Audrey laughed. “I don’t see either as that type.” She held the door for Winnie as they left Juice Java to walk the final block to the salad place. “It’s bad enough if it’s four of us competing for two spots.” Her stomach churned. She couldn’t lose hope. “I hope she’s not thinking of asking Hunter for work. I guess it’d be okay. We could #leanintogether.”

“Colette’s definitely leaning in.”

“But I don’t think she got the memo on leaning in together.”

“No, not with you anyway. Maybe Tim.”

“Great,” Audrey said sarcastically. They entered the salad restaurant and picked up their salads from the pre-ordered take-out shelf. “At least Colette seems upfront. So that’s good. I respect that.” Sipping the Juice Java ice-cold smoothie definitely made the heat more bearable. “Also, the dad thing means we have somewhat similar backgrounds.”

“How?” Winnie asked as they ambled back to the office. “Your dad died. He didn’t cheat on your mom.”

“No. He adored my mom. But still, she lost her dad, in a sense, and her whole unit of family changed. And it sounds like they were far worse off financially.”

“Interesting. But I still wouldn’t trust her. I mean, you shouldn’t be intimidated by her, but you shouldn’t trust her.” Winnie glanced at her. “You should ask Hunter for advice about Malaburn.”

“I don’t want him to think I can’t handle it.” Hunter was the main partner supporting her. She couldn’t create any doubt in his mind.

“You’re not superwoman. He could help you,” Winnie said. “Colette’s looking for work; she should’ve been assigned to work with Malaburn. She was envious that you were doing another pitch.”

Audrey nodded. “And yet I don’t think she’ll ask Malaburn for work.”

The sky darkened. One of those sudden New York monsoon thunderstorms was about to erupt. They sprinted the last block back to the office. Winnie pushed open the doors to the lobby, and the cold air-conditioning hit them like an ice blast.

“No,” Winnie agreed. “Malaburn is too much of a nightmare. Are you really going to say yes?”

Audrey shivered. Frozen hell. “If it’s just updating one memo, I can do a good job and leave him with a favorable impression.” They entered the elevator, and Audrey pushed the buttons for their floors.

Audrey checked her messages when she got back to the office, but no return calls saved her. She quickly ate lunch at her desk and then called Malaburn to agree solely to update the memo. She could do it. He wouldn’t make her cry this time.

Chapter Five

Chapter Five