“Un minuto,” her mom said next.
Viv could tell she’d set the phone down to attend to the twins. She let out a sigh of her own. She knew what she had to do. She did, but that didn’t mean it would be easy.
Viv leaned her head back on the door and glanced up at the tiny chandelier in the stall. So out of place, really. Something so fancy hovering over a woman’s toilet. A small laugh slipped from her lips as she recalled the cruel words of Sylvia Sampson. The professor had asked about the influence of wealth in social circles.
“It doesn’t matter what decade it is or how progressive our nation becomes—money matters.” She glared at Viv from across the classroom. She’d openly despised her once she found out she and Duke were an item.
“The lower class might be able to play with the big boys for a while,” Sylvia continued, “but eventually, they’ll be replaced with someone more…suitable.”
Viv had raised her hand next. “I disagree.”
“Why’s that?” the professor asked.
“She’s speaking for an entire social class based on her own narrow, biased perspective.”
“History backs me up,” Sylvia spat.
“And it disproves you too,” Viv assured.
“That it does,” the professor agreed. He posed a different question then, but Viv hadn’t shifted so easily. She’d seen the way Sylvia sought Duke out at social events; she had her eyes on him.
When Viv left the classroom that day, Sylvia caught up with her just past the doorway. “Enjoy your time with Duke while it lasts. He’s just using you. In the end, he’ll end up with someone like me. Just watch and see.”
Boy, had Sylvia gone the extra mile to prove her point.
“Vivia?” her mom asked.
“I’m here,” she replied. “Just…sometimes I still feel like I’m in a place that I don’t belong.”
“Not all that glitters is gold,mia cara. You know that. You have the gift of perception. It’s why you’ve accomplished so much. Why you never believed anyone was better than you simply because they had more money in their bank account.”
Viv nodded. Despite the setbacks in her sophomore year, she’d finished school strong and pursued her dream. She’d made a name for herself too. One she wasn’t about to sully by rejecting an interview with one of the nation’s hottest bachelors.
She sucked in a deep breath. “I’m going to go back in there,” Viv announced. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Okay, hon,speriamo bene.” The expression alone caused an image to drift to her mind, one of Mom crossing her fingers for good luck. “Wait,” she added. “What are you going to tell them?”
Determination rushed through, planting a hot streak of adrenaline through her core. Viv sniffed, nodded, and inhaled with a new burst of confidence. “I’m going to tell them yes, I’ll take the job.”
Chapter 5
“What if she doesn’t show?” Duke asked as he looked out the window of his private jet.
“She’ll show,” Perry assured through the line. “She’s a professional. You think she’s going to toss her whole career over an ex-boyfriend?Please.”
Duke wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or offended at the comment.
Riley Shay, with the help of famous photographer, Zee, had come up with a vision for the spread. He didn’t know much about it, only that it would highlight the perks of his billionaire lifestyle.
For that reason, Vivi—the one who’d be reporting on that lifestyle—would accompany him on his private jet. Then stay in his personal multi-million-dollar estate on the island.
The irony was rich. The last thing Duke would want to do—if given a second chance with Vivi Tripoli—would be to flash his fortune in her face. She’d come to despise money, something she relayed to him when he tried to get her back a year after the breakup.
His mind darted back to that moment. Vivi had moved off campus at that point and was taking several of her courses online from what he’d heard. But hehadspoken with her over the phone. Pled with her was more like it.
With a year of reflection under his belt, Duke had explained his side of things, asked if she’d consider meeting in person, but she’d refused. ‘Whether you know it or not,’she’d said,‘money and status matter to you. You’ll be happier with someone like Sylvia.’
The words never had rung true, but that didn’t matter. What he’d done had left a lasting impression. One he hoped to, after all this time, dispel once and for all.
