Page 63 of Eastern Lights

“I hate him,” she told me. “And I hope he has a miserable life.”

I wished I could’ve wished the same for him…even though my heart wasn’t there yet. All I wished was that he’d reach out and call me. “How’s Maiv’s mood today?” I asked, shifting the subject away from my failed attempt at getting wed.

“Mood is the same as it is every other day:The Devil Wears PradaMiranda Priestly.” Greta frowned. “Did you really use fifty-four exclamation points in the email you sent to beg for your job back?”

“What? No. It was fifty-two at most.”

She snickered. “You’re a brave woman for having enough nerve to even ask Maiv for your position back.”

“More like desperate, but here we go.”

“Godspeed,” Greta said before holding up her fingers like Katniss fromThe Hunger Gamesas a sign of her support and love. “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

I swallowed hard as I walked down the long walkway to Maiv’s office. Everyone in the space looked at me and gave me a mix of empathic expressions and shockedGirl what are you doing? Run!looks. I didn’t know which one to listen to, so I kept walking.

Maiv’s office door was open, which wasn’t a normal occurrence. Still, I knocked on the doorframe to get her attention.

“Hi, Maiv. Is now still a good time to—” My words evaporated as she lifted her head in slow motion to look my way. Her green eyes hid behind a set of green frames, and her lips pressed together as she met my stare.

Then the oddest thing in the history of Maiv Sun happened—she smiled.

“Aaliyah, hi, yes. Do come in and close the door behind you.”

I swallowed hard and did as she said, unsure how to take her smile. I’d worked for the woman for years, and I’d never received a smile from her.

I took a seat across from her desk, and my heart sat uncomfortably in my throat.

Maiv smoothed her hands over her gray hair tucked in a perfect high bun, and she sat back in her chair, still staring my way. She picked up the pen from her desk and began twirling it between her fingers.

“So,” she started, “That was quite the wedding—or lack thereof.”

“You came,” I muttered.

“Of course, I came. I told you I was going to come. The ceremony space was very modern. You did a decent job, minus the whole no wedding thing.”

“Oh. Well…thanks?”

She nodded once. “I’m guessing you’re here because you want your job back.”

I tried to push my heart back down to its rightful placement in my chest.Time to grovel.“Yes, ma’am. Even if I can’t go back to being a junior editor, I’ll take any position and work my way up to—”

“You have connections with Connor Roe.”

I sat up a bit straighter, thrown off by her question. “What?”

“I noticed at your almost wedding that Connor Roe was in attendance. He’s the one who dismissed us all from the venue.”

“Uh…yes. I’m sorry, what does that have to do with—”

“Why haven’t you ever told me you knew Connor Roe?”

What exactly was happening? “Um, I didn’t think it was of importance. Plus, I don’t really know him, know him, and—”

“But he came to your wedding? How would you not know someone who was invited to your wedding?”

“I’m sorry, Maiv. I don’t understand what any of this has to do with my job and me getting it back…”

“Oh, yes. Well, I can offer you your position back—”

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