Chapter 3
Cassidy walks down the hallway alongside James Thompson, who has introduced himself as the team lead for Whitestone's business development department—directly below Diane—and the person responsible for giving her initial training so she can begin her duties as an intern.
"We have three main objectives: client prospecting, proposals, and contract negotiation," James says, taking a seat behind his desk and gesturing for Cassidy to do the same.
"Internal coordination is essential, and so is working closely with the marketing team.
Even though we're two separate areas, we combine our efforts to deliver the best possible service. "
Cassidy has always been good at reading people.
She learned it as a child and refined it as she grew up, and she can't help thinking James strikes her as the quintessential yes-man—the type who'd sell out his own mother for a pat on the back or a raise.
She knows she's being harsh, but her instincts have never let her down, so she doubts she's wrong.
"Clara Fitzgerald runs marketing, so you'll see a lot of her in our meetings, and you'll often end up collaborating with her."
James turns to type something on his computer, and immediately the printer at the back of his office hums to life.
While he gets up to collect the pages, Cassidy sinks back in her chair, because what was supposed to be a promising day is turning into a long rope she can feel tightening around her neck as the hours pass.
She just hopes this Clara woman doesn't have the same stick up her ass her boss seems to have lodged up hers.
"We handle some daily tasks that are pretty repetitive but necessary," the man says, hesitating slightly as he hands her the documents. "I've put together this packet with your assignments."
Cassidy takes the papers, looks down, and her fingers tighten over them.
The duties James is referring to range from keeping the coffee maker stocked—the coffee girl—to providing support whenever he needs it—doing all the work her supervisor can't be bothered with—to attending meetings alongside him—serving as his personal secretary—and acting as the communication bridge between the team and Diane Carter—taking the heat from the witch whenever something goes wrong and Jason can't swoop in to claim the credit.
Her eyes stay fixed on the page, rereading every bullet point. It seems the double major in business administration and marketing that cost her so much effort won't amount to anything while she works for this company.
"Welcome aboard, Cassidy," Jason says, flashing his most dazzling smile. She looks at him like he has something unpleasant stuck to his face, but she does her best to hide it. "We have a presentation at three this afternoon—a strategy we've been working on for several weeks."
She nods and stands when he waves for her to follow him.
A few seconds later, a brightly lit open area with several computers lined up in two rows opens up before her.
The first thing Cassidy notices is the focused, almost fearful look on the faces of the people sitting there, working without lifting their eyes off their screens—so intent that when Jason clears his throat to get their attention, nobody seems to hear him.
"Everyone, this is Cassidy Collins, our new colleague."
The team lead announces it, and only two people offer what look like genuine smiles. The others glance up, raise a hand, and go right back to what they were doing.
"Tanya, get Cassidy up to speed on what we're working on," Jason says to a girl who looks swamped but nods anyway and fixes her dark eyes on Cassidy.
"Grab that chair," she says, pointing to one behind her, "and sit here next to me."
Tanya—a Black woman who looks to be around thirty—identifies herself as an intermediate business analyst and makes room for Cassidy so she can get a clear view of the screen, which is covered in charts and color-coded data.
"That's a really strong projection," Cassidy says, narrowing her eyes as she leans in toward the figures. "If this holds, the return will be excellent."
Tanya turns her head, and genuine surprise crosses her face.
"Damn, girl," she says, shaking her head, "and here I was told you were an intern with no experience."
Cassidy shrugs. She hadn't expected to be introduced as an expert either.
"Though I'm not totally shocked." Tanya leans in and drops her voice to a conspiratorial murmur. "Jason thinks he's the only one in this department with any real knowledge. Sometimes I get the feeling he thinks he outranks Diane."
Cassidy feels a flutter in her chest and presses her hand to that spot.
She doesn't want to overthink it, but after her unpleasant run-in with her boss, she's heard the woman's name twice now and felt that strange hollow sensation she doesn't know how to classify—so she shoves it toward the place where she keeps all the things in her life that don't make sense.
