by Ella Brooke
He glanced down at the sticky, gooey remains of the birthday cake. “It was fun while it lasted is what I’m saying. I’m willing to keep a slot open for you on Saturdays, but you have to up your game. Fuck, I’ve always wanted to try a threesome. If you’re up for that, then nothing has to change.”
I wanted to vomit and punch him and scream all at once. I settled on option three. “So, I’m welcome as long as what?”
“You heard me.”
I shook my head and sped past him and toward the door. I was so done with this. He grabbed me by the wrist as I marched by. “Let go.”
“I’m just saying, babe, think about it. It could be fun.”
I spun around and slapped him; the flat of my hand smacking hard against his cheek. The sound of it rang out between us. “You’re a bastard.”
“Look, like I said, you’re hot. I was trying to wait, but you’re the one who’s acting like the Ice Princess. You’re the one who waited too late to do anything.”
“Well, if three months is too late,” I said, “then I’m glad. I wouldn’t have wanted to sleep with you anyway—knowing what kind of jerk and womanizer you are.”
Yanking my hand away, I stomped through the cake and slammed the door shut behind me.
***
“I can’t do this. I can’t believe this. I don’t…” My voice cracked, and I put my head in my hands.
Tammy, my best friend and roommate, patted my back. “He was a jerk.”
“I know.” I hiccupped after that and took in deep, shuddering breaths until I could try and get back to a sense of calm. “I liked him though. I’m not sure if I feel worse because he broke my heart or because I just feel incredibly stupid, like I should have seen it right off.”
Tammy sighed and flicked her dark hair out of her eyes. Often, I envied her. She had the sharp cheek bones from her model mother that made men drool, and was basically perfect. She was also tall, which would have been a nice thing to be. I got tired of grabbing a stool every time I needed anything. I’d often felt overshadowed by her. I didn’t fault her for it; no one could argue with genetics. It just was that she never had trouble with guys. I’d had a few interested in me during college so far, but between my classes and the intense work schedule I had to maintain to pay my way through NYU, I barely had time for anything else. Kevin had been so adamant, so persistent that I’d let my guard down with him.
I’d been looking forward to our beach trip next month in June. I was actually…
God, I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought about losing my virginity to that jerk!
“Sweetie, he’s an asshole.”
I nodded, but couldn’t keep myself from crying. “And he cheated on me and kicked me to the curb. What does that say about me? That I’m just the girl he calls because he’s bored on Saturday? Face it; I’m not anything. I can’t even get an internship. I can barely make ends meet. Of course Kevin wasn’t happy. He was always pressuring me.”
Tammy narrowed her eyes. “First of all, that’s his problem and not yours if he can’t freaking wait. Second, if I ever see him again, I’m going to beat him to death with a shovel. Besides, you’re not the loser here. He’s the giant douchebag for thinking he could pull this crap on you. Hell, you should tell your sorority president and get Ashley kicked out. She violated the sisters before misters rule big time.”
“They don’t care. I get to be in there as a charity case. I like some of the other girls, but a lot just treat me like the poor girl pariah. I stay cause of the few who are nice, but also, I figured I needed to make connections, you know? If you put in a resume and they know you were in the same sorority it helps. I need any leg up I can think of.”
Tammy nodded and stood. Her long legs took giant strides across our living room as she paced. “Then why don’t you ever take what I’m offering?”
“What?”
She rolled her eyes. “My dad. You know all about his business empire. I offered last February to help get you a job interview with him. I, okay, might have asked him about it already a few times. He changes the subject, and I never nailed him hard into letting you have an interview because I was afraid to overstep too much.”
I laughed, a giggle snort that was the first bit of relief I’d had all day. “Tammy, you always overstep. It’s what you live for.”
“You’ve always been so stubborn about trying to make things on your own!”
I stalled, trying to pick my next words carefully. Of course, I was about standing on my own. When you came from where I did, you couldn’t rely on anyone else. I cared about Tammy, she was the closest I had to a sister in the world, but at the end of the day, people would disappoint you. It’d happened to me over and over again. Besides, maybe part of it was pride, but I wanted to make it on my own. It felt like cheating if, after all the resumes and interviews I’d gone on so far looking for an internship, I couldn’t get one on my own.
“I don’t want you to feel obligated,” I said.
“I wouldn’t. You’re my friend, and you’ve saved my ass on every term paper I’ve had to do for three years. It’s not a burden or you using my connections or any of that. I’m offering.”
I sighed and picked at my cuticles. “But I don’t… I’d feel like I owed you. I’d feel like even if it’s the best job in the world—”
Tammy winked at me, apparently undeterred. “Well, I’m not trying to oversell it. You’ll be getting coffee and working on layouts late at night with everyone else.”
“That’s what I do now at the student paper.”
“And this one would be for Swagger. It’s one of the top fashion magazines out there and a pretty good-sized crown jewel in Daddy’s empire. Please, I wouldn’t have passed Modern Civilizations or Shakespearean Lit without you helping me brainstorm my term papers. I owe you.”
