Chapter 2

Mandy's face fell.

Snickers rippled through the room.

"Willow Whitford! Stop changing the subject!"

She snapped and flung out her hand.

Red wine splashed across my delivery jacket.

"You stained my jacket." I looked at her coldly.

"So what? It's trash." Mandy pulled out a fifty and smacked it across my face. "That cover it?"

The bill drifted to the floor.

I left it there.

Instead, I checked my phone.

8:55 p.m.

Five minutes left.

"What? Not enough?" Mandy's smirk grew when I stayed quiet. "Then beg. Maybe I'll toss you a few more bucks."

"Mandy, enough."

Dylan Chedd, our former class president, finally spoke from the head of the table.

Tailored suit. Rolex. Perfect hair.

He looked like he'd walked straight out of a business magazine.

"She's miserable enough already. Don't make it worse."

His eyes dripped with pity.

"Willow, since you're here, don't leave yet."

"Dylan, what are you trying to pull?"

I looked at the guy I used to crush on.

Now, all I felt was disgust.

Back in high school, Dylan was smart, cute, and basically everyone's type.

Now he just screamed smug corporate bro—way too confident for a guy who wasn't nearly as hot as he thought.

"What I mean is simple." He slid his hands into his pockets and leaned closer. "I know why you showed up dressed like this. You heard I got promoted to regional director, so now you're trying to get my attention and use me to climb the ladder, right?"

I was so annoyed that I laughed.

"Are you actually delusional?"

He didn't even flinch.

"You don't have to pretend. Everyone knew you had a crush on me in high school. I just didn't feel the same."

He glanced at my uniform.

"It's been five years. You ended up like... this, and I'm a regional director at a Fortune 500 company."

He reached out to pat my shoulder.

I stepped back, disgusted.

His expression darkened. "Willow Whitford, don't push it. I know you're insecure now. You think you're not good enough for me.

"But I'm not the kind of guy who judges people by money."

Sure.

He pulled his hand back.

"Tell you what. Food delivery looks brutal. My company's hiring a janitorial supervisor.

"The pay's only five grand a month, but it's respectable. No more running around in the heat and rain. Full benefits, too. Retirement plan."

The room exploded.

"Wow, Dylan's way too nice!"

"Seriously. She rejected him, and he's still helping her."

"Willow, what are you waiting for? Thank him. This job practically fell into your lap!"

"Five grand a month! Do you know how many deliveries that would take?"

I stared at his smug face, speechless.

"Dylan, do you actually think you're funny?"

I held his gaze.

"When did I say I needed a job? And this Fortune 500 company of yours—what's it called?"

He lifted his chin.

"Stellar Tech. Heard of it? One of the biggest tech companies in the country, backed by Evermont Resources—a hundred-billion-dollar conglomerate."

Stellar Tech?

I narrowed my eyes.

Wasn't that the bankrupt company Dad bought last month to restructure?

Business was so bad, he was already planning to package it up and sell it.

"Oh. Impressive."

My voice couldn't have been flatter.

Dylan looked even smugger. "Now that you get how big a deal I am, lose the trashy jacket. You're making the whole room look cheap.

"Then wait on Mandy. Get her whatever she wants. Do that, and I'll cover your dinner."

Mandy jumped right in. "You heard him, Willow. Dylan's giving you a chance. Take it off already.

"Or what? You don't have anything decent underneath? Just more dollar-store rags?"

The room cracked up again.