I get a rush of pleasure. Planning trips is my joy, soothing my detail-oriented and results-driven soul and providing some of the adventure I don’t have. “Absolutely.”
Yuko gives me a few more details about what her friend likes, and I take notes in my travel notebook. I glance up to see Yuko’s screen saver is an Asian guy posing in front of a blue star with a full moon peeking behind it. “StarLune,” I say, recognizing the logo. I’d checked the material Alex had sent me before deciding to go morein depth later. I don’t start with Hyphen for another month, so I have time.
“That’s X,” she says. “Don’t tell me Ariadne Hui, straitlaced lawyer, is a Starry?”
“A what?”
She makes a face. “I knew it was too good to be true. Starry is StarLune’s fandom name. How do you know them?”
“A client.”
Yuko pretends to swoon. “If you get to meet StarLune and you don’t bring me, I’ll kill you. I watch a lot of crime shows. They’ll never find your body.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re vegan.”
“Vegans can inflict violence on the deserving.”
“Why do you like them so much?” I ask curiously. Yuko’s in her thirties. Even when I was younger, I never had posters of the latest heartthrobs on my wall.
She raises her hand and begins ticking off her fingers. “Talented. Hot. Good-hearted. Funny. Performance gods. Lyrics that make me cry and dance at the same time.” She pauses and strokes the man on the screen with fond fingers. “Did I say gorgeous?”
“You said hot.”
She sighs. “So hot.”
I look back at the screen saver. X is indeed attractive, but pop stars aren’t my thing.
Ines calls me away from Yuko. “I have a project I’d like you to consider,” she says by way of hello. “It involves travel.”
“How much?” I’m intrigued. I don’t go anywhere because I don’t like taking vacation time at Yesterly and Havings. I don’t want anyone questioning my commitment.
I think about it, though. A lot.
“I’m planning to branch out to more group luxury travel.”
I’m instantly transported from Ines’s office to a candlelit dinneron a black-sand Aegean beach. I had a photo of it on the vision board I kept for a few months until I put it away because it bummed me out. “That sounds fascinating.”
“I need someone on the ground in places that do better with face-to-face negotiations.”
My heart inflates for a moment. “I can do that.”
“I know you can.” Ines’s smile is like sunshine. “This is critical work that requires relationship building. I want you to join Luxe permanently.”
Instant deflation.
Swallowing my disappointment, I shake my head. “I can’t.” Dad was bragging about how soon I’d make partner right after Richard hired me, and I only need a few more years. I’m so close.
Ines is silent for a moment. “Think about it? You’re my first choice.”
I don’t hesitate. “Sure.”
I won’t, though, and it hurts a bit to say. I’ve committed to Yesterly and Havings for the long haul. I can’t miss my chance here, not after all I’ve put in.
It would have been fun, though.
Four
My Saturdays follow a standard routine: call my parents, work, and clean. I do best when my life is predictable. Hana scoffs at it for being boring, but she’s the one who’s always complaining about how much money she spends buying lunch because she forgot to make it.
