“Renée, David’s new assistant, is already in. Mark took her upstairs.” Gus peels the lid off his paper coffee cup to finish the last drops. “Fifty bucks says she runs for the hills by the end of the week.”

“I’d take that bet if I felt comfortable taking your money, Gus. I think she’s going to work out just fine.”

“If you say so,” he murmurs, his voice dripping with doubt.

“Have a great day.” I swipe my badge, stealing one last glance at Kyle.

The green light flashes, allowing me through.

“That was some dress, by the way,” Gus calls out.

I turn back to give him a questioning look.

“That silvery number you had on this past Saturday. You know, while you were sittin’ in my chair, stuffing your face with one of those big, juicy Alejandro burgers you keep giving me so much grief about.”

“How did you . . .” My words fade as I peer up at the security camera that’s trained on the lobby.

“Sometimes I like to skim the surveillance tapes from the weekend shifts, especially when I’ve got a newbie working. Want to make sure they’re not doing something they’re not supposed to be doin’.”

Kyle’s eyes flash to mine and I see the “oh shit” look of panic in them.

“Well, it’s a good thing Kyle is proving to be such a good employee,” I say evenly.

Gus makes a sound, something that seems like agreement but could also be otherwise. “Also explains why my chair was all out of whack. Took me twenty minutes to get it sorted this morning.”

“Oh, sorry. You know . . . long legs and all.”

He chuckles. “Have a good day, Miss Calloway. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your secret.” Big brown eyes flash to me and he waits a few beats. “About Alejandro’s.”

I know for a fact he’s not talking about the burger.

Mark trails me into my office.

“Your morning reports are in the blue folder on the left. I’ve already summarized the market stats and the PowerPoint deck for your ten A.M. is finished . . .” He goes on and on, briefing me on everything he’s done to help me prepare for another long, grueling week ahead.

“Thank you. As always, you’re on top of things.” Whereas I am not. I plan on hiding in my office and reviewing the rest of this construction proposal from KDZ. “Oh, I need a contact at our corporate cell phone company. Whoever manages Calloway’s contract. Not the account handler but the executive at the top of that chain. And I need that number and name ASAP.” I’m hoping Kyle’s right and Tripp is stupid enough to have incriminating text conversations on his company phone.

Mark nods, his brow furrowed with determination.

“How’s everything on that front going so far?” I nod to where Renée sits, her long blonde hair pulled into a chic topknot, scowling at her monitor. She’s wearing a tomato-red dress that, oddly enough, reminds me of the Wawa staff T-shirts, only the color is flattering on her.

Mark follows my gaze. “Good so far, but David’s not in yet. Carla from HR asked me if I could show Renée the ropes this morning. You know—her computer, and security pass, and all that. I figure it’ll take an hour at most. You okay with that? After I get this contact for you, of course.”

“Yes, because the sooner she’s up to speed, the sooner David will stop pestering us.” I drop my bag and sink into my chair with a heavy sigh as I take in the pile of work already forming for me. More signatures, more approvals, more, more, more.

And then I notice the packet of sour apple Fun Dip in my silver spoon figurine, and I start to laugh. We never did get a chance to eat those last night.

“Yeah, I noticed that on your desk this morning. Do you know who left it for you?”

“I do, actually.”

Mark lingers another moment, eyeing me carefully. “You seem awfully chipper this morning.”

“Do I?” I can’t keep the private smile from curling my lips. Maybe because I haven’t felt this alive and free since I was sixteen years old.

His gaze flickers to the candy pack again. “So, I guess that person works at Calloway.”

He’s fishing for details.

“Don’t you have a number to find me?” I remind him, though I wink to let him know I’m not bothered by his nosiness.

“Right.” He’s out the door in a flash.

I type out a text to Kyle’s number:

Two razz apple Fun Dips says you won’t let me take you out to dinner tonight.

The answer comes almost immediately:

Four says you won’t ask me to go home with you after.

I quickly respond:

Meet me at eight at my place. And bring your work clothes with you for the morning.

Two knocks rattle the glass door. I look up in time to see my dad poke his head in.

“David has a new assistant?”

“Yes, he hired her late last week. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”

“He called, but I was preoccupied. So what’d you think of the proposal?”

I sigh heavily. “Good morning to you, too, Dad,” I offer, not bothering to hide my annoyance. It’s barely eight a.m.

He makes a point of slowly saying, “Good morning, Piper. What did you think of the proposal?”

“I’m still reviewing it.”

“But so far . . .”

“I’m still reviewing.” And still annoyed—at Dad for what he did thirteen years ago, but more at the fact that I’m twenty-nine years old and here I am, hiding my love interest from my parents. “I only just got it late on Saturday, remember? And I was busy yesterday. I had lunch with Mom.”

Dad makes a sound, the same sound he always makes when Mom is mentioned—a mixture of disapproval and scorn.

“She’s dating someone,” I offer, unprompted. “She sounds happy.”

“Well . . .” He searches my area rug for something to say. “She’s not getting any younger. Maybe this one will stick. I’m sitting down with Tripp this morning at eleven to discuss the Marquee. You should be there if you can make it work in your calendar.”

“I can’t,” I begin to say, but he’s out the door and marching to his office.

I groan. My women’s network meeting is at eleven and, no, I can’t just bump everyone. But I also need to be in this meeting with Tripp and my father. My father may have acknowledged his own part in sabotaging my importance in the company, but that doesn’t mean he won’t sign off on KDZ’s proposal without me.