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After a quick check-inwith my academic advisor, I decide to take the subway to the address I just got for my internship with Laconia Logistics. There’s literallynothingabout them online, which is beyond weird. My advisor mentioned they were a last-minute addition to the pool for internship placements. She also mentioned that they waived the need for a mission statement, which is how I landed it without finishing that part.
Taken together, it doesn’t exactly paint a very professional picture of them to me. But hey, I’ll find out soon enough.
I’m charging around the corner of the academic building when I slam right into someone. The girl gasps at the same time as I do, both of tumbling backward as papers and books go flying everywhere.
“Oh my God!” she chokes, looking mortified as she struggles to her feet. “Fuck, I’mso sorry! I was looking at my phone like a complete asshole!”
“No, no…” I wince as I get off the ground and to my feet. “No, it was totally my fault, I wasn’t looking where I was going and running way too fast.”
“Oh please, no, this is all on me,” the girl gushes, looking super apologetic as she stoops to start grabbing up her papers. I kneel down to help, and she continues to stammer. “No, seriously, I can—”
“Hey, it’s cool.” I smile at her as I hand over a stack of her papers. “I’m Dahlia, by the way.”
The girl pushes her dirty blonde hair out of her face, revealing big bright blue eyes. “Victoria, hi.”
“Do you go to school here, too?” I ask, my gaze dropping to the Columbia University tote bag over her shoulder.
“Yeah, undergrad. Senior poli-sci major.”
I grin widely. “No way! I’m in the business grad program now, but I was a poli-sci major in undergrad here, too!”
She beams. “That’s crazy!”
We both stand, dusting off our clothes. I’m relieved to see my skirt-suit still looks okay.
I clear my throat. “Look, this is maybe super weird, but I still have basicallyallof my notes from my senior year. If you ever want to look at them…”
Her eyes light up. “Are you serious?”
I laugh. “Please. It’s the least I can do for body-slamming you.”
She blushes fiercely. “Oh my God, you’re an angel. I missed a bunch of classes at the beginning of the year for some family stuff, and I’m still playing catch-up.”
“It’s honestly my pleasure!”
We swap numbers and then laugh again.
“I have to run to this internship thing. But, seriously, call me any time about the notes.”
“I will! And thanks so much!” Victoria gushes. “Good luck with the internship!”
Twenty minutes underground later, I’m in midtown, hustling down the sidewalk toward the offices of Laconia Logistics when my phone rings. It’s Bethany, the CEO of mom’s foundation and the holding company that operates it.
“Dahlia, hi,” she chirps in her signature clipped tone.
“Hey, Bethany, I’m just about to jump into—”
“Do you have just one minute? This is important, and I felt that it was appropriate for you to hear it from me.”
I stop right outside the building I’m about to walk into, my heart pounding.
“Uh, okay, what’s up? Mom was just telling me last night that Gerard can’t—”
“We’ve just sold Roy Holdings Limited.”
It feels like the sidewalk is about to crack open and swallow me up. A ringing sound fills my ears as I go numb.
Roy Holdings Limited is the holding company that controls my mom’s foundation. The only thing that Gerard wasn’t going to be able to get his hands on.
