June grinned. “She said yes, Annika. You’re going to be in Time! Make Up is going to be in Time!” She paused. “I haven’t told Ziggy. And I figured I’d leave it to you to break the news to Hudson.”

Annika snorted. “First I have to come up with a few strategies to offset whatever he’s going to lob my way at the interview. You know he’s going to put up a fight, especially now that we’re elbowing our way in there, too.”

June patted her arm. “You can handle him. You always do. So what if it’s Time?”

Annika stared at her, shaking her head. “Time fucking magazine,” she whispered, her mouth going dry as the realization fully hit. “Oh my god.”

“The interview’s in about two weeks,” June said. “So we just need to get you in tip-top shape before then. Emily said she’d send a few of the questions over this week, so I figure we can practice until you’re super-polished. This is going to be so good for EPIC in June. It’s going to put us on the map, right beside Break Up!”

Annika raised her glass. “To you, Junebug.”

June clinked her glass against Annika’s. “To kicking Break Up’s ass.”

Annika laughed. “To taking over the fucking world.”

chapter ten

It was Friday after work, which meant one thing: date night. June glanced at the clock. “Five-thirty!” she announced, beaming as she turned off her monitor and grabbed the purse hanging on the back of her chair. “You going to get ready for Alesandro soon?” She said his name with a flourish, rolling her r.

Annika laughed and looked at her best friend over her laptop screen. “Yeah, soon. I’m going to work on this pitch for a little while longer, though.”

“Mmkay.” June walked over and kissed her on the cheek. She had a date with Ziggy that night, but unlike Annika—who had to dress to impress on this first date—she was dressed in jeans and a peasant top. “Have fun and text me to tell me how it’s going, if you get a chance.”

“Okay, you have fun, too. Tell Ziggy I said hi.”

June waggled her fingers and walked down to the elevators. A moment later, Annika heard Ziggy say she looked beautiful. She turned back to her computer.

The sky outside got darker and darker as she worked, the evening settling in for good. Finally, once she’d gotten to a good stopping point, Annika turned off her laptop and rolled her wrists. She walked to the storage closet to grab her date-night clothes and makeup and headed to the bathroom. She was going to keep her expectations low this time, she decided, and hope to be pleasantly surprised.