Chapter One

Chloe

The force of the wind slammed the steel door shut behind Chloe. She didn't jump. After all, she'd been coming to this location for her meetings since May. Chloe stopped at the
edge of the sidewalk, where pavement met road, reached into her bag and retrieved a blood red wool beanie–her favorite one. She tugged it on, pulling at the sides to ensure it was snug on her head.

She started forward, staring directly down the
crosswalk's marked path. Pedestrians strolled past her, occasionally rubbing past her shoulders in their frenzy. Tonight's meeting left her with a lot to think about. According to Ginny, her sponsor, she was doing well for someone who'd only been sober a handful of months. Chloe had managed to avoid drinking during a stressful week. She wanted to believe Ginny, she really did. She wanted to believe that she was stronger than the alcohol–but this early in her journey with sobriety, she wasn't sure if that was true yet.

When she packed up her childhood bedroom, she wanted to drink. When she spent countless nights researching for the perfect apartment, she wanted to drink. And when she thought of Boden, and how awesome his new life in London might be going–oh God, did she want to drink.

Chloe reached the–well, now her apartment building, an urban looking structure with what seemed like endless floors, and balconies attached to each apartment. Chloe looked up, eyes trailing along the side of the building where the sun reflected its shadow onto the ground. Each balcony said something about the person who lived inside. She wondered what her balcony said.

Chloe pulled open one of the two front doors, and was relieved to be free from the Boston winter. The concierge woman, whose name Chloe hadn't managed to get just yet, smiled widely. Chloe looked down to the woman's front pocket. Sonjia, her name tag read.

"Good evening, Miss Sato," Sonjia said, falling into step beside Chloe.

"Good evening," Chloe said politely back, "and please," she reached a hand toward Sonjia, "call me Chloe. Miss Sato is my older sister. My much older sister." Chloe joked, sending Sonjia a humorous wink.

Sonjia laughed, seeming to agree to Chloe's terms, "I can do that."

When the pair stopped before the elevator, Sonjia pressed the button labeled 27, for the twenty-seventh floor.

Upon the elevator doors opening, Chloe's cellphone began to ring from her hand. She stepped into the enclosed space, and sent Sonjia one last smile before the doors closed.

"Hello?" She answered.

"How was the meeting?" Sasha asked on the other line, foregoing a hello for her usual sisterly concern.

"Fine," Chloe answered, "Ginny, as usual, sees the best in me, and thinks my sobriety is going pretty well." Chloe said. She rested her back against the wall of mirrors behind her.

"Good!" Sasha exclaimed, "you need some friendly encouragement from someone other than me."

Chloe could hear rummaging on the other line, and knew instantly, that her older sister was doing something for her new baby. Carmen was the light of Chloe's life, even at three-months-old. She was sweet, tiny, and reminded Chloe of
all the wonderful things the world had to offer. Sasha and Ben, Sasha's husband, had Carmen late in life, and Chloe guessed that she may be their only baby. Other than Chloe, of course.

When the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open, Chloe began a steady pace to the front door of her new apartment. She reached into her bag for her keys, stretching uncomfortably in search of that familiar cowgirl boot
keychain–the one she'd bought at a local gift shop when she found out she'd been given the apartment.

"I have friendly encouragement!" Chloe said, shutting the door behind her, twisting both the bottom and top locks, "Lara and Brynn would have your head for suggesting otherwise." She tossed her bag and keys onto the kitchen island
close to the front door, and walked deeper into the living space, collapsing into her definitely-not-yet-aired-out-sofa.

"Hm, forgive me for forgetting about them," Sasha said sarcastically, "Ben, take the baby," Sasha called out into space, "Ben is wondering how the new place is coming along. He says
if you're not liking the new mattress that he might be able to get the guy to give you a different one–" Sasha paused, as if listening out for someone else's words, presumably Ben's, "oh,
and a discount, too, he says. I guess he's in a bargaining mood today." Chloe laughed, and listened in on the fresh sound of a
cutting board on the other end, and the running of water afterwards.

