Social Work is not glamorous.

My first job consisted of tearing drug addicted parents away from their children - their cries rattling my bones enough to make me almost vomit every time. I got kicked out from houses, ignored during house calls, and stepped in gum in my newest heels.

My second job, still part of my first job but in a different section of social work, consisted of counseling addicts trying to get clean. While much easier than the first, it was still hard when you got emotionally connected to your client just to find out they died or relapsed. It was never easy.

I threw the last of my papers in my messy laptop bag, promising myself I'd clean it finally when I got home.

Home. My cheeks burned.

Giuseppe didn't act differently. Perhaps he didn't notice just how drunk I was last night.

I shook my head of any thoughts I had - my embarrassment with my roommate, my encounter with Luca this morning. I didn't want to deal with it. I wanted to deflect.

I shut my office light off, closing the door behind and began to walk the carpeted halls. I stopped at my director's office, lightly knocking on his door. "I'll be leaving now, Corey. I updated all treatment plans."

"I actually needed to speak with you, Chaya," he replied, not bothering to look up from his paperwork.

I quietly sighed, entering his office and taking a seat in the small metal chair in front of his desk. "What's up?"

He didn't respond for a few moments; he kept his head in his paperwork and moved his pen like his life depended on it. Finally, he sighed. "Chaya, we are absolutely blessed to have you on our team."

I beamed at him - the praise much needed after the events I've been through. When he didn't offer a smile back, I knew something was wrong. "But?"

He pursed his lips, as if he was unable to find the right wording to his next sentence. "But...there has been..an issue, so to speak."

I raised my eyebrow. "An issue? I've had no formal complaints."

"No, no formal complaints. This is more of an outside issue."

I was struggling to understand what outside issue led me to my director's office. "Sir, I have had no outside issues thus far."

"Sometimes, Chaya, there are issues we simply cannot control. Now look, I'm not firing you, however -"

It finally hit me. "Are you being bribed?"

He evaded the question. "We can only give you two days a week, social work only. No drug abuse counseling."

My mouth fell open, words unable to form. "I...I won't be able to live off of a two day a week salary..."

He simply shrugged. "You're one of the best workers I've seen. You'll be able to bounce back."

I had no fight in me. I was emotionally drained and couldn't handle anything properly. I simply shook my head and got up from my chair, making my exit from the building.

"Chaya?" Corey called after me. "For what it's worth, I wish I didn't have to do this."

I didn't turn around to face him. I just kept walking.

"I got the internship!" I shouted, running through my apartment's door into Luca's arms.

"My girl!" He beamed, wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me off the ground. "See? I said you'd bag that!"

He finally put me down and I ran into the kitchen to open our best bottle of whiskey - an over sized bottle of Jack. "They said after three months I'll be eligible for full employment."

He took the bottle out of my hands and opened it, pouring two cups half-full. "You'll be director in two years tops."

I smiled but shook my head. "Then two years after that I'll be running my own rehabilitation center, right?"

He lowered his lips to the crown of my head. "If someone told me you were president in four years, I'd believe it. Wixtrom-Sanders - I would vote for that."

The autumn air hit me when I walked out of the building, my hair making it almost impossible to see. I was on a mission - I would find Luca Blackburn.

I kept my head down as I walked, focusing as hard as I could on the cracked sidewalks of Brooklyn. 'Luce's Orders' would ignore me - I would hide my face to protect myself. I needed to see him on my own terms.

I finally made it to the subway. Empty besides the crust punks and scrappers, I welcomed the quiet and the occasional sound of a makeshift drum.

Scanning my metro pass, I made it to my stop and that's where I saw him already waiting.

"You cost me my job," I accused calmly. "You bribed my director."

"I did." Luca answered with no shame. "I need your help."

"I wouldve thought you'd gotten the hint last night when I ignored you."

"I'll pay you triple the director's salary."

I slung my laptop bag back up my shoulder and kept my eyes straight ahead of me. "Do I have a choice?"

He chuckled. "You always have a choice, Chaya. But I think you'll find it...difficult to find a job in the tristate area."

I rolled my eyes. "When do I start, 'boss?'"

Perfect teeth showed behind a grin, immediatly making me hate the small gap between my front two teeth. "Tomorrow night. A car will be out front at 7:30 - I'll see you then."