he hallway toward the guest suites. Thei
tchen, pulled a bottle of room-temperature water from
w-profile gray business suit. She pulled
from the back of her closet and shoved
ilding and stopped at a Starbucks
er her black card. The POS machine let
The line of businessmen behind her
her wallet, pulling out crumpled bills and loose quarters
he sleek office of a top-tie
mpressed by her Ivy League credentials
g. He picked it up. Within seconds
He slid the resume back across the desk to Em
d the edge of the d
pted, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper. "I c
ked out of the building, the brig
hree more media and advertising agencies.
ven pretend. He tossed her res
l blacklist shared among the top media execs in the city. No one will touch you," the ma
llapsed onto a cold wood
n on her heel was rubbed raw, a burst b
shivered violently, crossing her arms tightly ov
filter. She could not afford to fall apart. She could not afford to give up. There was a tiny
A text from Alex,
enthouse and sign the papers now, he w
screen. Pure, unadulterat
e. She blocke
y the dizzying drop of pregnancy-induced hy
now-frozen account just yesterday. Even worse, she had tried to pawn her diamond earrings earlier, only to find
a cheap dinner to feed the baby, o
weight. She buried her face in her hand
over her, blocking the
s pushed gently into her line of sight
ike you cou
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