She, too, was an executive VP—there were five of us in the company. She, too, had been handpicked in college by Angelica to be mentored and eventually to enter the fast track within the company.

“I’ll be straight with you, though, Chloe… I’m leaning hard toward Gloria.”

I bit down on my lip, literally to keep from saying the first thing that came to mind. Another habit honed by my boss.

I tilted my head and waited for her to say more.

Angelica shot a half grin my way and said, “I can hear your thoughts, Ms. Abrams. You’re wondering why. What Gloria has that you don’t.”

Pretty much. I nodded succinctly.

“You’re my best worker,” she said. “There’s no question. You’re my workhorse, my go-to, my office mate on the weekends. But to give you this company would guarantee you’d continue to make the same mistakes I’ve made. All work, nothing else worthwhile in your life. And yes, you have the right to make those decisions for yourself, but I don’t have to be an accomplice anymore. I won’t be.”

I frowned. What part of you’re my go-to equaled not entrusting my company to you? It made about as much sense as building a luxury hotel in the slums.

“Gloria leaves by six o’clock every night,” I pointed out, beyond biting down on my lip now.

“To go home to her family. She has balance in her life, like you and I have never had. She works her butt off for ten hours a day and then she goes home to recharge.”

“You’re punishing me for being hardworking?”

“Not punishing. Trying to help you in my possibly misguided way. But I’m the boss. I can do that.” Her tone was closer to her usual pre-cancer-diagnosis one. “When was the last time you had a relationship with a man, Chloe?”

I didn’t bother to reply because she knew the answer. I didn’t do relationships. I did flings, hookups, and a lot of solo nights. By choice. But it was my choice, dammit, and it should be considered a positive attribute, not a weakness.

“When was the last time you even went on a date?”

Holden, my friend from childhood, came to mind, because two weeks ago, he’d taken me to his dad’s wedding as his plus-one. We were just friends, regardless of the fact that I’d had a thing for him since high school, but…

As long as it’s not hurting anyone, sometimes it’s best to tell people what they want to hear and make it true afterward.

“The guy I went to the wedding with a couple of weeks ago? We’ve been… seeing each other.”