Chloe sighed, already feeling slightly homesick. Sasha made splendid food, especially those Japanese recipes she was always trying out. Most nights, Ben and Chloe would sit at the island, and watch the woman chop away, barbecue, and deep-fry to her heart's content.

"What's on the menu for tonight?" Chloe asked, staring into the empty space of the apartment. Boxes littered the laminate, and she wondered if it'd be possible to get everything put away by morning. It couldn't have been too hard, seeing as she didn't own much.

"Nothing too crazy, veggie rolls with rice wraps," Sasha said, "and formula for the little carrot. Although, these days it never feels like enough. I swear, Chlo, this girl eats for three babies–maybe four. Oh, but that' s why she has the chubbiest cheeks ever." Chloe could practically see Sasha on the other end of the call, squishing her baby girl's cheeks in adoration.

Wanting to give the budding family who now lived across town, and not down the hall, some alone time to have a meal together, Chloe interrupted, "I have to get going, Sash, I still need to unpack a little more, and make sure have clothes clean for tomorrow. You know I rotate strategically between two shirts and two pairs of pants, so I definitely don't want to
accidentally wear the same outfit twice in a row." She explained, only slightly embarrassed that she didn't own more work clothes.

She'd wished someone would've warned her of this before graduating college; the sudden need for business casual after strictly surviving on old t-shirts and sweatpants.

"Fine," Sasha pointedly sighed, "I'll bug you again tomorrow when you get home."

"Please don't," Chloe begged, only half-joking, "I'm going out tomorrow with Lara and Brynn–some new Sushi spot downtown. Lara really wants to try their crab rolls." She explained, standing from the sofa, kicking off her boots.

With a box-cutter now in hand, she balanced her cellphone in the space between her ear and shoulder. She bent down, grabbing onto a box with contents she was completely unaware of. Without a label present, she'd find out once she opened it.

"Okay then," Sasha said, as wistful as probably possible, "Have fun, I'll talk to you later. Chlo, you know we miss you right?" She pressed. Chloe could hear a strain in Sasha's voice, a desperate sort of sound that only surfaced when Sasha was
worried, and unsure.

Chloe nodded into the nothingness, a bittersweet smile cast over her lips, "I know you guys do. I miss you even more, trust me. But this is what's best for me right now. You know it is." Chloe said, not leaving Sasha much room for a rebuttal.

"I know."

Chloe took a deep breath, setting the box down, and grasping onto her cellphone again, "go kiss Carmen for me, okay? I love you guys." She tried to lift the ends of her words, doing her best to convey over the line just how okay she was.

"Will do. We love you too." Sasha said, ending the call. Chloe bent down, picked the box back up, and got straight to unpacking.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The next morning began like any other. Chloe woke at six to the sound of her chirping, bird-like alarm clock. After a swift dismissal, she stood from her new mattress, wincing as that familiar crick in her neck struck, reminding her to ask Ben if he actually could trade in her new mattress for a different kind. Though she was eternally grateful he'd saved her from the
cost of purchasing a brand new mattress, she'd wished it didn't give her such a stiff neck.

She turned, eyes finding her morning view. She was afraid she'd never get used to it.

Though Chloe didn't necessarily believe in luck, she considered her early morning view of downtown Boston to be fortunate. She walked across her bedroom toward her floor to
ceiling windows. Chloe reached through the air, fingertips connecting with the hot glass. The glass had a thick pane, a secure separation between her and the harsh morning sun. The light reflected delicately onto the skyscrapers that lined Atlantic avenue, bordering on the seaport. Chloe watched the early morning port, with its blue water surrounding the many boats all docked.

Chloe backed away from the window, and retreated into her ensuite. It was a shame really, that she couldn't stand by her window all day, chai in hand, watching the boats come and go, and the bustling foot traffic that came from the financial district.

And within the next hour, she'd be one of them.

Chloe rummaged through the suitcases still on the ground in her closet, trying to find pieces that even remotely resembled an outfit deemed appropriate enough for work. When she found a blue silk blouse, she cheered. She could make this work.

