Chapter 2
Outside the high school gym, Cassie heard the blaring whistle followed by Janay Jeffries’ powerful voice barking out commands.
She smiled at the sound of her best friend’s voice and swung open the heavy metal door as the sounds magnified ten times.
Thirty girls, assembled into rows, stomped and clapped out choreography in unison, punctuated by Janay’s whistle and shouts.
Cassie loved coming here. The infectious energy in the room felt more like home to her than any place she had ever known.
Sweat dripped from the faces of the girls and young women, ranging in age from thirteen to twenty-five.
Their strong, muscled thighs rippled underneath tight dance shorts with each assertive stomp to the floor.
The power emanating from their bodies was only dwarfed by the power of their collective mission and determination to fulfill it.
The whistle sounded. “Okay. Shantal, much better on that last round. Y’all keep it up. From the top. Energy. Go!”
Cassie stopped a few feet from where Janay stood. Janay nodded recognition with the whistle firmly planted between her lips before turning back to her team.
It had been too long since Cassie had made it to practice. The launch of Crescent City Marketing and being Sam’s go-to person at work had overtaken her life for the past two months, but now there was finally time to breathe and get back to her own life a little.
Cassie still knew all of the moves the team had been working on since the summer.
She mimicked the steps with the team, occasionally catching the eye of one of the girls and silently emphasizing a slight change to their movement.
Janay was the boss, but everyone, including Janay, saw Cassie as a sort of assistant step coach—the friendly, softer side to the disciplined, no-excuses, bootcamp-style attitude of Janay.
Janay was a softie at heart; all the girls knew it too, but she could front the drill sergeant hat effectively for the most part.
After a few more rounds and deafening blows of the whistle, Janay called it. “Almost there. Good work. Go get some rest and see you tomorrow.”
As the girls sighed in relief, wiped sweat from their faces, and hustled to grab their stuff, they all ran by Cassie, giving her high fives and some hugs as they passed.
Cassie’s encouraging words followed them out the door, “Y’all look amazing. Killin’ it!”
“He-ey,” Janay sauntered over, wearing her typical uniform of baggy basketball shorts and a T-shirt, and wiping her face with a hand towel.
It felt like a sauna in the space, the smell of sweat, mildew, and dampness filling the air, and Cassie hadn’t even done anything yet.
Janay wrapped her arm around Cassie’s shoulder and squeezed gently, but Cassie pulled her into a real hug. “I’m all sweaty,” Janay protested.
“I don’t care. Just hug me.” Cassie needed to feel her friend’s embrace.
To be centered. Janay was family and the closest thing Cassie had to a soulmate, other than her sister, Molly.
Janay never needed Cassie to explain anything.
She always “got” Cassie. It had meant everything to find someone who saw her, the real her.
“They’re looking great,” Cassie said.
“I know.” Janay shrugged her shoulders up and down a few times in a confident move.
Cassie laughed and shoved her arm, but she knew the proud smile on Janay’s face was genuine. Janay gave everything to her girls, though she’d be the last to say so.
“I haven’t seen you in forever. Girl, what’s up?” Janay asked.
Cassie wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “Work, work, and more work. Let’s get some air.”
Janay grabbed her bag and locked up as they walked outside.
“Much better.” Cassie shook the front of her T-shirt to get some air underneath it. They sat on the concrete stoop, warmed by the sun, and she filled Janay in on her work situation and new coworkers as Janay sipped from her water bottle.
“Dang. You’ve been busy.”
“So have you, as usual.” Cassie tilted her head at the gym.
“Girl, they are running me ra-gged.” Janay tilted her head from side to side to emphasize the last two syllables.
Cassie laughed. “You love it.”
Janay scoffed, but a grin broke through the cool demeanor.
The sound of a distant band practice rang out and Cassie took a moment to let her surroundings sink in.
The large, sturdy oaks lining the street gave a sense of strength and stability.
Mardi Gras beads hung randomly from the trees and along the wrought-iron gates surrounding the creole cottages along the street.
The city was always one step away from a party.