I sighed. If I didn’t get an internship this summer, I was going to be hurting badly. My work study job would stop in a few weeks, and although Tammy had the rent covered, I would still be struggling to buy things like food or metro cards. It wasn’t even that I distrusted Tammy. No. I couldn’t quite trust myself. It felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff. If I jumped off and started trusting people again for the stuff I really needed after so long on my own, maybe I’d never stop. Maybe I’d find myself in a world again where I couldn’t quite stand on my own two feet. It had almost killed me before.
I didn’t want to go back.
But I didn’t want to starve all summer either. I wasn’t even sure what I had left in savings outside of what I’d squirreled away for fall’s tuition. Even with an instant noodle diet, I’d be feeling pretty desperate. Besides, the last place I’d interviewed with technically hadn’t gotten back to me, but it had been six weeks since that interview. I wasn’t exactly holding my breath for any big breaks there either.
Tammy paused and frowned. “I’m not trying to hone your life. I mean, if anything… I’m paying you back. You don’t feel like I’m forcing everything on you, do you? Like I’m flaunting my connections?”
I stood up and placed my hands on my hips. “It’s me I don’t trust. I always promised myself that I wouldn’t do something with nepotism; that I would get there the honest way.”
“Like I said, you’re getting coffee and being an editorial assistant, not writing front page pieces with huge bylines. Besides, I can get you the interview with Daddy. He’s the one who makes the final decisions. Even if I get you in today, he will make that call. It’s still all up to you to impress him.”
“Yeah, but…” I stopped and gaped at her. “What did you just say?”
“Um, that you could impress him today.”
“When? It’s already noon.” I glanced at the clock by the kitchen.
“Well, Dad and I have lunch scheduled at one. We get a cab, and we can book over there. I can do Thai with Daddy any time, but you can’t just get your chance to interview whenever.”
I ran a hand through my hair, which was at least washed since
I’d been trying to look nice for the surprise birthday morning with Kevin. Still, I’d just had the worst shock of my life. My sneakers still had cake crumbs packed in the treads, and the last thing I felt up to was walking into the interview of a lifetime at one of the biggest publishers on the planet when I could barely think straight.
God, could I even get through the rest of the day without breaking into tears again?
My face fell, and I sat on the arm of the couch. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“But you’ll try?”
“I still feel I’m taking advantage and—”
“You’re not. But if you want the job, we have to get you changed and get our butts into gear. Even I can’t always pin Dad down. We sneak attack this, and you’re in.”
“I feel like my heart just shattered.”
“Then revenge is the best step. Kevin threw you out? Well, screw him. You need to show him exactly the opportunity he missed, be the awesome person you are, and get that gig. Ashley will end up doing some mid-level cubicle bullshit, and this is seriously your first step to your dream job. You still have to show Dad your portfolio. You can do this.”
I swallowed hard. It had been thrown in my face that I wasn’t good enough. If I went to the interview, I’d probably mess it up just as badly as the first relationship I’d even had in college. I just…
Tammy snorted. “Oh no, you can mope later. Kevin’s so not worth it, but you can definitely do the ice cream, a Channing Tatum movie and bitching with me later. Right now, I know you’re a good writer. I know this is the best shot you’ll have this summer. Come on, Selena. Take this shot. What do you have to lose?”
I nodded. “Just make sure I don’t break down and cry in the lobby, and we’ll make this work, okay?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
Chapter Two
Brandon
“Daddy, please!”
I eyed my daughter. Truth be told, I was a complete pushover when it came to Tammy, and everyone knew that. Especially Tammy.
Tall like her mother at almost six feet, I’d been blessed that she had no interest in following in her mother’s modeling footsteps. I knew the kind of guys who hit on models. Hell, I was that guy and had happily returned to that lifestyle since my divorce a decade ago. There was no way in hell I was letting my little girl be passed around backstage at events or who the fuck knew where.
Oblivious to the path my thoughts had taken, she rolled her eyes and pushed her long dark hair over one shoulder. She’d look more professional for her summer internship work if she ever pinned it up, but she was stubborn too. I can’t imagine where she got that from.
“I’m serious, Dad.” She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, so I wasn’t sure how serious she actually was. “I’ve been on you for two weeks to interview my friend, Selena. You need to do it.”
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. To be fair, my daughter had never once asked for a favor for her friends. She’d never seemed the type to use nepotism to climb up the corporate or social ladder. I appreciated that. I hadn’t built Duncan Multimedia up to billion-dollar heights when other former print-only empires lay crumbling in the dust. Embracing the Internet early and fast back in the Dark Ages of dial-up had saved my shit. I trusted my gut, and my gut had seen the wave of the future. Right now, it told me that mixing anything business with Tammy’s friends was a terrible idea. I loved my daughter, and she was a gifted creative writer in her own right, but there was no guarantee her friend had any talent.
I could be taking on a complete dud.
“I’m not sure I’m convinced, pumpkin.” I steepled my fingers in front of me. “Why should I give Sandy an interview again?”
