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“You can’t bring me down!” she shouted after him. “This is too good of a job! A dream job!”

Paige stood and smoothed her sweater, crossing to the mirror for one final check before she headed out the door. She raised her chin as she stared at her reflection.

“This job is going to change my life.”

A shiver snaked up her spine as she uttered the words. Why had she been offered the job out of the blue? Was there some problem with the position?

“But will it change my life for the better?”

Paige shoved the negative thought from her mind as soon as it entered. “How bad can it be?”

CHAPTER 3

After flashing a grin at her reflection, Paige hurried from the room, grabbing her tote and keys and ducking out the door with a promise to Dickens to return with pizza.

Within a quarter of an hour, she climbed the stairs of the library and slipped between the massive columns holding the roof at bay. She swung the brass and glass door open and crossed to the curving staircase. As she put one foot on the first stair, a voice interrupted her climb.

“Excuse me!” the voice shouted, echoing throughout the quiet space.

Paige winced and twisted to face the speaker.

The woman manning the desk circled it and thundered toward her. “You can’t go up there.”

Paige swallowed hard, pushing her glasses against her nose. “Uh, I’m sorry. Ms. Lauren told me to head straight to her office when I got back.”

“Got back?”

“Yes,” Paige said, a smile spreading across her face. She stuck her hand out toward the woman. “I’m Paige Turner. I was just hired as the new librarian.”

The woman arched an eyebrow at her. “You?”

Her smile waned, and Paige pulled her hand back, her fingers bending closed and her fingernails digging into her palm. “Uh, yes.”

The woman narrowed her eyes at Paige, flicking a brunette curl over her shoulder as she considered her tale.

“I’m sure Veronica can clear this all up,” Paige said with a nervous giggle.

The woman opened her mouth to speak when a new voice entered the conversation. “Oh, good. You’re back.”

Paige flicked her gaze in the direction of the voice.

Veronica descended the stairs toward them. “Thank you, Olivia. I can take it from here.”

Olivia’s dark-brown eyes betrayed her surprise as she swallowed hard. “Sorry, Ms. Lauren. I didn’t realize–“

“It’s all right. Ms. Turner will be joining us as the archive librarian. She just ran home to change before filling out her HR paperwork.”

Olivia offered a penitent smile and nodded first to Veronica, then to Paige.

“Welcome aboard,” she whispered before she spun on a heel and returned to her post behind the rounded wooden circulation desk.

Veronica reached the lower level and studied Paige for a moment. “You look a bit less disheveled now.”

Paige glanced down at her fresh clothes. “Oh, yes. Don’t worry, I’ll dress more professionally when I come in. I just grabbed the first thing I could find and threw it on for the sake of expediency.” She adjusted her glasses again with a nervous smile.

Veronica arched an eyebrow as she glanced at Paige’s outfit again. “I think those clothes would be perfectly fitting for your role here.”

She motioned for Paige to follow her. They crossed toward the tall bookcases. Paige’s ponytail bobbed as she hurried to keep up with Veronica.