Page 10 of Token

Mr. Edwards smiled then, looking entirely too pleased with himself. He handed her a sheet of paper that represented the opening bid in salary negotiations. “Why don’t you look this over and tell me what you think?”

“I hope you’re open to negotiations.” She was certainly game. An offer printed up and presented to her in less than an hour said they wanted her bad. Needed her.

She skimmed the document until her eyes came upon a number. An eye-poppingshrimp and salmon can be added to the grocery listnumber. Kennedy had to force herself not to visibly react because the annual salary listed was 25 percent higher than her previous job.

Her heart picked up its pace. Farther down on the sheet, another number caught her eye. The sight of the wordssigning bonusfollowed by thirty grand set fireworks off in her brain. They’d now ventured into complete student loan repayment territory.

Breathe. Breathe. You hold the cards here. Never let them know how much you want it.

Never back down from asking for what you’re worth.Her father had driven that into her and her siblings’ heads.

But before she presented her counteroffer, there was the not-so-little matter of the promise she’d made the singer. “Sahara mentioned the lack of diversity and wanted assurances that the company andmyteam were more diverse than the men at the meeting. I told her it was, so you’re going to have to hire more people if you want to keep her happy.” It wasn’t a threat, simply a statement of fact.

Mr. Edwards barely batted an eyelash when he replied, “Then I guess we’ll be hiring more people. You can take the lead on that and you’ll receive our standard recruiting fee of twenty-five percent.”

Be cool.You can jump up and down and scream when you get home.

“Sounds good to me. As for the offer, I propose ten percent more on the base salary. Six weeks of vacation and Election Day off.”

His mouth quirked in reluctant admiration. “That sounds fair.”

If she’d asked for 20 percent more, Kennedy was sure he would’ve agreed, which gave her more than a moment’s pause. Worried she was rushing into this without enough thought, she slammed on the brakes and said smoothly, “Wonderful. Now, I hope you don’t mind if I take the night to think it over.”

“Of course, of course. Take until the end of the week, if you want,” Mr. Edwards said with an understanding nod.

Kennedy intended to do just that.

“Get in here, you,” Aurora cried the second she opened her front door to Kennedy and all but yanked her inside. Clad in red sweat shorts and a white crop top with her highlighted gold-blond tresses, her best friend looked like the ultimate sun-kissed California beach girl.

Kennedy had come straight there after her meeting with Mr. Edwards. In her excitement, she’d almost called Aurora before she left the office. But in the end, she decided it wasn’t the kind of news she wanted to share over the phone. That kind of instant gratification couldn’t compete with seeing the look on her bestie’s face when she told her in person. So she’d texted that she was on her way over and turned off her phone.

“How dare you hold out on me,” Aurora chided, all mock aggrieved. “We don’t do cryptic. We don’t make each other wait. We don’t do torture. Now tell me what happened with Sahara. Did they offer you a job? Come on, spill,” she commanded and tugged Kennedy by the arm into the living room.

Aurora’s brownstone wasn’t how the other half lived; this was the lifestyle of the one-percenters. Kennedy wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the place. A beautiful three-bedroom in swanky New York’s Upper East Side was far removed from her tiny one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. Her best friend enjoyed high ceilings, crown molding, gorgeous built-in shelving, tall arched windows, and a kitchen to die for. Nate bought it for her the year his company went public—his junior year at Columbia—and Kennedy didn’t even want to know what he’d paid for it. All she knew was that in Lenox Hill everything cost a fortune—and then some. One day she’d be able to afford something one-tenth the price and half the size. Just not in New York City.

Kennedy let her friend pull her down onto the oversized sofa in front of the fireplace. “Okay, okay,” she said, laughing. “I’ll tell you if you promise to make me one of your famous brown cow floats.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can manage that. And count yourself lucky that I just replenished my stock of Kahlúa. Now spill. I want all the details. Great outfit, by the way.”

That was Aurora in a nutshell. A hundred thoughts and only one mouth from which to voice them.

“Okay, let’s start with Sahara, who is absolutely fabulous. Really down-to-earth. She’s as beautiful in person as she is in the mags and on TV. Looks younger too. Anyway, we hit it off. I mean, I really think she likes me. She asked formyphone number. Oh my god, the Desert Queen has my personal phone number.” Hours after the fact, she was only now grasping the enormity of that. Even though Aurora’s parents rubbed elbows with a lot of big stars, Aurora rarely did, and Kennedy never had. This was a big f-ing deal.

“Of course she does. Everyonelovesyou.”

Kennedy snorted gleefully. “Well, I don’t know about Mr. Edwards, since I’m about to take a nice bite out of ECO’s payroll.” She blew on her nails and buffed them against her shoulder, feeling supremely proud of herself.

Aurora let out a high-pitched squeal. “Yes! Yes! I knew it.”

Kennedy couldn’t help laughing along with her. “But I demanded ten percent more than they initially offered, which was already twenty-five percent more than my last salary, and the signing bonus was three times more than you told me to ask for.”

Rendered momentarily speechless, Aurora gaped, her blue eyes wide. “Are you shitting me?” she asked, her voice a whisper of hushed disbelief.

“Nope. And I have a feeling I can ask for even more, and with that kind of money, I’ll finally be able to pay off my student loan. Which means I’m free, Rory. Free!” Giddy, Kennedy threw her hands in the air and wriggled happily in place. “And I’ll be able to afford an apartment closer to the city.” Or at the very least, in a nicer part of Brooklyn.

Boisterous celebration ensued, the women giggling as they hugged and high-fived like a bunch of giddy teenagers. When the giggling finally subsided, Aurora sat back, one slender leg tucked under the other, and regarded her soberly. “Those bastards. They’re getting way more out of you than you are of them. How dare they use you like that?”

“Don’t worry.” Kennedy gave her friend’s hand a gentle pat and squeeze. “I’m using them right back. Guess who’s in charge of diversifying their staff? And each hire comes with averygenerous recruiting fee.”

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