Page 87 of When Hearts Ignite

She pushes me away, her cheeks pink as she gives me a once-over. “Belle would be proud too of what you’re wearing. Thank God you aren’t going back to your frumpy old granny workwear. You look like a girl boss.”

Chuckling, I dab my wet eyes with a tissue, careful not to mess up my simple makeup of a nude eyeshadow and eyeliner, paired with a mauve lipstick. I smooth my hands down a sheath dress I dug out from Mom’s old clothes. It’s a classic black tweed dress with white trim, elegant and formfitting.

I’m not going to hide myself anymore. If there’s anything I learned in my time at Trésor, I can be feminine and independent, embrace my physical attributes, and be powerful. I can have intelligence while taking care of my appearance. Things don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

“Thanks, Tay. Do you need to go to ABTC today?”

“Nope. I get today off. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. I might go bug Millie. She seems to be nervous about something but she won’t tell me anything. But I have this.” She grins as she holds up a bag of gummy bears, the classic Haribo version that is apparently the crème de la crème of all things gummies. “I’m going to fish it out of her.”

I laugh, my voice feeling lighter than it has in ages. “Good luck with that.”

Twisting the door handle, my heart pinches and warms at the memory of myself doing the special doorknob dance at the old apartment, with Mom and Taylor laughing as I left for work. A lump gathers in my throat again as I think of the beautiful woman who gave birth to me, who I take after, who I miss so desperately. The happiness is threaded with sadness, all part of the tapestry of life. Heaving out a sigh, I step out of the apartment, the sweet humid air of spring blossoms wafting to my nostrils.

“Break a leg, sis!” Taylor calls out behind me before the door shuts, and a smile appears on my face.

Sighing in contentment, my soul brims with happiness and energy when I step onto the marble floors of Pietra Capital.

Back on Wall Street once again.

My lips twitch in an effort not to smile and look like an idiot as I take in the bustling bullpen. Traders pace in their cubicles, their hands waving in the air as they talk on their phones. Analysts type away at their computers, the staccato sounds soothing my frazzled nerves. My eyes widen when I see my cubicle empty and clean and I realize Steven has kept my old place for me.

But then, a chill befalls the room as I step toward the bullpen and colleagues glance up from their work. The furtive whispers begin, too low for me to hear. Hayley blazes by in a cream suit, her eyes giving me a once-over before she arches her brow, her lips flattening.

Then, I feel the leering glances of Chuck, who grunts something like, “Must be nice to be a woman these days.” I frown, but he turns around to engage in a conversation with another person.

Unease prickles my chest, crawling inside and settling around my rib cage. Why is everyone looking at me like this? I can feel my face heating and I brush my hand through my hair before smoothing it over my outfit, looking for something amiss, anything that’ll explain this cold reception I’m experiencing right now.

Gnawing my bottom lip, I approach my cubicle and see Jamie beaming at me, her smile blinding, the same pen perched on her ears, her black hair arranged in her usual bun.

“Welcome back!” she exclaims and gives me a friendly wink. “I’ve missed you so much around here!”

My chest warms and the earlier unease slowly melts away. First day jitters, that’s all.

“I missed you a lot too. So happy to be back.”

She blows me a kiss. “Lunch on me today, okay?” Her phone rings and she points to it apologetically.

I mouth, go ahead, and smile as she plops back on her chair and answers the call.

My fingers trail over my clean desk as elation flutters inside me and I roll my lips inward to keep from grinning like an idiot. Turning my computer on, I settle in place, eager to begin my workday and catch up on the latest happenings with TransAmerica.

The hours fly by and soon the late afternoon sun is shining its golden rays through the windows. I spent most of my morning perusing spreadsheet after spreadsheet, financial statements, and news articles. It’ll take me some time to get through everything, but I know I can do it.

Then, Jamie took me to a nice sushi restaurant a block away and gave me the lowdown on everything that happened at Pietra in the last nine months and all the corporate drama I missed. I found myself laughing at her big expressions and truly enjoying myself over a meal—something I hadn’t done in a long time.

I stretch my arms overhead and stifle a yawn before getting up and walking to the restroom. After I step into a stall, I lock the door and complete my business. I roll out my tight shoulders, no doubt a product of my intense typing from earlier.

Just as I’m about to stand up and flush the toilet, I hear the bathroom door opening.

“Mr. Kingsley hired her back as a consultant?” An unfamiliar voice whispers as a symphony of clicking and clacking heels step into the bathroom. I freeze and hold my breath. They must be talking about me.

“Did you hear she worked as a stripper at The Orchid? Chuck told me earlier. Apparently, his father is a member there and Mr. Kinglsey made a big scene over her at some casino night.” This screechy voice I recognize—Andrea, the mean girl I ran into a few times before as an intern who always looked down on me whenever we passed by each other in the halls.

“No way! Our Mr. Kingsley is losing his cool over her? What does he see in her, anyway?”

“Who knows? Look at how she’s dressed now. It’s like she wants to be one of us when she used to be in those rags. Maybe she’s a kept woman now. I mean, he’s in such a good mood today after barking at us for months straight.” Andrea snorts and I peek through the gap between the stalls and see her hunched over the mirror, no doubt reapplying her makeup.

The shock from the conversation wears off and ice forms in my veins as my pulse roars in my ears. I fist my hands as I realize the awful rumors swirling about my return.

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