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“Piper!”
“What?! I lost track of your questions.”
Mia rolls her eyes, but smiles. “Okay. Harper is flying in on Thursday to help with the event this weekend. We can get dinner, and you can fill us in on everything that happened. And…” She waves her left hand around, and I finally catch what I was too distracted to spot right away.
“Daxproposed?”
Mia nods, waving the diamond ring around like a sparkler. “Saturday night. At Blackbird. Guess he was listening when I was talking about how much I was dying to go there after Hannah Kensington posted about it.”
“Wow, I—congratulations!”
“I’m getting married! I can’t believe it!”
“That’s so exciting!”
I’m thrilled for Mia. Just like I’m happy for Harper, who followed love all the way to the West Coast. But when I started working here, we would all go out together on the weekends with no obligations until work on Monday. I’m a year younger than both of them, so maybe it’s natural they’d move into this next phase of their lives first. But it also feels a little like getting left behind.
I’ve prioritized work over relationships since my last breakup, and it hasn’t gotten me very far. Plus, I have the sinking suspicion that it’ll be hard to date anyone and not compare them to Kyle. Laughable, considering how I felt about him when I left for Texas. Hopefully, being back in New York will make those feelings easier to shake.
Mia beams until her phone buzzes. Then, her happy expression melts into an annoyed one. “Crap. We had another last-minute meeting just get scheduled. I’ve got to go.”
“Is the meeting about Jason Martin?” I ask.
Mia’s expression shifts to somber. “Yeah. It’s so awful.”
“He wastwenty-two.”
“Only the good die young, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so. He had a long career ahead of him. A whole life.”
“Well, if the rest of the department listens to my ideas, we’ll raise a lot of money in his honor. Label isn’t sparing any expense. It’s going to be the hottest ticket in town.” Her phone buzzes again. “Crap, I really gotta go. Talk to you later!”
“Bye,” I say.
She’s already halfway down the carpeted hallway, blonde ponytail swinging.
I carry my bag into the nearest restroom, quickly changing into the dress and applying a light layer of makeup. Once I’m satisfied with my appearance, I catch up on emails that have piled up this morning.
I did a decent job of keeping up with everything while I was in Texas, mostly because Carl must have made sure I wasn’t directly tapped to handle anything. That’s changed. I have a full plate of tasks by the time my computer dings with a notification that my three p.m. meeting with Carl Bergman is in five minutes.
My palms dampen with sweat that the air-conditioning chills as I walk down the hall toward the largest office. Eva is waiting in the same spot she was last time I came to Carl’s office, her hair swept up in a neat chignon and her manicure flawless. In comparison, I feel very much like I took two flights this morning and changed in a public restroom.
“Hi, Piper. Head right in. He’s expecting you.”
“Great. Thanks.”
I try to project a confidence I don’t feel as I walk into the large office.
Carl isn’t alone. There’s a woman already sitting in one of the chairs across from his desk. She glances over one shoulder, and I pull in a surprised breath.
Fiona Wild is a force in the music industry.
From my first day interning at Empire Records, she’s been the person I looked up to. She makes careers. Decides fates. She’s a respected powerhouse in an industry that’s male-dominated.
“Hello, Mr. Bergman. Miss Wild.”
“Call me Carl, remember?”
