Chapter 1

The air inside *Kaze* was always cooler than the humid city streets outside, a deliberate, crisp chill that kept the fish fresh and the minds sharp. I pushed through the heavy shoji-style door, the paper sliding open with a soft *shhh* that sounded like a secret being kept. The scent hit me first—sharp, bracing vinegar rice, the faint, oceanic salinity of raw tuna, and underneath it all, the woody, clean aroma of hinoki wood and cedar. It was a smell that transported me back to childhood, to Sunday mornings when my father would take me to the high-end markets, letting me pick out the shinier shells, the brighter fish. I adjusted the strap of my clutch, my heart doing a familiar, fluttery stutter against my ribs. Tonight was the quarterly investor dinner, but not the big one. Just a quiet, private gathering for the inner circle. I had been told to arrive ten minutes early to meet him in the private dining room, *The Den*, before the other executives arrived. I looked down at my dress, a simple slip of black silk that clung to my hips, and felt a flush rise up my neck. It was the kind of