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I shifted in my seat. “She’s getting ready to announce her departure, huh?”

“Mm. She told me just before I came over here to harass you,” she said. “Said she needed to tell everybody as swiftly as possible, hopefully one-and-done, all in one go. Told her to ask Gwen, said she might as well just broadcast it over the sound system, give a little speech. And, uh…” She avoided my gaze. “Thought I’d sit with you. Guess I might have bothered for some reason to worry about you, worry you might be sad, and thought I’d keep you company. I’ll buzz off if you want to be alone, though.”

I was kind of glad I wasn’t the only one who was awkward sometimes. I hunched forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “You’re not getting away from me that easily. Once Harper’s gone, I have no one to attach to but you, so… anyway, just quit trying to run away.”

“Yeah, yeah. Guess I can do that.”

Harper had always been so… quietly good. Never getting directly involved in a lot, but always making things better for everyone around her. Made sense she’d help me fix my awkwardness with Emberlynn and help me get over my embarrassment around my image before she left.

That stupid-ass jerk. She never did let other people do nice things for her.

Of all the dumbass people for me to fall for. Me! One would be forgiven for thinking Paisley Macleod, the de facto empress of Bayview, would have better taste.

But things never turned out how you planned them, did they?

Six months later

Chapter 21

Harper

I took the stairs up two at a time, pushing out into floor 31 and making a sharp right. This company had liquid cash flow out the nose, but they still never found a budget for a designer, from the looks of things—the tacky carpet running the floor of the office hall looked like it might have been there since the 90s, a kind of faded baby-blue that didn’t do any favors with the eggshell walls.

I knocked at Susanna’s door, and her voice called out lightly from inside.

“Harper? Come in.”

I pushed the door open as she rose from her desk inside, reaching over and taking the folder I handed her. “Here’s everything. Sorry it took a minute.”

“Please.” She waved me off, flicking through the folder. She was a woman in her late forties, dark hair in tight curls, a loose shirt with a paisley pattern in a vibrant red that brought out the warm tones in her medium skin tone. She had a thing for paisley patterns. I’d always managed not to think about it too much.“When I say end of day, I just mean I want it there when I get to the office next. You’re always punctual.”

I hadn’t stopped moving for one second since I got to New York. Just… felt right this way. Felt right for being me, being Harper. “So, looks good?”

“Looks good to me, but I’m not the one evaluating it.” She snapped the folder shut, and she closed her laptop. “Free tonight?”

I paused. “Er… why?”

She smiled. “I’m attending an event we’re catering for. Mayor’s there, schmoozing with some deep-pocket corporate types. Ostensibly it’s apolitical action summit, something or other about addressing crime in the city, but… well, you know how these things are. You’ve been so busy in the office and the bakeries that you haven’t touched ground in a lot of the actual events we do, and it might get you some good perspective to see some of our higher-profile events in action.”

I didn’t even hesitate. I’d had plans for the evening, but only in the way I did every evening—plans for the sake of having plans. Keeping myself moving. Any one plan was interchangeable with any other. “Sure, I’m game. Dress code?”

“The suit will fit in perfectly. Unless you’d rather get changed.”

“No, this is good. Are we heading straight there, then?”

She waved the folder in the air as she headed for the door, flicking off the lights on her way out. “Handing this over to Solomon and we’re on our way. Make no mistake—the mayor is obviously the most high-profile figure there, but talking to him won’t be interesting.”

I fell in line beside her as we walked through the halls, moving quickly. New Yorkers were all like that. No wonder Aria had a stride that always left us in the dust. “He’s that dull?”

“Too popular. Rule of thumb, Harper,” she said, gesturing with the folder at me. “In an event, you don’t look for the person with the highest standing. You look for the person with the highest ratio of standing to attention. Find the guy who’s important but everybody’s overlooking him, and make him feel important. Then the world is yours.”

“And… any idea who that is?”

“Jessica Perler, an operations executive for a construction conglomerate for the tri-state area. Internal hire, pretty recent, so she’s not exactly coming in with a strong personal network here. She’ll probably be grateful to be flattered. Solomon,” she called, pausing at Solomon Forrester’s office, leaning inside and waving the folder.

“Designs statement?” he said, standing up and stepping around the two he shared his office with, leaning in the doorframe as he took the folder. “Brilliant. Harper’s work?”

I nodded. “Compiling and reviewing, anyway.”