: Chapter 54

I open the door and scowl at the messenger who delivered the puppy to me a few weeks ago. What the hell are those assholes up to now? I really thought that they were going to leave me alone after my visit to West two days ago. Especially after his ten-minute rambling drunk-dialed voicemail.

“Lily Sloane?”

I roll my eyes at his snarky tone. “You know I am.”

“You can never tell in this game,” he says, and I’m pretty sure one corner of his mouth lifts slightly.

“Whatever.” Leaning against the doorframe, I cross my arms over my chest. “What delights do you have for me today?”

“This piece of crap.” He steps out of sight.

Trepidation causes my stomach to sink, but my heart leaps when I pop my head out and see what he’s brought me. “Betty!”

His forehead wrinkles, but there’s definitely a smirk on his face now. “You got pissed off when I brought you an adorable puppy, but you’re overjoyed by this pile of junk?”

“She is not junk.” I yank her handlebars from his grasp and wheel her inside, dimly registering the lack of metallic protest.

He arches one eyebrow. “She?”

I tip my chin up. “I said what I said.”

He puts his hand on the doorframe and leans in. “You wanna get a drink some time?”

I blink at the sudden change of subject. Is this some kind of test? “A drink? With you?”

“Yes. And yes.” His grin showcases a set of perfect white teeth.

I tilt my head and consider his proposal. I mean, would there be a better way to piss off the Unholy Trinity than to start dating the guy they use to deliver stuff to me? “You look way nicer when you smile.”

He licks his lips. “And you’ll look way nicer with those legs wrapped around my neck.”

“Ugh!” I slam the door in his face. Scrubbing the last thirty seconds from my mind, I turn my attention to Betty. She looks like she has two brand-new wheels, and her frame is all straightened out. A sob wells in my throat. Which one of them did this? And why? I haven’t been able to stop beating myself up for leaving her behind since I calmed down later that day, and I hoped for the best—that they would find it in their hearts to send her back to me in the same condition I left her. But by this morning, I’d given up hope and figured they hauled her to the dumpster. Why would they go to the trouble of having her fixed?

Forever imprinted on my memory, West’s voicemail plays in my head. If I weren’t intimately familiar with his voice, I wouldn’t have recognized it. I could hardly decipher most of his drunken rambling, but he kept repeating how sorry he was and how it was all his fault.

My ringing phone jolts me back to the present, and I grab it off the kitchen counter. Not recognizing the number, I debate whether to answer, but curiosity wins out. “Hello?”

“Lily Sloane?”

“This is she.”

“My name is Alison Steadman. I saw your article in Genevieve, and I was wondering if you have half an hour to come in and chat about working here at Ignition?”

I stop breathing, certain I misunderstood. I replay her words in my mind. Holy shit, she’s asking me to come in for an interview at the second-most read magazine in the country.

“Lily?” she says, and I realize how long I’ve been silent.

“Hell yes!” I clap my hand over my mouth and take a deep breath, then manage to answer more calmly. “I mean, I’d love to. When would be good for you?”

“Does today at two work for your schedule?”

On the inside, I’m celebrating like I won the lottery, but I keep my voice even. “It does.”

“Perfect. You know where we are, right?”

I cycle past your building every damn day. “Yes, I’m familiar with the building.”

“Wonderful. Then I’ll see you today at two.”

As soon as she hangs up, I toss my phone onto the couch and squeal at the top of my lungs. Pumping my fists and shaking my hips, I dance around the apartment. Alison Steadman wants to chat about me working there. “Fuck yeah!” I clamp my hand over my mouth. I might be alone, but these walls are thin. I go on dancing but sing quietly to myself.

I might have a new job. Betty is back. And between the severance package I got from my mail room job at Genevieve and what I saved from my last two weeks’ pay at my new job, I have enough for a deposit on an apartment in Brooklyn. It’s tiny but it’s mine, and I move in next week.

Life is finally looking up.