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Chapter one
Sophia
And... set. I close up all the tabs I have open for my online shop, wrapping up all loose ends in preparation for leaving this apartment and heading to work. It's always weird to move into someone's place for a couple of weeks and then leave it just like you left it—especially when this has turned into my base of operations since the beginning of the month. My housesitting client's cat, Stanley, purrs around my ankles as I get up and reach down to scratch him behind the ears.
"You excited for your dad to come home?" I ask Stanley. "Yeah...I bet you are."
I'm personally more of a dog person, but Stanley has been an excellent company for a very tedious task. For the past couple of weeks, I've been migrating my listings over to a new shop platform and setting up my vintage boutique—Retro Revival—to make higher earnings and do a little less upkeep. This is just one more step on the path to one day opening a brick-and-mortar shop, and I usually can't do this much with my shitty internet connection at home.
But now, it's time to go.
I've packed up all my things, and I'm just finishing up washing the last of my dishes when I hear the door opening. I turn to find my client coming in with a big suitcase and a woman. Quinn Young is one of the members of the White Oak Society--yet another one of my side hustles--and he's been in Europe for two weeks. I didn't expect him to come in with my friend Madison Sterling, but that's kind of the thing about the White Oak--it's a place where people fall in love.
And I guess Quinn is no exception.
Quinn thanks me for helping him out, then hurriedly heads to the bedroom, and I become fully confident that I'm not wanted here. Still, I have to get the scoop—so I tap Madison on the shoulder with a sly smile.
"Didn't necessarily expect to see you here, Sterling. Are you two...?"
She nods, blushing. "Yeah—it's official now."
And that confirms it.
Another White Oak love story.
I say goodbye to Madison and Quinn, and then I'm heading out the door, my head already spinning with everything I need to do tonight. First, I have to go to the White Oak, get my bearings, get the staff settled--then, I'll need to handle some business tonight after I get back to my own apartment. Bryn will absolutely want the gossip about Quinn and Madison; I have a couple of shipments that need to go out, so I'll have to swing by the post office in the morning...
...life never stops when you're living the dream.
The White Oak is in the Upper East Side, and I take the subway there from Greenwich, skimming through my emails and answering a few on the ride. There's a woman I've been going back and forth with who wants alterations made on a vintage dress for her engagement party—very doable. Someoneelse wants me to dye a garment for her, which is a little trickier. I have to break the news to this client that the fabric she's asking me to dye will damage the garment, and I don't like messing around with that when my star rating is on the line...
The subway shudders to a stop, and I glance up, finding that I'm already on the Upper East Side.
Time flies when you have none.
...and I'm running late.
I hustle in through the front door of the building and scan my keycard in the elevator, and it's up, up, up to the penthouse's staff entrance. I'm usually the first one here, but my schedule is such today that Alden has shown up first, quietly checking the barrels in the taproom. I pop my head in for a quick hello and go to get changed into my uniform—a crisp black button-up tucked into a mini skirt. I redo my makeup, pull my red hair up into a ponytail, grab my notebook, and slip it into my apron pocket...then the employees start to arrive.
It's just a typical day in a life that's far from typical.
Busy. Non-stop.
But I figure I'll sleep when I'm dead.
"So, how's business?"
It's been three hours since my shift started, and it feels like no time has passed at all.
I take a little break during a lull in activity at the club, standing at the bar and having a glass of water with my friend Bryn. Bryn is the bartender here at the White Oak, my closest confidante...and probably my business partner if I ever got the chance to get out of here. I flash her a smile and sigh, shrugging.
"Business is...busy," I laugh, rolling my eyes. "But I'm managing to juggle it all. It's been great for Retro Revival—people are starting to really take notice of my work. I just wish I could start selling more and stop doing quite as many alterations and fittings."
Bryn nods, taking in what I'm saying as she scans the room with a professional eye. I know the conversation will end the moment someone comes over asking for a drink—but at least for now, we can breathe. "Your stuff is beautiful," she says. "It'll catch on soon, I'm sure."
"Thanks," I smile back at her. I look out over the crowd, just making sure that no one is trying to get my attention, and I frown when my eyes meet someone else's at one of the tables in the corner.
He's not trying to get my attention—in fact, it looks like he's trying very hard not to look at me—but I see him watching anyway, his green eyes trained right on me as he rakes his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair.