“First, it’s Selena. Second, she’s the lead editor of the NYU student paper already, and she’s not even a senior. My bestie, she totally knows her crap. So, you need to snag her up and put her on writing the fashion beat for Swagger.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. I had a bit of pull in newspapers. We’d gotten out of them since they were a dying dinosaur, but I knew The New York Times editor-in-chief well. I could have made a call there.
“What?” my daughter demanded.
“It’s just that if she’s already an editor at NYU, why would she do the fashion beat?”
“I said she was driven and a great writer. I didn’t have time yet to mention she has a killer fashion sense. Not every writer wants to be Woodward and Bernstein. Anyway, she hasn’t landed anything that pays enough yet since she’s putting herself through school, and she’d be perfect for Swagger’s slot. Daddy, you have to at least meet her.”
“And it has to be me? You do know I have a whole human resources team.” I snorted. “I certainly pay them well enough.”
She narrowed her eyes, and I got a scary flash of Melanie, my ex-wife. There were a lot of ways Tammy and my ex were alike, and I often got the sense of déjà vu looking at my daughter. Of course, I could tell the difference between them mainly by the way that Tammy had given me a chance after the divorce. My wife all but said I should drop dead every time we met during the mutual family things we did for Tammy’s sake.
Yeah, big fucking difference there.
“You have to do it because I want you to really see how talented my friend is. She’s the best, and I think if you really, truly grasp that and back her, it’ll help her career even more than just the usual human resources bullshit.”
“Language!”
“I’m twenty, not five. Also, Dad? You swear like a Jersey Shore guido.”
“I do not.”
I was not some reality show meathead. That said, I was a big fucking fan of curse words. There were some things that you couldn’t get across without the right language. But I still had some paternal instincts, even if I wasn’t exactly a disciplinarian where Tammy was concerned. If she really wanted to make it in publishing and business, she’d need to learn when to wield her swears like swords for a killing stroke, and when to wait. Otherwise?
It was a fucking waste.
“Point is, she’s awesome. She’ll be here in twenty minutes because we are not doing lunch today, and you will do this.” She smirked at me in triumph.
“You tricky kiddo. What makes you think that I’ll go along with your nefarious plans?” I asked, the amusement clear in my voice.
“Because my birthday is in two months, and you can consider this part of my present.”
“So, I’m canceling that Sak’s Fifth Avenue shopping spree?”
She shook her head. “As if. I said part of my present, not all. Get ready. Selena’s in the lobby. Get all game face on and be ready to be blown away.”
With that, she stomped back out the door. The view of her back after she’d made a dramatic proclamation reminded me of her mother too. Sighing, I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. The last thing I needed to do was interview a girl I didn’t know from a mailroom employee. Then again, my daughter was smart—of course, she got that from me—and now that Tammy had canceled lunch, I legitimately had nowhere else to be.
Damn it. Too fucking smart for her own good.
The door creaked open, and I stood up instantly, buttoning the front of my blazer. Might as well get this over with and then go back to my work. After all, I could bluster a good game, but my little girl always got what she wanted. Maybe that was shit parenting, but back when Tammy was in middle school, she’d refused to talk to me for the first three years after the divorce. That changed when I bought her a horse and finally got better when I paid for her to see Europe the summer after she turned sixteen. Maybe I was bribing a little… Okay, a lot, but once she’d opened back up to me, we’d built back a real relationship.
If this Selena seemed like a total no go, then I could still put her into a high paying internship at Swagger, but make sure she did nothing more harmful than getting coffee. After all, it was good to be king and ensure that my interests didn’t get totally ruined, no matter what my princess wanted.
I frowne
d when I turned to see my CFO, Jonathan Meyers, at the doorway instead. Well, Tammy had mentioned that Selena was going to be in after a few more minutes. Though I wasn’t sure why she was making me wait. They’d already strong-armed me into it. Could be the girl was scared of interviewing or bad at it. Could explain why someone with her resume wasn’t getting bites. My best friend and right-hand man stared pointedly at me as he raked a hand through his sandy blond hair.
“You’re babysitting today?”
“I was having lunch with Tammy, which just became a free run on nepotism and sinecures. It’s not a big deal.”
Jonathan chuckled. “It’s always a big deal. First, you hate being told what to do.”
“True, but I have to make exceptions for Tammy. Damn that kid starts to tear up, and I’d buy her a new penthouse.”
“Don’t say that in earshot of her or you’ll find yourself doling out for a Central Park view you don’t even get to regularly enjoy,” Jonathan said. “An intern is an intern. They’re a dime a dozen in any business, but it’s a slippery slope. You always said that Duncan Multimedia was different and part of that is because for twenty years our board doesn’t pull the same self-serving bullshit that gets Enron or whatever else dead and fast. Or worse, shit PR.”
I rolled my eyes. Now I knew what Jonathan was angling at. “This is about you being paranoid over the Orbit Channel merger? Seriously? I’m interviewing one of her friends for five minutes and then giving her a form to take to HR to get fast-tracked to her first day. I’m not holding an open season to hire everyone’s best friends and deadbeat nephews here.”
“Precedents.” Jonathan shrugged. “But that’s not why I’m worried.”
“Why?”
