, then pulled away. “You know these guys?” “Yes.” Violet patted her shoulder. “Put the mace away, they’re helping me.” She still looked furious, but she pocketed the mace and looked back and forth between us.

Mateo and I both slowly lowered our hands. He shot me a wide-eyed glance from behind her like Who is this psycho? “Lina, this is Ethan,” Violet said in a soothing tone. “Ethan, this is my roommate Lina.” Roommate? Ah, okay, things were making more sense now. “You’re Ethan?” Lina blushed crimson red. “Oh crap, I’m so sorry, I had no idea…” She turned to Violet and stage-whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

“What’s going on?” “I was mugged—“ Violet started. Lina’s sharp inhale cut her off. “But I’m fine now,” she continued. “They made sure I got home safely, that’s all.” Violet shot me a glance over Lina’s shoulder, telling me she didn’t want to go into details. “So who’s the neanderthal in the hallway?” Lina asked. “I’m right here,” Mateo said dryly, still standing by the open door.

Lina ignored him. “That’s my friend Mateo,” I chimed in to take some heat off Violet. “I’m really sorry for the confusion. We’re just making sure everyone’s safe.” Lina narrowed her eyes. “Coming home to a random hulk outside my door doesn’t exactly feel safe.” “Seriously?” Mateo muttered. Violet rubbed Lina’s shoulder. “Hey, why don’t you go take a shower? Wash off work. We can talk about it later.” Lina tipped her chin and looked over at me, hand held out.

“Ethan, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m so happy you’re here.” She dropped the smile and shot a glare in Mateo’s direction before walking into the hallway. “What’s her problem?” Mateo growled as soon as she was gone. “She just got scared, that’s all,” Violet told him. “She’s usually much friendlier.” Mateo rolled his eyes, then left, closing the door behind him.

Violet went to change, leaving me alone in the living room, where I pondered how two women could live in this barren space.

Copyright © 2026 by Athena Ink Publishing The following is a work of fiction. Any names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons and things living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review and certain other noncommercial use permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 979-8-9945238-0-3 (paperback) ISBN: 979-8-9945238-1-0 (e-book) www.sophieandaz.com OceanofPDF.com To all the people pleasers out there, pleasing the wrong people. This book is for you. OceanofPDF.com S 1 VIOLET mile darling, this one’s for the crown. My mother had spent the last three decades dispensing pageant advice to me like prescription Valium. That’s probably why I couldn’t evict her voice from my head.

To my mother’s chagrin, I’d traded beauty pageants for corporate consulting—not that different really. Both were all about smiling big and keeping men happy. Tonight, my stage was a building rooftop towering thirty stories above the lights of San Francisco. I stepped out of a stairwell and into the employee party for Epix, the hottest tech company on the West Coast, and maker of the viral video game Arcane Echo.

The rooftop had been transformed into an open-air casino, with blackjack and roulette tables interspersed with cocktail tables throughout. String lights ran the length of the space, and tuxedoed servers circulated beneath with trays of champagne and appetizers. Epix employees gambled, drank and danced to tunes spun by a DJ at the edge of the rooftop. I pushed into the crowd of gamers in hoodies and jeans and realized I was overdressed.

I looked every part the management consultant in a tailored Armani suit and silk Carolina Herrera blouse, my hair in a tight French twist. But I was dressed for one audience only—the Epix board of directors. My pulse thrummed in beat with the house music as I scanned the crowd for Damian Price, a partner from my consulting firm.

Exactly one hour ago, he’d popped into my office and announced I’d be handling this audit, giving me no time to prepare. His only advice? Don’t screw this up. As if that was an option. My entire career was riding on this. I was required to handle a solo audit to make partner, and my time was running out.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 921c57ab66dbbdd9
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 3,190,881 bytes (3.043 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9798994523803, 9798994523810
• Pages: 363
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 514.78 minutes
• Total Words: 102,957
• Total Characters: 557,321
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