Page 1 of Losing Hope

ChapterOne

Hope Yorke was not havinga good morning. It started when her alarm clock didn’t go off, causing her to bolt upright in bed when the doorman called to let her know her car had arrived. After the fastest shower ever, and the heaviest morning traffic in ages, things only got worse. Just as she walked out of Starbucks, some asshole slammed into her, causing her scalding hot latte to spill down the front of her black Donna Karan wrap dress and drip all the way down onto her brand new pink satin Louboutin heels.

She had waited three months for those shoes to come in on back order from Paris. Thankfully, she always kept several spare outfits in her office, so after another quick shower and change of clothes—a royal blue Calvin Klein belted Ponte knit dress with a black pair of Jimmy Choo suede pumps—she walked into the company board meeting quite late, a meeting in which her father sat at the head of the table. Taking her seat to his right, she didn’t miss the look of disappointment that flashed across his stern features as he nodded toher.

“Nice of you to join us, Hope.”

“My apologies to you all.” She glanced around the table, making eye contact with each board member at the table. She may be the boss’s daughter, but she expected no special treatment and had earned her right to sit at this table. Hope had graduated with honors from Columbia University with a major in Business Management and a minor in English and Comparative Literature, and for the last six years, she had worked her way up through the ranks of her father’s publishing company. At only twenty-eight years old, she was proud to be the youngest ever Senior Vice President of US Publishing to sit at this table.

“I had a small accident on my way in this morning.”

Her father’s hand immediately reached out and covered hers as he asked quietly, “Are you all right, Hope?”

She nodded and smiled at him in return. “Yes, Father, I’m fine.” She patted his hand and then, addressing the board, continued, “If someone will just catch me up, let’s continue with the meeting.”

The meeting lasted well past lunch and into the afternoon, so by the time Hope was back in her office, she had endless emails and messages to return. She was off to her lake house in Vermont that evening, and the sooner she could get through things, the sooner she could get on theroad.

Several hours later, Emily, Hope’s assistant, stood in the entrance to her office. “Excuse me, Miss Yorke, it’s after five. Billy is on the phone and wants to know if you’ll still require the helicopter this evening, or if you’ve changed your mind about heading North?”

“Shit!” Jumping up, she gathered her computer and paperwork and stuffed them into her bag. “I had no idea it had gotten so late! Yes, please ask Billy to wait, and can you also have Ed bring the car around to the front? It’s faster if we leave from there instead of the garage entrance.”

“Of course, Miss Yorke.” Emily was out the door and back at her desk making the necessary calls before Hope could say anotherword.

Quickly pulling on her trench coat, she grabbed her bags and headed to take the elevator down to the lobby as fast as her heels would allow. She walked outside into the chilly fall air to find Ed waiting for her at the curb beside the car. He tipped his head in greeting. “Miss Yorke. Seaport Helipad?”

Giving him a nod, she handed him her computer bag. “Yes, please, Ed, the quicker the better. I completely lost track oftime.”

She climbed into the back as he closed the door behind her. The car carried a light scent of the Old Spice aftershave he always wore, which Hope thought was better than any air freshener that could have been used. She heard him load her bag into the trunk, and then he was in the driver’s seat and pulling smoothly into traffic. “I’ll get you there as quick as I can, Miss. Traffic’s a little heavy right now, it being Friday night andall.”

“Thank you again, Ed. Billy’s waiting at the helipad for me, so I appreciateit.”

“Just you going up North this weekend, Miss?” Weathered blue eyes looked at her in question from the rear-view mirror.

“Yep, just me. Need a bit of a break from everything.”

Ed knew it was a little more than that. He knew that almost two weeks ago she’d come back early from a business trip and, instead of going home, had decided to surprise her boyfriend of two years at his place. The surprise was on her, though, when she walked in and found him screwing some redhead on the kitchen counter. Ed knew this because he was behind her with her bags. He was also the one to cold-cock that prick Dylan in the chin when he ran after her as she turned and fled. He then listened to her cry in the backseat of the car as he drove her back to her apartment. Yeah, Ed knew she needed a little break all right.

They reached the heliport, and Ed helped her out of the car and grabbed her computer bag from the trunk. After entering the terminal and confirming their identities, Ed walked with Hope to the helipad where Billy was waiting next to the helicopter. He smiled wide at Hope and nodded to Ed in greeting as he walked out to meetthem.

“We’re all set to go, Miss Yorke. I’m sorry I can’t take you all the way up this time. Tower says the rain and wind are a bit too strong to take the chopper.”

“It’s no problem at all, Billy. At least we can still take the plane.” Hope was getting seated in the chopper now, with Billy making sure her straps were buckled securely. He circled around the chopper, hopped in on his side, and strapped himselfin.

“It should be a quick fifteen minutes over to the airport. The plane is ready and waiting for you at the terminal.”

Hope nodded in acknowledgment as the chopper took flight over the river and then banked to the left toward LaGuardia. These were the perks of being a Yorke. Hope had private helicopters and planes to take her wherever she needed to go, when she wanted to go, and this weekend, all she wanted was some time to herself. She was looking forward to curling up with a book in front of the fire, drinking wine, sleeping late, going for long walks around the lake, and just forgetting about the last couple of weeks.

What a prick Dylan turned out to be. She knew she wasn’t in love him and probably wouldn’t ever have married him. But still, what happened to having a little respect and just breaking things off with someone, instead of cheating on them? They were supposed to be damn grownups, after all. Humiliation still burned in her gut. Of course, within hours, there were endless deliveries of flowers and calls from Dylan asking for forgiveness. After one phone call back, calmly telling him to go fuck himself, or better yet, the redhead, she threw herself into her work, putting in sixteen-hour days to try to numb the pain of her new reality. That was almost two weeks ago, and the long days had caught up withher.

As promised, fifteen minutes later, they landed at LaGuardia. A shuttle was waiting to drive her over to the private terminal where the company jet was housed. Upon arrival, she boarded the plane and made herself comfortable in one of the white leather seats.

“Good evening, Miss Yorke. It’s nice to see you.” Sylvia, one of the regular flight attendants on board, seemed to appear from nowhere, ready to make sure Hope was comfortable and didn’t need anything.

“Hello, Sylvia. Nice to see you, as well. Do you think you could get me some coffee?”

“Of course. Are you hungry? I can make you anything on themenu.”

“Just the coffee for now. Thankyou.”

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