The CEO's Second Chance

Chapter One

"And that concludes our presentation today. Does anyone have any questions before we dismiss?"

Sara scanned the conference room for raised hands. "Please no," she thought, silently willing the other seminar participants to keep quiet and not delay their release- a full half hour early. "If I could only get lucky one more time..."

The room was silent. People began fidgeting in their seats, closing their notebooks and reaching for their phones.

The presenter's posture relaxed. Tucking a piece of short blonde hair behind her ear, she clasped her hands together and addressed the crowd. "I hope the strategies we worked on today will help you make a positive impact on the kids in your programs. Have a great weekend." And with that, she turned her attention to her laptop and began powering down.

Sara sighed, relieved that the apparent good luck flowing around her today had lasted. Not only did she get to spend the day in a posh Manhattan hotel's conference room, her weekend was beginning a half hour earlier than planned. Smiling to herself, she headed toward the elevators and resolved to leave all thoughts of work behind for the next two days.

Not that she didn't love her job, but mentoring at-risk teenagers was challenging work. Sara cared deeply about helping the kids, but hearing their stories, seeing their challenges...she knew she would burn out if she didn't take the occasional break. She had almost reached that point when she saw the flyer for today's seminar- "Closing the Achievement Gap."

The last presenter was the best one of the day and renewed Sara's sense of purpose. It wasn't often that she finished the day more energized than when it began. Most days, she went back to her small studio apartment late in the evening, weary from hard work and nursing a vague tension headache. But not today.

Sara was having one of those rare days when everything seemed to go her way. They were just little things of course- the coffee shop barista had given her a medium coffee and only charged her for a small, her music app had shuffled a string of her favorite songs, the air felt the perfect combination of cool and crisp...

Ah, autumn in New York. It was good to be home.

Sara stepped out of the elevator and into the hotel lobby, admiring the view through the glass front doors. The leaves on the trees lining the street were beginning to turn orange, indicating that summer was waning into fall. She could almost feel the light breeze in her hair as she made her way through the lobby. All she had to do was make it back to her apartment and begin her weekend of relaxing on the couch and catching up on TV. Life was good.

If only she could have kept her gaze on the trees outside. If only she'd chosen to exit the other side of the building. If only one person had asked a stupid question and prolonged the presentation.

Then she would have missed him entirely. Her perfect weekend would have proceeded without a hitch. Life would still be good.

But it was not meant to be. That pesky luck had moved on to someone else.

She hadn't remained focused on the trees outside, instead scanning the lobby, her attention caught by a familiar tall, male profile. Something about his posture- the way his shoulders slumped casually as his hands rested in his suit pockets- seemed way too familiar.

Sara stopped and stood still for a moment, trying to place him. It couldn't be...

As if he could feel her stare, he turned back in her direction and they made brief eye contact. Sara's stomach lurched. Fumbling for her cell phone, she made an attempt to stay unnoticed, but it was too late.

"Sara?" he asked, sounding a bit squeaky and unsure. It was definitely him. Ryan Clarke. Her best friend from high school. The one she hadn't spoken to since the summer after their graduation. The one who'd broken her heart, without ever realizing it.