Davis Enterprises was unlike anywhere else she'd worked. When she'd flipped burgers at a local seafood restaurant in high school, she could wear nearly whatever she pleased. And when she bussed tables throughout college at a
high-end bar, she'd been given a uniform that allowed her to blend in seamlessly with her coworkers. But this time was much, much different.

Greta Davis, a dear close friend of Sasha's, ran a powerhouse of a multi-faceted company. The
heart of that company was the restaurant sector. In the scene of downtown Boston, Seaport Dining House relied heavily on tourists who came into town during the summer, and ate nothing but steak and lobster.

Chloe admired it. After graduation, when she'd applied, she expected nothing from it. She knew she was competing with seasoned financial analysts, and ivy-league graduates. So when
she'd received an offer letter with a salary so high she and Sasha almost spat, she was taken aback.

And here she was, two months later, still struggling to put together an outfit that communicated both her merit, and her version of fashion.

Chloe settled on a pair of straight-legged slacks, and the silk blouse she'd found minutes before. The blouse was wrinkled after spending the night folded in her overpacked suitcase, but it was nothing her iron couldn't fix.

After tending to the blouse with special care, she ran a straightener through her wavy, thick head of hair, and prayed the weather would be
kind to it.

Chloe enjoyed doing her makeup, she really did. But during mornings like this, when she had twenty whole minutes to make it into the office, she knew she'd be better off without it. Chloe slid into the same pair of black heeled boots she'd
worn the day before, bundled herself up in her red wool beanie, matching gloves, and a beige overcoat, then made her way out of the apartment before the clock on her microwave could reach 7:45.

When she made it out of the elevator, she was welcomed by a warm smile from the woman behind the desk that Chloe now recognized as Sonjia.

"Morning, Sonjia!" She called out from over her
shoulder, rushing toward the double doors leading out into the sidewalk.

"Morning, Chloe, have a good day!" Sonjia called back, her voice being cut off by the closing of the large, glass doors. Chloe didn't once break her stride. She hit a sharp right
after the doors, and started north, toward the office.

The Davis Enterprises Headquarters office was only a ten-minute walk from Chloe's new apartment. Eight minutes, if she moved fast enough. Chloe brought the edges of her overcoat
closer to her chest, teeth chattering against the cold. Her boots hammered into the snow with every step.

When that familiar building came into view, Chloe said a silent yes, and picked up her pace. Her phone read 7:54. Business folk wandered in and out of the building at a hurried pace, not sparing one glance at each other. Chloe inserted herself into the chaos, slipping into the revolving door with another woman, who just by looking at her, Chloe could tell she was just as late as Chloe was.

The woman gave Chloe a shy smile, and shimmied out of the doorway. Chloe recognized her. She started two months ago too. Around September, Davis Enterprises had a hiring
spree, and brought on over five-hundred applicants company-wide. Chloe was fortunate enough to have snagged an opportunity at the Boston Headquarters office, due to where
she'd gone to school, and perhaps Sasha's close relationship with Greta Davis.

Chloe found the elevator, filtering into the enclosed space with a dozen other workers, all of whom kept to themselves during the steady rise up. Chloe stepped out at the 31st floor without another glance.

She stepped off, finding her desk in a secluded corner of the floor. Shucking the overcoat off of her shoulders, Chloe tossed it in a heap of fabric on her desk.

"Look who finally made it." Chloe heard over her
shoulder. She turned to find an eloquently dressed Brynn, a foam latte in one hand, and a company iPad in the other.

"Don't even," Chloe's teeth chattered, still recovering from the chill, "it took me forever to find an outfit this morning. I hate moving."

"No, you don't," Brynn smiled knowingly, "you love that damn apartment, and you've only lived there for three days. Also–" she cut herself off, glancing down at Chloe's outfit, "why are you still alternating between the same two outfits? I
thought we talked about this." Brynn asked, exasperated.

"I can't afford to!" Chloe whisper-shouted, voice
dwindling in their robust office.

"You definitely could." Brynn said back snidely, leaning her bottom against the edge of Chloe's desk.

