Page 45 of The Snowflake Effect

Keeping my distance from Kolton won’t be easy, but Hilary wouldn’t tolerate me, the lowly intern, as job leader if I acquired said job while banging the client. I can’t risk getting fired.

Maeve barges into the kitchen, her bright red lips pursed. “I don’t know how you pulled this off, although I have some idea.” Her stealthy gaze peruses my body, and her nose twitches.

Can she smell my arousal? Is it that freaking obvious?

“Hilary asked that I oversee your work so everything runs smoothly,” she continues. “It won’t be easy. Sketching is one thing; bringing your visions to life for a client is another. I will remind you, Shy, that Hilary is promoting me or Ramiro to partner shortly. Your performance will reflect on her choice. I trust you’ll remember that.”

Her tone snaps my shoulders back. “I take my work seriously, Maeve. I’m as surprised as you that Kolton wants me heading the job, but I’m up for it. I won’t let Hilary down, and I know you’ll help out as much as needed. For the good of Concept.”

I match her, glare for glare, the reality of this opportunity buoying my confidence. My once-stuttering self would have turtled when confronted by Maeve and her aggression, but I’m not that girl anymore.

Finally, I get to stretch my wings as a designer. Finally, I get to prove I can do this.

Two taps of her leopard-print heel later she says, “Good. We’ll be meeting Kolton tomorrow at the location. You’ll need to put in more hours. Nights. Weekends. Don’t expect to have a social life.”

She sashays out, my momentary excitement shattering. All things Kolton fade to the background.

Nights. Weekends. Extra hours.

That means giving up my job at Sass and Style. My actual paycheck.

I grip the counter behind me to keep from sinking to the floor. I can’t pass up this chance, even in the face of homelessness. This is the gig I’ve been waiting for, the one that makes the parade of hideous retirement home gigs worth it and validates everything I’ve worked toward.

Kolton may be the reason behind the opportunity, but there’s no question I can pimp out his store and rock this project. If I pull it off, I’ll have a paycheck and permanent design position in a matter of months.

I’ll have to talk to Angela, ask her to cover some shifts at Sass and Style, and pray she doesn’t replace me. When I’m there, I’ll have to hustle for extra commission. Call the few customers on file who’ve been delaying purchases.

I can totally do this. I will do this.

If it comes down to it, I’ll suck up my pride and ask Lily for help.

What I’m not sure is if I can hold Kolton off that long. The gleam in his eye when promising I’d be dating him soon was predatory. Wolfish.

In Aspen, our sparking chemistry was too strong to resist. This isn’t a vacation, though. This is reality. There’s too much at stake.

CHAPTER 19

KOLTON

“Daddy, do you think that man outside the McDonald’s lives there?”

I glance in the rearview mirror at Jackson’s puckered lips and scrunched face. Always the inquisitor. “Unfortunately, buddy, some people fall on hard times and can’t afford a house. If they have nowhere to go, they end up living on the street.”

“Does he get cold?”

“Yeah, I’m sure he gets cold.”

“Does he have friends to play with?”

“I don’t know, bud.”

“Does he have a dog? Or a hamster like the one Mrs. Cooper lets us sign outta class? And… And how does he watch TV? And what if no one’s there to read him a story? Or what if someone ac-ci-den-ta-lly steps on him?”

Stella adjusts a pin in her pink hair, then she angles her shoulders to face Jackson in the backseat of the Dodge Caravan the rental company gave me because they lost our reservation. The midsize Lexus I drive at home may be a barely disguised family van, but there’s no hiding the emasculation going on here.

“Jackson,” she says, “those are all valid questions, and if we hadn’t been driving around for two hours picking up mysterious things for your dad, I’d have the energy to answer all fifty of them. Maybe if you ask your cryptic father to stop dragging us around the city while listening to the Frozen soundtrack on repeat, we could sit by the pool at the rental house, and I could field your interrogation.”

“You’re on a need-to-know basis,” I say, my eyes on the road.