CHAPTER ONE
A strident clink pierced the crisp, late October evening as Taylor Powell tapped her fork against her champagne flute.
“All right, ladies. Get those glasses in the air!”
She topped off her friends’ drinks, then emptied the last of the prosecco into her glass before holding it aloft. Turning to Samiah Brooks, she said, “To you, my kickass friend. May this genius phone app you created set the tech world on fire!”
“Hear! Hear!” the third member of their trio, London Kelley, hailed as their champagne flutes met high above the fragrant Tex-Mex feast on the table.
The light of the setting sun shimmered through the pale yellow wine as Taylor brought the glass to her lips. Its rays, reflecting off the tranquil aquamarine waters of Lake Travis, provided just enough warmth to make their decision to dine on an outside deck commendable instead of foolish. Tonight’s celebration warranted a full-fledged dinner at one of Austin’s most renowned restaurants.
Its menu prices reflected its prestige, which accounted for the cement block that had settled in the pit of Taylor’s stomach.
She shouldn’t even be here. After having to choose between making the minimum payment on her Mastercard or having her Internet disconnected—the Internet won out—Taylor had decided to skip this week’s girls’ night out. She’d had her excuse primed and ready, but then Samiah texted the news that her new phone app would be featured at some swanky tech conference. She’d asked Taylor and London to help her celebrate. What kind of friend would say no?
A friend who knows she can’t afford this shit! That’s what kind!
Taylor swallowed another gulp of the pricey wine.
“So I have a question.” London gestured to Samiah with the shrimp she’d just plucked from the platter of fajitas. “I don’t want to sound like a complete Luddite, but now that your app has been chosen for this fancy-schmancy conference, what does it mean in the real world?”
“It means she’s about to makemoneymoney.” Taylor rubbed her thumb over her fingertips.
“It will take some time before I see any realmoneymoney,” Samiah said. “But this is abigdeal, ladies. Big. Huge.”
“Are you purposely quotingPretty Woman?” Taylor asked.
Samiah stuck her tongue out at her. “Always with the jokes,” she said. “Seriously, this could be life-changing. The conference chooses only ten candidates from thousands of submissions to present during the Budding Stars Showcase.” She directed her attention at London. “It’s like a surgical intern being invited to present a paper at the American Heart Association’s annual conference.”
London straightened in her chair and flicked imaginary dust from her shoulder. “I presented as an intern.”
“Of course you did,” Taylor said. “You may claim to be a pediatric surgeon, but we all know you’re really Wonder Woman.”
“Wonder Woman is sitting at this table, but I’m not her.” London held her hand up to Samiah for a high five. “You arekillingit, girl.”
Taylor could hardly believe the three had only met three months ago after learning they were all dating the same guy. It had been her first and only date with Craig Milton, aka Craig Walters, aka Craig Johnson—and those were only the aliases they knew about. An instant sisterhood had formed between herself, London, and Samiah, and they’d made a pact to spend some time working on projects that brought them joy instead of worrying about dating apps or trying to find a man.
Their weekly night out ever since was damn near medicinal—a heavy dose of much needed support, understanding, and camaraderie none of them had realized they needed.
Samiah had completed the phone app she’d been working on for years and, because she was an overachiever, had also snagged herself a cutie, her coworker turned boyfriend, Daniel Collins.
“I won’t claim success until I’ve secured funding for the Just Friends app,” Samiah said. “Winning this spot in the showcase gets me one step closer. What about you?” she directed at London. “Fill us in on your project’s progress.”
“I’d rather drink more wine.” London signaled their server, who’d just cleared the table next to theirs. “Can we get another bottle of prosecco and another order of the combo fajitas?
“I had back-to-back surgeries today,” she explained once the server left. “This is my first meal since the banana I ate for breakfast.”
Equal parts panic and dread clogged in Taylor’s throat. She wasn’t the best with numbers, but she could handle simple math. With another thirty-dollar bottle of wine and forty more for fajitas, tonight’s dinner had just crossed the two-hundred-dollar mark. And that wasbeforetax and tip. Their practice of splitting the bill evenly meant she was looking at eighty dollars. That was more than her grocery budget for an entire week!
With their six-figure salaries, Samiah and London could easily afford to drop a C-note on a single meal without batting an eye. Meanwhile, Taylor was blocking calls from bill collectors like a thirsty match on Tinder.
“Umm, hello? Taylor!”
She startled at London’s fingers snapping just inches from her face.
“Huh? What?”Shit.If their concerned frowns were anything to go on, they’d been trying to get her attention for some time. “I’m sorry,” Taylor said. “What?”
“I asked aboutyourproject. How is it going?”