A light breeze blew and Cassie watched as the Spanish moss hanging from the tree limbs lifted gently, aglow from the late afternoon sun.
She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the faint breeze and calmness of the moment sink in, the intoxicating aroma of the last magnolia blossoms of the season hanging in the air.
Moments like these were what New Orleans meant to her—peace, sitting with her girl, just being, something she hadn’t felt in nearly two months with all the work chaos.
Cassie turned back to Janay who seemed to be taking in the scenery as well. “There is one other thing.”
“Shoot,” Janay said, taking another swig of water.
“Drea’s one of my coworkers.”
Janay’s eyebrows rose as she cocked her head to the side. “Drea Drea?”
Cassie nodded.
“Damn . . . has she hit on you yet?” Mischief twinkled in her eyes.
“No. She barely acknowledges my existence.”
“What?”
“I’m serious. She’s cool with everyone else, but with me . . . it’s like I offended her in a past life or something. I thought maybe I was just being sensitive and it was because she didn’t know me well, but then a new intern started this week and she’s buddy-buddy with her day one.”
“That’s weird. I figured she sweet-talked every woman on the planet.”
“Not every woman.” Cassie shook her head, still frustrated by the situation. “I mean . . . I’m nice.”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m friendly.”
“Mmhmm.”
“People like me, damn it.” She inflected the last two words bitterly.
“They do.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Maybe she’s too into you. Intimidated by your awesomeness.” Janay nodded as if it would convince Cassie to believe her words.
Cassie shot her a look. “I don’t think any woman intimidates Drea.” She shook her head again. “I don’t know why I even care.”
“Because she’s being a dick for no reason.”
Cassie raised her palms to the sky with the acknowledgment.
“She is being a dick.” She blew out a breath.
“No. The worst part is she isn’t being a dick.
She’s being unfailingly polite. Civil. Distant.
” She shrugged. Drea treated her like someone’s boring, old great-aunt.
“Whatever. I don’t need to be friends with everyone I work with. ”
Janay bumped her shoulder. “You always got me.”
Cassie smiled and bumped her back. “I know.” She didn’t know where she’d be if Janay hadn’t come into her life. She took a deep breath at the thought. “You down for Rosie’s on Friday? I could use a night out.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
A wave of relief washed over Cassie at the thought of going out for fun for the first time in too long.
Screw Drea, anyway. Cassie was done wasting her time thinking about that woman.
She didn’t need Drea to like her to do her job.
She was a boss at work. Cassie turned her attention back to Janay and pushed Drea Cordeira out of her mind.
It had only been a few days since she started working with Erin, but Drea already felt behind on her deadlines.
She enjoyed teaching Erin, but with only one laptop between them, her productivity felt like molasses.
If they were going to keep hiring interns, they’d have to invest in a laptop for the position to save employees from having to share.
Otherwise, they were going to get way behind on work.
She tried to work out a mix of teaching and supervising while Erin practiced what she had just learned, giving her small assignments that gave Drea a few minutes to catch up on her own work.
During those times, she would escape to the break area for some quiet and work on her tablet to try to catch up.
She had never spent much time in the break area other than a few minutes here and there to grab coffee.
The huge windows gave her an incredible view of the Mississippi River, rivaled only by the view from her own balcony.
The lower section of the windows was cranked open to let the breeze in while the weather was still pleasant.
She sank into the plush purple velvet chair against the brick wall so she could glance out the window as she worked, and folded her legs under her.
There was a hum of chatter from colleagues and the clicking of computer keys.
She had never really noticed it from her desk, but being set off from the rest of the office, even by only a few feet, created more distance than she would have imagined.
“Drea.”
The voice a few feet away startled her and she blinked to adjust her eyes, seeing Erin staring at her.
Drea glanced at her watch to see that it had been almost thirty minutes since she had left Erin working on the last project.
Damn it. She had hoped to get so much more done before Erin needed her again.
“Ready?”
Erin nodded.
“All right, let’s see it.”
As Erin turned to head back to her desk, Drea frowned at the half-complete design on her screen, realizing she needed to find a way to get her work done while still being present for Erin. It mattered to Sam and she wouldn’t let her down.