Page 1 of Breadwinner
ONE
SARAH
The law office of Braxton, Pryce, and Gallagher was quiet on a Friday night. Everyone had gone home for the evening, and Sarah Gallagher liked it that way.
She sat behind her large mahogany desk, her back to an impressive wall of windows that overlooked Downtown Seattle. Gentle hues of neon lights reflected off the glossy surface, and Sarah could hear the gentle patter of rain tapping against the glass, but her attention was on the legal brief before her.
She studied the words, pausing momentarily before circling a phrase and writing in the margins in sharp, precise handwriting: “Clause 17C is a trap. Fix it.” She smiled to herself before closing the folder with a satisfying snap. Sure, she could have saved her final read-through until sometime next week, but Sarah wasn’t the type of woman who let things sit. She was the type who did what needed to be done before anyone knew they needed it.
A quiet knock drew her attention.
“Sarah?”
Sarah looked up, blinking once over the frame of her glasses. Her assistant, Avery, hovered in the doorway, holding a garment bag in one hand and Sarah’s phone in the other.
“You told me to make you leave if you stayed past eight. You have the Empwr anniversary party, remember?”
She glanced at the time. It was ten past eight. Time had gotten away from her, like it usually did when work was involved. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go to the Empwr party. She was proud of the work Jamie Lyons and Shannon York had done to further investment in women’s sports. But, honestly, she’d rather be anywhere else tonight.
She may have let herself get drawn into her work to put off going to the party because going to that party meant more time spent around her ex-wife, Beth—the same ex-wife she happened to still be completely in love with—and Jamie, who happened to be dating said ex-wife. This was a problem she was determined to either solve or forget; she just hadn’t decided which yet.
Sarah sighed as she removed her glasses and rubbed at her temples. She saw enough of Beth and Jamie daily as the three navigated co-parenting their daughter, Lily. “You’re right, Avery. I guess I should stop avoiding it.”
Avery arched a brow, unimpressed by the rare moment of vulnerability. “Avoiding what? The party, the schmoozing, or having to be around your ex?”
Sarah smiled as she reached for the garment bag. Avery was quick—Sarah wouldn’t have hired her if she wasn’t—and one of the few people Sarah let talk to her so bluntly. She needed that rapport with an assistant, but even that had its limits. “Don’t get cheeky. You still work for me,” Sarah teased lightly.
“I’m doing the job you hired me to do,” Avery shot back, handing over Sarah’s phone next.
Sarah stood, rolling her shoulders once before moving to the sleek leather loveseat in the corner of her office. She unzipped the garment bag and pulled out the dress she’d told Avery to have pressed. It was the one Lily had chosen for Sarah to wear tonight—a sleek, black, backless dress that came with a notescrawled in her daughter’s loopy handwriting.This has YOU written all over it.Sarah carefully removed the note and slid it into the accompanying clutch.
As she changed in the dim glow of her office, Avery turned politely toward the door and continued speaking. “Your driver’s out front. If we leave in the next five minutes, you’ll make it before the speeches.”
“God forbid I miss an inspirational toast,” Sarah muttered under her breath, tugging the zipper up her side. She stepped into her heels, smoothed her honey-brown hair back into a low bun, and slipped her lipstick and phone into her clutch. She glanced in the mirror on the back of her door, taking in her reflection. Lily had been right, as usual. The dress was very her. She felt powerful. Untouchable. Anddamn, she looked good.
She stepped out into the hallway, and Avery gave a low whistle. “If you’re going to suffer through this night, at least you’ll look great doing it.”
Sarah smirked. “That’s always the plan.”
They rode the elevator in silence, the kind only people who spent too much time together shared comfortably. At the bottom floor, Sarah stepped into the cool, damp night air. Rain slicked the pavement in glinting neon, and a black SUV waited at the curb.
She slid into the back seat and looked at the two unread messages waiting on her phone.
Lily 6:45 PM
What did you think of the dress!? Do you love it? I saw it and immediately thought of you! Can’t wait to see you in it.
Beth 7:25 PM
Are you still coming tonight? Lily says she wants a picture with all of us.
Sarah swallowed hard, closed the screen, and leaned against the leather seat as the driver pulled into traffic. It would be fine. She was fine. She could survive a few hours playing nice with everyone. Sarah had been doing it every time she’d seen Beth and Jamie for nearly two years, since they had gotten together. It was the best thing to do for her family, for Lily.
She’d simply take those feelings for Beth—those completely overwhelming, all-encompassing feelings—place them in their box, and put them away. Tonight wasn’t about her. It was about celebrating Empwr and Jamie.Pull it together, Gallagher, she told herself as the SUV pulled up in front of an industrial building.
The moment she walked into the glowing, vaulted space of the Empwr party—with its low lighting, brushed-brass fixtures, and cocktail tables dotted around the room—she was hit with the sound of upbeat chatter and soft music coming from a band in the corner. Even in such a lively space, her gaze immediately found Beth.
It was almost annoying how magnetically drawn to her Sarah had always been. Beth was across the room, glowing, laughing at something Jamie had whispered in her ear. Her gold dress shimmered in the low light like molten metal, making it impossible to ignore her. And God,that dress. It was audacious and bold and entirely Beth. She looked happy.