"No, I cannot. My tuition during undergrad was like a bajillion dollars a semester, and Sasha just had a baby–it might take me forever, but I will pay them back." Chloe said, removing
old sticky notes and snack wrappers from her desk, all from the day before.

Brynn gave her an understanding kind of look, taking a sip from her latte, "you're a good little sister."

Chloe shook her head at her friend's words, giving Brynn a light push off of her desk, so that she could clean off the rest of it. "I try." She said, being only a little sarcastic.

The clicking of heels coming up from behind her
gathered her attention.

"Morning!" Lara beamed, standing happily in her vintage pair of designer pumps. Chloe recognized them as the ones she'd gotten last weekend when the three of them went
thrifting in Cambridge.

"Good morning," Chloe smiled back, happy to see her ever-bubbly friend. After Chloe had finished wiping off her desk with a
wet-wipe, Brynn resumed her position, perched on the edge. Lara took the spot right next to her.

"You guys are not gonna believe what I saw on the train this morning," Lara said, not
giving either of them the opportunity to actually guess, "someone was giving away free puppies."

"Free puppies?" Brynn inquired, raising a blonde brow, "like actually free or they give you a puppy, take your money, and then take back the puppy kind of free?" Brynn asked.

Chloe said nothing, she was also curious about the specifics of the free puppies.

"They were not thieves, Brynn," Lara squinted her eyes at her friend, who shrugged unapologetically in response, "the puppies were actually free." She insisted.

"And did you take one?" Chloe asked, slightly worried Lara impulsively took one of the puppies during her hour-long commute into Boston.

"Yeah, did you hide it in your purse?" Brynn joked. Chloe checked her lightly in the shoulder.

"I did not," Lara humored them both, "but I'm bringing it up, because a certain someone came into mind..."

Chloe could feel Lara's eyes landing on her, followed by Brynn's. Her eyebrows shot up high on her forehead, lips parting, "Me?" She asked her friends, eyes darting back and forth, "you're talking about me?"

"I was thinking having a pet might be good for your... issue." Lara said, and Chloe instantly understood.

She still wasn't completely comfortable talking about her alcoholism. She'd told Lara and Brynn about it after a night out, when she'd felt so close to them, and secure. But now, under the fluorescent lighting of their place of work, she felt more vulnerable, more exposed.

Chloe laughed lightly, cheeks becoming hot. "Oh! Well, thank you for thinking of me, but I'm not sure if my new rigorous work schedule would allow it," she kept her words light, joking.

Brynn's eyes seared into hers, an unfiltered
knowing passing through them.

"Just wanted to float the idea by you," Lara smiled. Chloe couldn't help but become warm all over. It wasn't Lara's fault she wasn't comfortable with being open about her
addiction yet.

As Ginny always said, in time.

"Well," Brynn stood from her leaning position against the desk, landing a hand on Chloe's shoulder, "I'm going to go give myself another anxiety attack, and go over my powerpoint
one more time before the board presentations. I'll see you girls at lunch." She walked away with a pained smile, and found her own desk on the other side of the junior employees' shared
space.

Lara stood next, eyes widening, "right, that'll be in," she glanced down at the watch on her wrist, "ten minutes. I better go do the same." She reached out, and gave Chloe one comforting
squeeze on her arm, a silent apology for bringing up their earlier conversation, then walked away to find her desk.

Chloe sighed, pulled out her orange rolling office chair, and took a defeated seat. The board presentations were technically monthly
meetings, where junior employees would fill in executives and board members on how the company was doing in terms of marketing, quality control, and analytics. Today would be
Chloe's second meeting as a junior employee, and she did not want to disappoint Greta.

When the meeting began, and all the junior employees who worked on the 31st floor filtered into the conference room, the German-born businesswoman sat silently at the head of the
conference table. With her hands folded delicately on the space in front of her, her head moved like a swivel. She watched her junior employees walk into the room, sizing them up one-by-one as they went.

When Greta's eyes found Chloe's, she smiled
kindly, that same reassuring smile Chloe had seen every birthday, every Thanksgiving, and every Christmas.

Chloe smiled back, trying her best not to smile too wide or too familiarly, and make it obvious that she and Greta knew each other to the other employees.