Cassidy decides she likes her new colleague: she's open, she isn't afraid to voice her opinions carefully, and she doesn't seem bothered by Cassidy's presence.
The hours she spends alongside Tanya are genuinely valuable. The woman explains everything she does—the why behind it and the methodology the department uses to define the scope of each project it analyzes, so the client feels at ease during a potential negotiation and ends up signing with them.
Later they head downstairs together to grab lunch at the cafeteria on the first floor, and within minutes of sitting down Tanya makes sure Cassidy knows who's who.
"That table over there is IT," she says, nodding in that direction as she pours a generous amount of ranch dressing on her salad. "And those in the front row are HR—they sometimes mix with the management folks."
Cassidy scans the room, and her mind—which tends to wander—wonders which table Diane Carter sits at.
"Training, finance, and legal," Tanya continues, and Cassidy is grateful, because her brain was already starting to loop, "for some reason always sit right up front.
Those over there are the area leads." This time she gives a short tilt of her head.
"Jason always takes the corner like he's presiding over the table.
Partners and senior executives eat off-site—you know how it is. They don't mix with the rest of us."
The new intern nods, and it's immediately clear she'll never run into her boss down here. That's a relief, because people like Diane are exactly the kind you want to keep at a distance. And before she can even ask, Tanya confirms it.
"Most of the time I just head to the park two blocks away," she says, taking a sip of an orange drink Cassidy can't quite identify. "I don't want to scare you on your first day, but working in business development can be really draining—especially with Carter at the top."
Cassidy chews her tuna sandwich slowly, understanding that her colleague has said enough and gone quiet now, leaving space for all the questions running through her mind.
"This morning I went to her office, and it was kind of…"
"A bitch move?" Tanya says it quietly, glancing sideways, because even though everyone who knows the woman harbors a deep dislike for their boss, she's not sure who might be willing to carry tales back to that particular incarnation of the devil.
"Rude. A complete ass," Cassidy says before she can stop herself, and Tanya's answer is a burst of laughter that turns a few heads.
"God, girl, I needed a coworker like you," the dark-haired woman says, the smile still on her lips.
"You had her pegged right away—though honestly, who wouldn't? I've been working for her for three years, and she's never looked me in the eye for more than two seconds.
I don't think she even knows my name. She only ever talks to the team lead, and up until last week that was Levi Hall, who she fired without blinking.
Now Jason's the one meeting with her, but we've got a pool going on how long he lasts, because the truth is he got where he is by dumping his work on anyone he can. "
Tanya gives her a look that's almost pitying, and it's no wonder—Cassidy has already figured out that her supervisor chose her to be both his workhorse and his human shield with their boss.
They finish eating and both women head back up to the third floor.
Tanya walks her through some of the key points of the presentation scheduled for that afternoon and explains how important this particular client is for Whitestone—because the firm doesn't just operate in the United States; it also has offices in Mexico, Canada, and Brazil.
Cassidy doesn't have experience, exactly, but she just graduated, which means her knowledge is fresh.
On top of that, analysis, value propositions, and crisis management have always come naturally to her.
Those were the topics she barely had to study in college, because somehow her brain handled them without much effort.
"You'll do fine here," Tanya says, squeezing her arm as they both get up and start toward the conference room.
"My goal is to work in marketing," Cassidy says. She already feels comfortable enough with her colleague to talk about this kind of thing. "That's what I'm really passionate about. I've always dreamed of running major corporate campaigns."
Tanya raises an eyebrow as she listens.
"Usually the people who love marketing want to work at agencies, not consulting firms," she says. They turn down a hallway, and Tanya points out the door they need to go through.
"I've never been drawn to generic campaigns," Cassidy explains. She automatically glances down to make sure her clothes are clean, her shirt tucked in, no wrinkles to speak of. "I find internal strategy and commercial communication more powerful."
Voices drift from behind them, and with them the unmistakable sound of Diane's heels striking the floor.
Cassidy—unlike Tanya—doesn't recognize her by that sound; she's never heard the woman walk before.
