Read Online Break of Day by Mari Madison - Free Book Online

learned the truth.
    I could feel Piper watching me with curious eyes. I shook my head, pushing the memories away before turning to face her again. “Look, I don’t want you to feel as if you have no choice but to work with me. If you want, I’ll go down to Richard right now and tell him I’ve changed my mind. I’ll take Anna Jenkins as my producer and you can have the job you originally wanted.”
    She froze, staring up at me, an astonished look on her face. “You’d . . . do that?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
    I nodded. “I wouldn’t want to, though,” I added, quickly. “I mean, no offense, but this Anna chick seems like a bit of a ditz. But I would. If it was what you wanted.” I met her eyes with my own. “You’ve worked hard, Piper. You deserve to get what you want.”
    She dropped her gaze to her lap, staring down at her hands. She wrung them together and I could practically see the gears in her head whirring. I held my breath, waiting for her reply as the silence stretched out between us.
    Finally she looked up. She met my eyes with her own—large and endless pools of dark chocolate, full of gratitude, excitement, and a bit of fear. I bit my lower lip, forcing myself to keep her gaze.
    â€œI guess the real question is,” I said slowly, “how do you feel about fish tacos at seven AM ?”
    Piper laughed, screwing up her face, and the tension broke between us. “Um, yeah. That would be a definite ew.”
    â€œWell, then.” I shrugged. “I think you have your answer.”
    She groaned, holding out her hands in defeat. “I guess Ido.” Then she shook her head. “Do you always get your way, Asher Anderson?” she asked, but I caught a twinkle in her eye as she asked. And it sent a flurry of excitement straight through me. Excitement I admittedly hadn’t felt for a very long time.
    I winked at her. “Only on days that end in
Y
.”

seven
    Â 
PIPER
    Y ou know, honey, for a girl who got almost no sleep last night, you’re looking awfully bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this afternoon.”
    I flashed Toby, the night manager at the Holloway House, an excited smile as I walked into the front office and reached to grab my time card from the stack on the wall. I punched the clock, then put the time card back with the others before walking over to sit down next to her. She observed me for a moment.
    â€œDoes this mean what I think it means?” she asked cautiously.
    â€œWell, not exactly,” I hedged. “I didn’t get the writer’s job I was after.”
    â€œOh, honey—”
    â€œBut!” I interrupted, holding up a hand, “I did get something else. Something . . . a lot better actually. A producer position. For the weather center.” I grinned. “It’s full time, too. And has health benefits and 401(k), vacation days—the works!”
    â€œWow.” Toby gave a low whistle. “Sounds pretty fancy.Not that you won’t be up to the challenge, I know.” She gave me a toothy grin. “It’s about time the people at that place recognized your brilliance, sweetie. It won’t be long now until I can brag that I knew you when.”
    I felt a blush creep to my cheeks. Toby did, indeed, know me when. In fact, she’d known me from the very beginning and had been like a second mother to me after social services had dumped me here as a child. She’d been the one to take me under her wing when I’d first arrived at the Holloway House, skinny and scarred and scared of my own shadow. She’d even worked it out that I could have my own room for the first two months, until I got settled in. And she’d always sneak me special treats from the kitchen after hours, informing me she’d made it her life’s work to “fatten me up.”
    Toby had also been the one to encourage me to