Chapter 1
Everything leading up to this moment was about playing it safe and waiting with a wish. It’s what she did when she crammed all night for one econ exam or another. Same move when she set her cap for the internship with Bingham and Pond. To hear Professor Walters tell it, the interview was something in and of itself. His class aside, more than five hundred men and women had tried for a chance at the grand prize, teat, and the fact that she was one of the chosen few selected for the face-to-face meant that she stood out in a crowd. What she would do with such an opportunity was entirely up to her, and she lay in her bed without sleeping as the dark turned to day, constantly rehearsing the ways in which she would wow the man of the hour.
When she could no longer stand the trappings of her sheets, Lily Vasquez stepped away from the bed. No need to shower; she had seen to that the night before. But the heat from her flattening iron was more than required, and Lily fired up the tongs as she sprayed her hair and started to smooth her chocolate brown locks. Every strand seemed to slip into place as it fell across her neck, and she splashed the sleep from her face before lining her eyes and coating her lashes. Staring at what her mother liked to call a pretty picture , Lily glossed her lips and tossed her hair over her shoulders. Her sheets could stay rumpled; no rule said she had to form hospital corners each and every morning. Instead she opted for her closet and found the outfit of her choice hanging against the back of the door.
“Boy won’t know what hit him,” she said.
Stepping into the gray pencil skirt, Lily pushed the zipper against her thighs. The cream-colored shell followed, and she punctuated the look with a black blazer. A proper suit was preferable, but it was already the 25 th , and she had to make her rent. The dark heels matched the pose she was trying so hard to strike, and Lily grinned into the glass as she took up her bag and sighed.
“I think I’m ready.”
Wanting to walk, anything to save a few pennies, she felt the blisters burrowing into her toes on the back of just a few steps. Her mind searched her cupboard. Three cans of tuna left in the pantry. She could douse the fish in mustard and still sleep on a full stomach.
And right now, she needed the cab.
“Hey! I was here first!”
A broad-shouldered man in a navy blue suit smirked over his shoulder as he pressed his fingers around the door handle.
“Not quick enough,” he said. The driver poked his head through the passenger’s window. His eyes curved towards Lily, and she took some comfort in his smile when the suited man beat her to the punch.
“I am in a hurry,” he said.
Flashing a fresh fifty like it was nothing, the man started to step into the cab when the driver abandoned his wheel and stood between them. He kept eyeing the bill, and Lily felt as if her cause was lost. Resigned to making her way on her feet, she was stunned when the driver grabbed her wrist.
“Miss?”
He peered into her eyes, and Lily feared that he was going to make demands that she had no desire to meet.
“I can’t match that,” she said.
“But you still have some place to go, right?”
Nodding without wanting to, Lily stayed still and started to turn away when the driver took hold of the fifty. No way could she blame him for the move, and she tried to turn away again when he grabbed Lily’s arms and arched his eyebrows.
“What will you
Everything leading up to this moment was about playing it safe and waiting with a wish. It’s what she did when she crammed all night for one econ exam or another. Same move when she set her cap for the internship with Bingham and Pond. To hear Professor Walters tell it, the interview was something in and of itself. His class aside, more than five hundred men and women had tried for a chance at the grand prize, teat, and the fact that she was one of the chosen few selected for the face-to-face meant that she stood out in a crowd. What she would do with such an opportunity was entirely up to her, and she lay in her bed without sleeping as the dark turned to day, constantly rehearsing the ways in which she would wow the man of the hour.
When she could no longer stand the trappings of her sheets, Lily Vasquez stepped away from the bed. No need to shower; she had seen to that the night before. But the heat from her flattening iron was more than required, and Lily fired up the tongs as she sprayed her hair and started to smooth her chocolate brown locks. Every strand seemed to slip into place as it fell across her neck, and she splashed the sleep from her face before lining her eyes and coating her lashes. Staring at what her mother liked to call a pretty picture , Lily glossed her lips and tossed her hair over her shoulders. Her sheets could stay rumpled; no rule said she had to form hospital corners each and every morning. Instead she opted for her closet and found the outfit of her choice hanging against the back of the door.
“Boy won’t know what hit him,” she said.
Stepping into the gray pencil skirt, Lily pushed the zipper against her thighs. The cream-colored shell followed, and she punctuated the look with a black blazer. A proper suit was preferable, but it was already the 25 th , and she had to make her rent. The dark heels matched the pose she was trying so hard to strike, and Lily grinned into the glass as she took up her bag and sighed.
“I think I’m ready.”
Wanting to walk, anything to save a few pennies, she felt the blisters burrowing into her toes on the back of just a few steps. Her mind searched her cupboard. Three cans of tuna left in the pantry. She could douse the fish in mustard and still sleep on a full stomach.
And right now, she needed the cab.
“Hey! I was here first!”
A broad-shouldered man in a navy blue suit smirked over his shoulder as he pressed his fingers around the door handle.
“Not quick enough,” he said. The driver poked his head through the passenger’s window. His eyes curved towards Lily, and she took some comfort in his smile when the suited man beat her to the punch.
“I am in a hurry,” he said.
Flashing a fresh fifty like it was nothing, the man started to step into the cab when the driver abandoned his wheel and stood between them. He kept eyeing the bill, and Lily felt as if her cause was lost. Resigned to making her way on her feet, she was stunned when the driver grabbed her wrist.
“Miss?”
He peered into her eyes, and Lily feared that he was going to make demands that she had no desire to meet.
“I can’t match that,” she said.
“But you still have some place to go, right?”
Nodding without wanting to, Lily stayed still and started to turn away when the driver took hold of the fifty. No way could she blame him for the move, and she tried to turn away again when he grabbed Lily’s arms and arched his eyebrows.
“What will you
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