Leverage

Length: 22,000 words

In the ruthless corridors of Manhattan finance, 26-year-old Maria Ramirez has fought her way from a cramped Queens apartment into an elite internship at Landow Capital. When the ambitious Latina uncovers evidence of CEO Arthur Landow’s illicit dealings, the cold, entitled 45-year-old WASP billionaire offers her a chilling choice: silence in exchange for her career.  

What begins as a coercive arrangement of power and control soon spirals into a volatile obsession that neither can escape. Arthur's calculated dominance clashes with Maria's  fiery defiance, exposing raw divides of class, culture, age, and privilege. As late-night encounters in glass-walled offices deepen their dangerous entanglement, Maria evolves from reluctant participant to a woman who claims her own agency, forcing Arthur to confront emotions long buried beneath his inherited empire.