Page 24 of Julian's Curse

“Kali, we’ve been having issues with the app not working offline. Please can you help?”

“On it,” she replied, playfully dancing her hands in the air.

“Thank you,” I huffed with relief, now ready to delve into the tease in front of me. The dream of owning an established publishing company felt distant, especially since I didn’t have the funds. Still, I wanted it so badly.

Amanda sure knew how to keep me motivated. She’d also left a note on the first page of the documents she’d left for me to read.

Lucie,

As you can see, the financials for this business haven’t been great. Self-help book sales make up the majority of our revenue, but fiction sales are lagging behind. Do you have any ideas on how we could boost those? Naturally, only get to this if you have extra time.

Amanda

Extra time? As a publishing icon, she understood that the success of a publishing business relied heavily on both quality content and effective marketing. But this was a full-time job, not a side hobby.

I took out my calendar, to scribble a list of tasks I needed to do in the near future.

MBA classes

Fulltime job – app optimization, magazine articles & managing Kali

Wedding prep

Make 13 million

Look into publishing business ideas

My schedule didn’t look feasible at all, and I could already feel the weight of the words I’d have to say to Julian: that ourdream wedding might have to be postponed, or worse, that we’d have to elope in a quiet, small ceremony first. The thought of disappointing him gnawed at me, though. So, somehow, amidst the chaos, I’d have to figure it all out. Rose, Julian’s chief of staff—and, in a way, our surrogate grandma—would likely step in to help me hire a wedding planner if needed. But such careless spending never felt right to me, so I still planned to stay at the forefront of it all. Besides, there was fun in planning my own wedding, and I didn’t want to miss out on that.

Naturally,I was the last one at the office. To my great satisfaction, toward the end of my day, I received an email that I’d gotten accepted into LSU’s program. Classes would start the following week, which is why I spent about an hour trying to set up my student profile, and email, then hurried through the registration process. I picked International Economics, Finance & Accounting for the first three months. Why not start with what I found the most challenging?

After shutting down my computer around 7:30 PM, with the summer sun still casting light outside, I followed my usual routine. I took the elevator down, got into my Land Rover, and drove out through the emergency exit. Cortez was only a few blocks away, but per Will’s instructions, I took a different route home. This time, I detoured through Bankers Hill, then wondered if I could swing by Whole Foods in Hillcrest for some takeout sushi. With Julian not at home, I had no rush to get back.

I heard the loud roar of a motorcycle engine, and for a moment, I braced myself, expecting the rider to swerve left andweave through traffic. It was legal in California, but to me, it always seemed like the most reckless maneuver in the world. Instead, though, the motorcycle pulled up beside me, clearly intent on overtaking. I eased off the gas, giving him room to pass.

It was a dirt bike—one that had been modified for the street—painted in black and purple. The color scheme hit me like a wave, bringing back memories of Bradley. I remembered the ride we took to the ocean, the wind in our faces, the freedom in the air. He used to have a bike just like that.

Oh, those were the days. I missed our friendship more than I liked to admit. Bradley’s shop had been closed for months now. How much longer would it stay empty? How long before everything he’d built—everything that reminded me of him—faded away entirely?

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