Chapter One
KATHERINE
Katherine ran down the hall, strangely eager to be on time for her least favorite class.
Once she arrived at the classroom, she slowed her labored breaths, opened the door, and entered her ethics class.
Ethics should have been a given, not a course.
The course study was tedious, commonsensical, and a waste of a good hour. Her second year of law school was proving to be the longest year of her life, and she had a handful of more classes that she’d deemed unnecessary.
She entered the room, thankful that her professor wasn’t there. After hurrying to her seat, she pushed her long, dark hair out of her face and fished a pen and a notebook out of her backpack.
“You made it,” came from Laverne, her friend since high school. Hers and Laverne’s parents were longtime friends. They’d grown up in the same affluent neighborhood and attended the same private school. Both families were core members of Chicago’s wealthy and elite.
“I know. Professor Campbell kept me in her office forever. She’s displeased that I haven’t sought out an internship with Harvey and Payne.”
Laverne leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand. “Why haven’t you? With your grades and your family’s connections, you can get an internship anywhere.”
Katherine shrugged. Larry Crane’s family of bankers basically ran the law firm of Harvey and Payne. His dad was good friends with the managing and senior partners. It was bad enough that her parents had practically promised her to Larry. The last thing she needed was to be working at a law firm where his family had so much influence.
“Are you going to Nate’s party tonight?” Laverne asked, thankfully changing the subject.
“Can’t. It’s my parents’ anniversary. They’re having a cocktail party, and I’ve been told my presence is mandatory.”
“Ugh, bummer.”
Laverne was right. It was a bummer.
Katherine hated her parents’ social gatherings. Their events promised a night of pretending to listen to boring stories told by shallow, pretentious people. The company her parents kept was telling.
While she loved her parents, they were out of touch. They lived in a wealthy bubble of excess with no care or concern for the outside world. She was grateful for the life of privilege they’d given her, but she was determined to form her own path in life. She wanted to help people, so she decided to focus on civil rights and constitutional law.
Damn!
The sound of her stomach growling pushed all thoughts of her parents out of her head.
Katherine covered her stomach with her hand and looked around to see if anyone had heard. Judging by Laverne’s smirk, she had.
“Damn, Kate,” she said with a giggle. “Didn’t you have breakfast?”
Katherine shook her head. “Didn’t have time. I was running late, but I’m gonna grab something from the vending machine.”
Laverne made a face, and Katherine understood why. The vending machine was stacked with stale chips and fossilized candy bars, and she wasn’t looking forward to either, but she clearly needed to put something in her stomach.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Let's get started.”
Katherine looked up to find Professor Grant standing in front of the classroom.
She scoffed and opened her textbook. Since the good professor had been hitting on her since the day they met, she found it ironic he was teaching ethics.
* * *
JOSEPH
Joseph walked through the sea of students. His destination was trademark law. Less than two hours ago, he was working on the assembly line at Ford Motor Company. Unlike a lot of the students at the University of Chicago, he needed to work. He also needed to sleep, but slumber would have to come later. He had responsibilities. Even though he wasn’t an only child, he still had to take care of his mom.
His twin brother, Jonathan, studied business at Harvard University and was just as passionate as Joseph about making sure their mother wanted for nothing. As a single parent, she struggled to make sure the two of them had everything they needed to succeed in life.
