“I know you can do it, Heather. If I can, you can.”

“You’re amazing.”

“So—” Marissa fixed Heather with a steady gaze. “So are you.”

“I know I can do it but I don’t do it. I went to see your Helena.”

“You did? That’s great! I was just there. What did you think?” Marissa grinned at Heather.

Heather was abruptly very quiet. In a low voice, she said, “Helena thinks I should see a therapist. She gave me some names.”

“Oh?”

“Just . . . some stuff I never told anybody and I didn’t think mattered. But maybe that’s why I sabotage myself. I don’t want to succeed. Apparently, the Man of My Dreams scares me.”

Marissa put a hand on Heather’s arm. “You have incredible willpower, Heather. And if there’s something you need to work out so you can get on, then go for it. If you need a regular hour off or something, you know we can work that out.”

“Thanks, boss. I think I’m going to make some calls on my break. I’m tired of feeling like a failure.”

“You’re not a failure, Heather. Look at you.”

“I am looking at me, Marissa.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I look at me every day. I see a fat girl.”

Vividly recalling how her mirror had made her feel nothing more than a helpless fat chick, Marissa folded her arms as she regarded the woman in front of her. “I see someone with the stamina and self-esteem to put herself through night school while she sends money home to help her younger sisters. I see someone with wit and fashion sense and hair and skin I’d kill for.”

Heather frowned. “Don’t say I have a pretty face.”

Marissa swallowed hard. “Believe me, I know how that one stings. Even when it’s true. You have style I can’t carry off. And sometimes you’re so smart about process development that it makes me moist and excited as only a true computer geek can be.” She winked.

“Are you hitting on me?” Heather’s frown melted into a grin.

“Only your mind—you have that whole straight thing going for you. I can’t wait until you finish up that computer science certificate. It’s good-bye receptionist desk the moment you do.”

“That will be such a huge deal. Thank you. You’re so encouraging, especially when I’m so down on myself sometimes.”

“Heather, girlfriend, you are incredible Play-Doh, full of potential to be anything. You’ve let life shape you but I think you’re ready to shape yourself now.”

“And lose some of the dough.”

“Like I said, if I can, you can.”

Heather glanced at the wall clock. “I might be able to make a few calls now.”

Marissa grinned into the refrigerator as she retrieved the components of her lunch. If she’d had a younger sister she would have liked someone like Heather. “Oh, hush,” she told the gremlin in her stomach. “Food will be here shortly.”

She smeared about two tablespoons of herbed goat cheese on a paper plate, then began counting out slices of pepperoni.