Money Trees

✮ PROLOGUE ✮

All of Manhattan could hear Mai Cheng's glorious shriek that Thursday morning.

"I GOT IT!!"

Oliver Scott, her older brother, watched her in confusion as she hopped off her chair and cheered loudly in the middle of the quiet café. Wandering waiters paused to look at her and assess if they would have to call their manager.

"What happened?" He chuckled, unable to hide his laugh at the spectacle in front of him.

Mai stared at the email on her phone, increasing its brightness to make sure she read it correctly. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Dear Mai Cheng,

We are delighted to offer you the position of Editorial Intern at DOOMSDAY Magazine....

She got it. She got one of the most competitive internships in the world of fashion. DOOMSDAY (all caps for an artistic flair) was a revolutionary fashion magazine hailing from London where the main office was.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think I'd get it but I applied for an internship at DOOMSDAY Magazine and..."

"You got it?!" Oliver exclaimed.

Mai nodded, making Oliver jump up and hug her.

"I'm so proud of you!"

Mai sat back as she began to feel light-headed from the excitement. Oliver wordlessly called over a waiter with the flick of his fingers.

"Your finest champagne, please," He said without taking his eyes off of his beaming step-sister. "This is amazing."

"I KNOW!"

A flash of realisation hit Oliver. "Isn't DOOMSDAY in London though?"

"Um, yeah. I'll have to move to London for a bit."

Oliver went quiet, his bottom lip jutting out. "You only just came back from Milan, though!"

Mai had been in Milan studying fashion design. She enjoyed her experience but all it made her realise was that she could never actually become a fashion designer. However, she discovered she had a knack for critiquing others and writing about fashion so she switched her interests to fashion journalism. She had been looking for a job for the previous few months but without using her connections she found it rather hard to get a job. She had almost lost all hope by the time she found the application for DOOMSDAY. Thankfully, she still applied.

"I know, Oli. But this will be good for me. I'll probably be back in a few months anyway because I can request a transfer to the New York branch."

  "Mai..."

  "Trust me! Next year, I'll be back in New York, flourishing in the DOOMSDAY world."

  "Why did you not just work in Madeline's magazine?"

  Madeline Lockhart was one of Mai's idols. She was one of Oliver's best-friends and kind of like an older sister to her. But Mai wanted to make it on her own, dominate the world of fashion without using her connections. And in order to do that she couldn't work for Wild Magazine which would have been her number one choice if it weren't for Madeline.