“I just…” I exhaled slowly.
“I don’t want to owe them anything, Rose. Not mytime, not my mind, not even my fucking language skills. I worked so hard to be something outside of Hayes, outside of him, and now he’s dangling a seven-figure role like a consolation prize.”
Rose didn’t speak. She just reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear like she used to do when I was sick or heartbroken or halfway through a breakdown. And then, softly, “You don’t owe them, Sam. But maybe, just maybe, you owe yourself the chance to do somethingbig. Something that uses every part of you. And this could be that. On your terms, obviously.”
I looked at her, the lump in my throat rising like a wave. “So… take the job?” She shrugged. “Try it. Take the money. Run the game. Make it yours. And if it sucks? Walk away. But don’t say no just because it’s them. Don’t let spite make your choices.”
I swallowed hard. God, I hated when she made sense. “I just don’t know if I can go back to that world without losing myself.”
“You won’t,” she said, no hesitation. “Because you’ve already fought too hard to become this version of you. The Sam who lives here. Who drinks green juice and flies to Tokyo for forty-eight hours and knows herself better than anyone else ever did. You’re not the scared kid who left home anymore.”
I blinked, trying not to cry. My throat felt tight. “And if I say yes, and I fail?”
She leaned forward and touched her glass tomine. “Then you fail fabulously in red bottom heels and collect your severance like a queen.”
I laughed. I didn’t mean to, but it burst out of me. “God, I love you.” She smiled, leaning back into the couch. “I know.”
Two days, that’s how long it took me to open the email.
Not because I forgot.
Oh no, I saw it every time I checked my inbox. Sitting right there with its overly formal subject line like a smug little ghost.
Hayes International, Official Offer to Samantha Hayes.
Very on-brand.
There was no warmth in that email. It was filled with just cold fonts and calculated benefits. But this morning, after Pilates kicked my ass and my matcha set me straight, I decided it was time.
I padded barefoot across our apartment. My hair was still damp form the shower. I was in leggings and one of Rose’s old, oversized tees that I’d permanently borrowed. The Upper East Side was buzzing outside, muted by thick windows and somewhat soon to berich girl privilege.
I needed silence to do this. I opened the email, clicked on the PDF and scrolled.
Position: International Business Strategist
Salary: Eye-watering.
Benefits: Generous enough to make capitalism blush.
Start Date: Negotiable
Reporting To: CEO, Mr. Theodore Jones
I stared at that line for a full ten seconds, Mr. Theodore Jones. I could still hear the low rasp of‘You can take me, sweetheart?’in the back of my mind like it was carved into the damn neurons. I could still feel his hands on my hips. His fingers tracing my body, even his co—.Fuck.
Focus, you little slut.
I read the whole thing twice. This wasn’t an easy decision for a lot of reasons. But especially because I was going to be working withhim. He doesn’t know who I am. I wasn’t planning on telling him because it didn’t matter. It wasn’t supposed to. As much as he might wish to see me again, he doesn’t expect to. And now? Now I have to walk into his office and shake hands with this man.
My pulse was racing as if I were running a marathon. I took a sip of my matcha, and after a long, slow breath, I clickedAccept.
Just like that, I was in.
I logged in to my airline portal and filed for a leave of absence for the maximum time allowed. Thiswasn’t goodbye, it was just a see-you-later. Or maybe never. I don’t know yet. The screen flashed Submission confirmed, and I shut the laptop with a soft click that echoed louder in my chest.
I was officially part of the Hayes empire. Just like I swore I never would be.
I sat there for a moment, legs curled under me, staring out the window at a slice of New York skyline that had always made me feel untouchable and independent. Like I’d chosen this life. Now, that skyline looked like it was laughing at me.
