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Chapter 4: Carmichael Towers

Harper’s phone buzzed on the nightstand as she tried to tidy up her uncooperative hair with a tie. She quickly scanned the message and then leaned back in her chair and sighed. Another text message from her dad asked whether she had saved enough money for their pastry shop.

Baker Todd was her parents’ blood and sweat, and she had promised her parents they would buy back their family’s business. Her dad held onto that promise badly than her mom, maybe because the shop had more sentimental value to him than his wife.

Sighing, Harper immediately responded to her dad’s text message with a short: “not yet.”

She walked from her bedroom to where her roomie, Kendal, was curled up on a couch, surrounded by crumpled Kleenex, three empty bags of Cheetos, and a large bottle of diet Coke.

“Kendal, aren’t you going to work on that term paper?”

“I’m not feeling well,” Kendal rasped.

She crouched next to her. “Sweetie, it’s been two weeks. Your ex-girlfriend has even posted a selfie with her new girl. She has moved on, and I think you should too.”

Kendal sniffed. “I was the one who ruined a perfectly good relationship. How can I possibly move on from that fact? I deserve this, whatever I am going through right now? I fucking deserve this.”

Harper shook her head. “It’s called a heartache and, goodness, Kendall, everybody goes through that. And you cheated on her with your research partner. You had a choice, and you knew it was wrong, but you still chose to cheat on her.”

“Harper, you’re not helping,” Kendal said, on the verge of another meltdown.

“Well, all I’m saying is be brave and face the music, sweetie. And honestly, I don’t think you’re really that in love with Claire. Because if you were, you wouldn’t dare make the slightest move on Ronnie. She wouldn’t interest you at all. And that strong emotion that’s making you miserable right now, I think that’s guilt.”

“I know.” Kendal sat up and wrapped herself in a blanket, her eyes puffy from crying. “Dammit, I just miss her so much, you know,” she choked, fresh tears forming in the corners of her dark brown eyes.

Harper put on her glasses and stood up, frowning. Although she was five years older than Kendal, who was caught cheating on her twentieth birthday celebration, she couldn’t help but feel bad and sorry for her younger roommate. There was no question that Kendal was a spoiled rich girl, and she and Harper shared almost zero common interest, but she had somehow become something Kendal had closest to an older sister.

“Listen, I’ll bring you back some of that Pad Thai from down the street later, okay?”

“Aren’t you doing some overtime again?”

Harper shook her head and smiled. “I’ll come home early for you.”

“And can we watch The Little Women?”

She chuckled. “I thought you ain’t got no time for any period drama.”

“I heard about Jo March, and I think I can so much relate to her. She’s a very passionate person, and you know how passionate I am too.”

Knowing how much she loved parties, dressing up, makeup tutorials, and shopping, and how much she’d used YOLO to rationalize her impulsive and reckless behavior, Harper pushed back the need to tell Kendal that she and Jo were utterly different, passionate or not.

“Alright. Pad Thai and Little Women tonight. It’s a date!” Harper grinned and marched out the door.

After a half an hour drive through the early morning rush of Seattle, Harper carefully pulled into an almost full asphalt parking lot and parked her green hatchback to the side. Hurriedly, she got out and made her way to the massive steel and concrete of Carmichael Towers when her phone vibrated. Sliding her hand into her green tote bag, she pulled out her phone.

Lucas calling…

She picked up the call. “Lucas, I am already on my way up,” she had to speak louder than usual into the phone to talk over the sound of the honking cars and the general rush hour around her.

Lucas, Alexander’s assistant, was the only good thing to come from working at Alexander’s department. She had met him in passing in college, and they had been good friends ever since, even when Lucas was a couple of years older than her, they were almost on the same wavelength. Although, if she would have to be very honest, it also helped that she had a silly little crush on Lucas. But with his light blonde hair, chiseled jaw, and heart-melting smile – who wouldn’t?

“What time did you actually sleep last night? You’re late.”

After what happened last night, Harper had spent most of her time in her bed tossing and turning, trying to suppress what she saw to the back of her mind.

“I know.”

“I’m on my way for my meeting with Alexander.”

Harper felt her stomach churned at the mention of their CEO’s name.

“Okay. You need anything from me?”

“Just prepare the second quarter budget proposal for the Carma Energy. I need it ready before noon,” Lucas replied. “And ah―”

“What?”

“Think again about what you told me last night.”

The call ended before Harper could even say something. She made her way through the revolving doors of Tower I with a sudden shift in her mood as soon as she saw the huge portrait of the Carmichaels on the enormous lobby wall. Her eyes quickly found Alexander, standing next to his father and the company’s chairman of the board, Alfred Carmichael, looking dashing and aristocratic.

She pursed her lips and walked into the crowded elevator, greeting some of the people she knew.

Harper hated Alexander. With every ounce of her being, she hated him. She hated his smug face, his pompous personality, the way he acted knowing he’s entitled to anything and everything, and she especially hated that she’s stuck working in his company for the lack of a better opportunity.

Having worked for the company as an intern during her college years and knowing the CEO’s assistant worked positively in her favor when she was offered a full-time job as soon as she did graduate. And although many people, especially women, would kill for a place or a position at the Carmichael Group of Companies, after having the chance to know Alexander Carmichael, Harper had been plotting her exit from the company ever since.

No matter how awesome the perks and promising the career growth they’re offering seemed like, putting up with Alexander’s incompetence was just the stress she no longer wanted to deal with. She didn’t have enough money yet to go back to her hometown and buy back her parents’ pastry shop that they had to sell to help her send off to college, but she’d find another way.

Arriving at her floor, Harper stepped out of the elevator and walked into the open office area. She

made a quick stop at the coffee machine, where some of her coworkers hang around for a quick chat, then walked to her cubical with a coffee mug in hand.

Taking a deep breath, she went on to start her busy morning.

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