To Greta's right sat Samuel, her eldest son.
Chloe didn't know much about Samuel. From the years their families had spent holidays and most special occasions together, Samuel didn't pay her much mind. He was kind enough, and carried an energy that she could only describe as
brotherly.

When Chloe was in the seventh grade, he'd left Boston for Yale, and never looked back. Well, until recently, when he was given a position on the board of his father's company, which was now run by his mother.

Samuel stood from his seat at the table, pushed in his chair, and made his way to the projector hanging on the very back wall of the room. He leaned in, seeming to be checking the signal. Then, he double-checked, then triple checked, and Chloe wondered what he was expecting to happen.

A nervous tick, maybe.

Just as Chloe turned to search the room for Lara or Brynn, to make sure Lara hadn't gotten distracted by a measly task, and Brynn hadn't dropped everything to help her–Drew Davis walked in.

Chloe watched.

Drew's steps were withdrawn. Not hurried, and certainly not arrogant, so different from the other board members who'd sat themselves down at the table, all vying for Greta's praise and
attention.

That was to be expected, Chloe guessed to herself. Drew wasn't a board member. He was a finance executive within the company–his title at the moment unknown, but certainly something that sounded important. Chloe had wondered why the ivy-league graduate, grandson of the founder, and flat out all-American man wasn't
given a spot on the board, like his older brother.

But perhaps that would be a question for a different day. Because right now, Samuel was motioning for everyone to look at him.

"Good morning, everyone," Samuel spoke loudly, voice unwavering, "I wanted to thank you all for gathering here. Before we start, I've got some good news." Samuel looked to the projector, then the screen directly across from it. Chloe followed his gaze. "As all of you should already know, Davis Enterprises opened a new Seaport Dining House location in Rockport last month," images of what Chloe guessed was the new location popped up onto the screen, "for those who haven't had the pleasure of seeing it in person yet, here you are. I had the opportunity to work closely with Chef Bardot on the select seafood menu that would soon be available for customers..."

Chloe's eyes wandered from Samuel's, unintentionally finding Drew. In the time since Samuel had begun his speech, Drew had taken a seat to his mother's left. He wore a black suit and tie, which to Chloe, seemed to be altered to fit him perfectly. His broad shoulders filled out the
shirt and jacket, and if she didn't know any better, she'd have guessed he still wore those shoulder pads that went along with his old hockey uniform right underneath.

Chloe's gaze wandered down. While Drew sat, his thighs stretched the fabric of his slacks to their full elasticity. Chloe's eyes found his hands next. His large, large hands. He fiddled with his cufflinks, jaw working in concentration while his older brother spoke.

"... which leads me directly into our next piece of
business. Miss Sato?" Samuel's voice seemed to be far away, and was not successful in penetrating Chloe's gaze on Drew's large hands attempting to fix his cufflinks. "Miss Sato?" Samuel tried again. When that too, didn't work, Samuel breathed out harshly through his nose, "Chloe!" Samuel said finally, her name gritted through his teeth.

Chloe jumped at the sound of her name.

Drew's eyes lifted from his wrist, and found Chloe's. As she stood up straighter from her place perched on the wall, beside the other junior employees, he watched. He let his wrist
fall down onto the table, his left hand clasping the other. His watchful eyes followed Chloe, venturing from her eyes down to her snowy boots. Chloe's throat bobbed, waiting for a reaction.

Drew's gaze connected to hers once more, then
he looked away without another glance.

Oh. Right.

This was why they hadn't kept in touch. For a second there, his eyes were so brown, and his hands were so large she almost forgot.

Chloe glanced back at Samuel. "Yes, of course,"
She weaved between her peers, cheeks already hot from becoming so easily distracted by him. She needed to get herself under control, and fast.

She would not allow Drew–Andrew Davis to distract her from doing her job.

Chloe greeted each board member individually with a smile and a confident good morning, remembering the importance of being personable, and inviting. Before she began
to speak, she found Lara and Brynn in a corner, both sending her encouraging grins and thumbs ups.

Chloe took a measured breath, and began.