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Chapter One

The server at Savoy's had just placed three menus down in front of her when Sophie's cell phone rang. She dug through her Coach laptop bag and found her phone in one of the inside pockets. It was her boss.

"Listen, kid," came Sal's crackling voice. "I'm stuck in K-town..." There was a bit of static before he continued. "Traffic's terrible...haven't moved in an inch in the last twenty minutes. Some biker cut in front of a bus and the whole street's blocked off."

Sophie dug her index finger into her other ear so hard it hurt. She tried not to shout as she leaned closer over the table, as if Sal was there and could see how angry she was. "But what about Mr. Anderson?" She and Sal were scheduled for a sales meeting with Nathan Anderson, the CEO of a restaurant giant. They had prepared for weeks for the presentation. Or, to be more accurate, Sophie had. She'd pulled a couple all nighters, canceled plans with friends, disappointed more than a few people, just for today. "He's supposed to be here in ten minutes."

"You'll have to meet with him yourself. You've got the presentations right?"

She rubbed her temple. Of course she had the presentations. She was the one who'd slaved over them for the past weeks, so yes, she had them.

"Run with it, throw in lots of statistics. The guy's already got a great marketing campaign, so just show him how we can improve it." There was a siren in the background. "Crap, cop behind me. I think he sees me on my phone."

"Sal--" He'd already hung up.

She dropped her phone onto the table and looked around helplessly. Forget making a sale. How was she going to get through the lunch without making a fool of herself? Not only was Nathan Anderson a successful businessman, he was practically a celebrity. He was in every news outlet possible--tabloids showing him at bars and clubs, business articles spreading rumors about him buying one chain after another. Sophie was a great salesperson and she knew marketing like no other, but her work at Red Sharks Marketing and SEO, Inc., so far had consisted of cold calling and glorified data entry. A potential client like Nathan Anderson was way out of her professional league.

Sophie reminded herself to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth, making that hoarse hum in her throat like they taught her in yoga class. What if she botched this up? Sal told her that landing the Anderson account would be a piece of cake, but she had never met with a client by herself before. He'd never trusted her to and she had never cared, considering that she had her eye on the marketing department, not sales. Maybe, if she nailed this pitch, he would finally move her into that marketing position that she'd coveted since Lydia quit the company three months ago.

She reached for her cell phone. Her best work friend, Lina, would know what to do. She always did, especially when it came to handling Sal. She'd worked with Red Sharks for two years now and had never put up with the boss's crap.

"Tell me you have an escape plan," came Lina's drawl, "and you're waiting for me at some nasty hole in the wall joint where I can inhale second-hand cigarette smoke and drink whiskey without feeling like the lowliest excuse for a human being."

Sophie was too distressed to think of a clever reply. "Lina, I'm in the middle of a disaster."

"Is this like wearing granny panties on a hot date disaster or, like, your mother has asked to borrow ten thousand dollars for an entrepreneurial project disaster?"

"Neither."

"Is it worse or better?"

"Much worse."

"Do I need to take out bail money for you?"

"No."

"Good. Not that I wouldn't but I'd have to call my accountant. You know. Move some money around. It would have been a huge hassle."