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Chapter One
“You missed a spot.”
Tessa knew exactly who’d delivered the taunt before she even turned around to look. But a quick glance over her shoulder confirmed what she’d been certain about.
Tiffany Donnely was there.
Oh great. What a joy.
Like Tessa, Tiffany was twenty-seven years old. Unlike Tessa, she wore expensive clothes, had her hair fixed perfectly, and sported a small fortune in jewelry. In fact, the necklace, bracelets, and rings she wore probably added up to more money than Tessa had seen the past two years combined.
That wasn’t difficult, Tessa reflected, because her financial situation wasn’t exactly stellar. But oh well. There were more important things in life than money.
“Thank you,” she said in a tone that wasn’t friendly but wasn’t sarcastic either.
Just be nice and polite. She’ll leave you alone soon. Anyway, you’ll be in Hollywood soon enough. And Tiffany Donnely will be nothing but a distant memory.
“Don’t mention it. You know—” Tiffany stepped closer.
Oh great, Tessa thought. She’s in a talkative mood. Yay.
“We wouldn’t want you to do a bad job on your last day with us.”
Finally there was something the two women agreed on.
“I work here until five o’clock,” Tessa said with a smile. “I’ll give it my all.”
Okay, that sounded cheesy but it was the truth.
Tiffany smirked. “You work for us, just like your dad worked for us, and your grandpa worked for us. Didn’t your mom and grandma even work for my family?”
She knew the answer to that, Tessa knew, but that was Tiffany’s way.
“Yeah,” Tessa replied. “Kind of cool. A generational thing.”
Tiffany clearly found it more amusing than cool. “Hey, it’s almost like… we own you and your family.”
Tessa cringed. “Creepy and gross-sounding, but okay.”
Tiffany scoffed, shook her head, and then walked right across the portion of lobby floor Tessa had just mopped. “You’ll need to get this again.”
Eyeing the fresh footprints on the polished surface, Tessa mumbled, “Tell me about it.”
“What’s that?” Tiffany asked, turning around to face Tessa once more.
“I wish you would have walked around. I’d love to leave you all with nice freshly cleaned floors before I go,” Tessa pointed out, though she kept her tone polite.
That was her way. Miss Tessa Kincaid. Always polite.
“Oh, the floors will be just perfect. Because…” Tiffany checked her expensive watch and then cast her eyes back on Tessa, “…you still have another fifteen minutes under our employ. Plenty of time to freshen these floors up.” Her blonde curls bobbed as she shook her head. “You know, you might as well stay here. You’ll never make it in Hollywood.”
Tessa felt a stabbing pain in her soul but she ignored it the best she could, holding back the tears that wanted to form.
“You’ll come crawling back to us for a job. But I’m not sure there will be one for you,” Tiffany continued. “I think my family has carried your family long enough.”
Inside, Tessa was raging.
You’ve carried my family? My family has worked for yours, building your business empire, putting in the hard work and the sweat that your family has always been too privileged and uppity to do!
