“Don’t worry, we’ll have more information for you on London, and by then the South American work should be well underway. We can video conference with you while you’re overseas to keep things moving. Can you handle this?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

“Good.” Shore slapped Jeff on the back and left just as Jeff’s line rang.

Anticipating a call from Vida, his stomach tensed.

“Jeff Taylor.”

“Hey, Jeff, Shelley Rozart with Smith-Wren.” He could hear an echo of PA announcements in the background.

“Hi, Shelley.”

“I’m in preboarding at Kennedy, so I’ll get to it. Got your message, and it just so happens we have an opening coming up in our Miami office. So have your friend send her résumé, then call Delores Shutter to arrange an interview. All the contact info is in the email I’m sending you now.”

“Thanks so much, Shelley.”

“Not a problem. I’ll see you at the next conference.”

Jeff’s phone pinged with Shelley’s email, then it pinged again with an email from Reed Kassan at NineStar in California.

Yo, Jeff. Talked to our Florida people and pitched your friend to them. Our office in Lauderdale would like to see her CV to set something up. Here’s the contact info. When you coming to LA?

Jeff thanked Reed, then immediately sent Vida the information about two job possibilities in South Florida, relieved that his colleagues had come through. As the day rolled on, he checked the status of other requests. That’s when he saw an email notification from his bank, alerting him to the recent deposit of sixty-five thousand dollars into his account.

He stopped for a moment to digest the significance of the bonus. Beyond the money, it was an acknowledgment of how hard he had worked to reach this point in his career, his life.

No way will I lose everything to Vida Warren.

But the fact remained: anything was possible with that woman.

I’m walking on a tightrope.

As he continued working through the day, Jeff grew uneasy because he hadn’t heard back from Vida. Taking in the panoramic view from his office, he saw nothing but risk on the horizon.

Vida was unstable, uncontrollable. What if she was connected to people like Loften? And if she delivered on her threats, he’d be fired; they’d force him to return the bonus.

An ocean of fear swept over him, and suddenly he was back in Chicago, when his father was still alive and they had a house and he had his own room and was happy and safe, before a shotgun blast ended it all.

His mother’s face aged; she wore her grief permanently as she lost her job, then the house and her dignity as they fell, fell, fell from the joy he’d known to that van. Their stinking cage of hopelessness.