C32 ICE THIRTY-TWO: IN THE ARMS OF ANOTHER.

THANE'S POV:

The champagne was Dom Pérignon—excellent by reputation, wasted on me. It might as well have been water for all the satisfaction it gave. I checked my watch. Seven forty-five. I could reasonably make an appearance for another hour before escaping back to the sanctuary of my empty house.

"Mr. Slade?" A woman in her fifties approached with predatory enthusiasm