But somehow she knows it's her. There's something in the air, something enigmatic, a scent like dry wood and cold musk. Dark, intense, commanding.
"Good afternoon, Diane," Tanya greets her without hesitation, looking her directly in the eye.
"Good afternoon," her boss answers with a hiss, not looking at anyone, chin raised.
Behind her, Jason walks like a freshly trained puppy, laptop tucked under his arm, a solemn expression fixed on his face.
When Cassidy moves to step into the room, Tanya catches her gently.
"Never call her 'ma'am,'" she warns in a whisper. "She can't stand it. Word is she actually fired people for calling her that."
Mrs. Carter.
Cassidy replays with perfect clarity the moment she introduced herself to her boss, and if what Tanya says is true, she narrowly avoided getting fired on her very first day—or Diane is simply saving it for later.
"The CEO of Alalu Technologies expects our proposal to help the company grow revenue by 25% over last year." Diane hasn't sat down. She stands in front of her chair with one hand resting on the back. "Jason, show me the data."
The man stands and, though he does so with apparent confidence, Cassidy notices his lips tremble slightly.
Jason takes his place near the back wall and, with an image projected beside him, launches into his presentation on scope, strategy, and plans. He uses "we" at certain moments, drawing in the team—but most of the time he's the star of the show.
"I ran an analysis… I reworked the call to action… According to my notes… I did…"
And so Jason goes on for exactly seven minutes with an insufferable, ego-driven monologue that everyone in the room has to sit through.
But Cassidy has been hearing him at a low murmur in the background, because she's spent that time studying the woman with the imperious gaze standing on the other side of the room.
Diane has those two topaz eyes locked on the presentation—not on Jason.
She ignores him deliberately. In fact, there are moments when she clenches her jaw so hard the line it carves is impossible to miss, or her fingers grip the chair back with such force her knuckles go white.
Cassidy finds her fascinating and repulsive in equal measure: a cold woman who won't drop her gaze even to watch where she's going.
"Thompson." She barely moves her mouth when the sound fills the room.
Jason falls silent and clasps both hands behind his back.
"I'm having a hard time understanding how we're going to help Alalu meet its expectations when, according to your analysis, we're set to spend 32% of the budget on the strategy alone—not counting what marketing has estimated. "
She pauses a few seconds to let the team lead process the question, but the man looks completely lost. He furrows his brow, leans toward the laptop, and starts searching for data in a document he opens.
Diane takes a slow, deliberate breath, pulls her chair out carefully, and sits down. To Cassidy she looks like a queen from another century, settling onto her throne, ready to hand down a ruthless decree.
Jason straightens and clears his throat.
"This section was handled by the team, and—"
She raises one hand from the table—the gesture is almost imperceptible, but it's enough to stop him cold.
She turns her head and lets her gaze travel across the left side of the room, right where Tanya is sitting.
Cassidy could swear those eyes paused on her own face for a moment, though they moved away just as fast—which makes her think she probably imagined it.
Her colleague stands and speaks calmly.
"The 32% is the total estimated investment for Alalu, including marketing and a small buffer that gives us room to maneuver without having to go back to the client for more money," Tanya corrects.
Apparently Jason can't even read a report.
"Once Clara's department confirms the figures, we'll be able to deliver a final version—but we're estimating it'll come in under 29%. "
A subtle shift crosses the woman's face—her left eyebrow lifts slightly and her eyes catch a faint gleam. She gives Tanya one brief nod, then stands.
"I want the corrected report in my inbox in thirty minutes." The way she delivers that last word is almost like driving a knife into Jason's chest. "Good afternoon."
She turns and walks out, leaving a trail of perfume that pulls Cassidy into an involuntary, helpless inhale, like a hunting dog catching a scent.
"Ready?" Tanya looks down at her with a slight tilt of her head.
Cassidy gets up to follow her colleague, an uncomfortable truth drilling its way through her skull. She's not someone who lies to herself—it's just not who she is. So she accepts it right here and now, much to her own misfortune: she is attracted to the insufferable Diane Carter.