It was easy to see that Vivian had known her marriage was in trouble for a while. Jules had given ever-more elaborate excuses when she called the soon-to-be-ex, financier Robert Kirk, to cancel dinner or a date on Vivian’s behalf and had seen her texting him with an increasingly furrowed brow. She had even on one occasion overheard her voice crack when talking to him.

So why hadn’t Vivian been able to compromise with Robert, to try and be more available to him?

In the months she’d been working here, Jules had seen that Robert was clear about what he wanted: for his wife to spend time with him. It was hardly unreasonable. No, this divorce hadn’t been sprung on Vivian out of nowhere. So why hadn’t she acted to prevent it?

Not Jules’s problem, except when it came to canceling the dinners and scheduling the lawyer. It was time to put it out of her mind. She sighed and reached for her computer.

Now for her second job.

She opened the laptop and glowered at the Google doc that had been waiting patiently for her return. Another article she was slaving away at in the hopes that this time it would go somewhere. Last time The Cut had sent her a personalized rejection email, which was more than she’d gotten before. Now that she was on their radar, this effort had a chance to land.

It had to land quickly, though. This time she was writing an article about Jimmy Choo’s collaboration with Timberland to create an haute couture hiking boot. It’d be old news by the end of the week, even though the boot was selling out in Bergdorf.

Why? Jules’s article asked. It was the same as a regular Timberland boot, except it had crystal trim and cost $1,300. Why was such an unnecessary, extravagant item flying off the shelves?

She knew the answer: the boot was a status symbol. People would still click on the headline, eager to read about the excesses of the wealthy.

It wasn’t an article about climate change in The Atlantic. It could be a step on the way to a real career, though. If Jules could elevate the topic beyond clickbait, argue that this stuff mattered and get her name in a national publication…

It was all about the baby steps. Jules had to start somewhere, and successful writers grabbed opportunities as they came. Everyone said so.

She had to grab this opportunity fast. That meant another sleepless night.

Maybe Aaron had a point after all. Maybe both he and Robert did.

No, dammit. It wasn’t the same thing, and Vivian’s messed-up priorities weren’t Jules’s. Sure, Jules had ambition, but she had humanity too. They didn’t have to be at odds.

And she’d show Vivian Carlisle it was possible, even if it killed her.

Not that she wanted to tempt fate or anything.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3