Love is Wicked

CHAPTER 1

Miley’s POV:

"Bitch, if you don't take your eyes off my body and focus on this financial crisis I’m currently drowning in, I’m gonna throw this hot ass matcha latte right in your face."

"Miley, please. First of all, nobody told you to come out here looking like a whole snack, an appetizer, and the main course on a random Thursday morning," Kelly said, her eyes doing a slow, dramatic sweep from the top of my head down to the table.

"Second of all, if I got a fat ass and a six-pack like you, I wouldn't even be applying for corporate jobs. I’d be on Instagram selling waist trainers and tea that makes you shit yourself, living my best life in Cabo. But look at you. Braids fresh down to your tailbone, skin glowing like it’s been dipped in brown sugar and blessed by the ancestors, and you sitting here crying about an inbox. "

"It’s not just an inbox, Kelly, it’s my entire future," I groaned, sucking down the last bit of foam through my straw even though I knew the paper was starting to get that soggy, sad texture. I leaned back into the booth, letting my spine hit the vinyl.

Gabriel, who had been sitting quietly next to Kelly while nursing a plain black coffee like the old, soul-weary man he secretly was, let out a soft chuckle.

He adjusted his glasses, his calm, dark eyes full of that gentle, diplomatic energy that usually kept Kelly and me from committing mutual homicide.

"Don't let her stress you out, Anna," Gabriel said, his voice smooth and steady. "You’re not drowning. You’re just resting between laps. There's a difference. Besides, greatness takes time. You can’t rush the universe when it’s putting the pieces together for you."

"See? That’s why Gabriel is my favorite," I said, pointing a finger at him. "He speaks to my spirit. You, Kelly? You just speak to my anxiety."

"I speak to reality, honey!" Kelly shot back, completely unbothered. She scooped up a massive dollop of whipped cream from her triple-shot caramel espresso with a plastic spoon and popped it into her mouth. "I’m just saying, what’s the vibe? What’s it really feel like being the only unemployed member of the crew right now?

Because from where I’m sitting, you get to sleep in until noon, do your little living room crunches, and look beautiful.

Meanwhile, I’m slaving away at the boutique dealing with women who think a size six stretch-denim skirt is gonna fit their size fourteen hips. "

"Excuse you, I don't sleep until noon," I deadpanned, pushing a rogue box-braid back over my shoulder.

The beads at the ends clinked together, a sound I usually found soothing but right now just reminded me of the ticking clock of my twenties.

"I’m up at seven every single morning. I do my hundred sit-ups, I look at the ceiling, I question my life choices, and then I refresh my email every five minutes until my thumb gets a cramp.

I am in the trenches, Kelly. The literal trenches. "

"More like the pre-CEO era," Kelly corrected, waving her spoon in the air like a conductor's baton. "You just waiting on the glow-up. It's coming."

"Yeah, well, the glow-up is currently running late, and my bank account is looking real lowercase right now," I muttered.

I picked up my phone for the twentieth time in the last hour, staring at the blank lock screen.

"Still absolutely nothing from E-Tech Corp.

Not a word. Not a 'thank you for applying, but you're trash.

' Just pure, unadulterated corporate ghosting. "

Gabriel winced a little, taking a slow sip of his coffee. "E-Tech is tough, Miley. They’re the most intimidating tech empire in the city right now. Especially with who's running the show at the top."

"Don't say her name," Kelly whispered, her voice dropping an octave into pure, unadulterated drama. She leaned so far over the table her chest was practically resting on her napkin. "Don't say it out loud in public, Gabriel. You're gonna summon her like Candyman."

I couldn't help but snort, the heavy weight in my chest loosening just a fraction. "Y'all are ridiculous. She’s a human being, not a mythical creature."

"Is she, though?" Kelly countered, her eyes wide.

"Because the streets say Helisa Smith doesn't actually sleep.

They say she feeds on the tears of unpaid interns and fires people just because they breathed too loud in the hallway.

They call her the Ice Empress of Harlem for a reason, Miley.

She took a boutique tech firm, turned it into a multi-billion-dollar global empire, and she did it without smiling once. Not. Once."

"She’s highly efficient," Gabriel offered, always trying to find the middle ground. "But Kelly’s not entirely wrong about the reputation. From what I’ve read in the business journals, Ms. Smith has never taken a personal intern before.

Like, ever. She usually manages her executive team directly and leaves the junior staff to the department heads.

The fact that they even opened up a spot reporting directly to her office is wild. "

"Which is exactly why I’m not getting it," I said, dropping my phone face-down onto the table with a hollow thud.

"I don't even know why I let myself get hyped up. I’m a girl from Harlem who writes good copy and knows how to organize a spreadsheet.

Why would the ice-cold, flawless, billionaire Helisa Smith want me in her space?

I probably wouldn't even pass the vibe check. "

"Bitch, your vibe is immaculate," Kelly said firmly. "Look at that skin. Look at those teeth. You walk into E-Tech, you give 'em that million-dollar smile, and they’re gonna be asking you for a loan."

"That is not how venture capitalism works, Kelly, but I appreciate the enthusiasm," I laughed, feeling a genuine wave of sweetness roll through me. No matter how crazy things got, or how broke I felt, these two always knew how to keep my head above water.

We sat there for a moment, the ambient noise of the café washing over us—the loud hiss of the espresso machine steaming milk, the low chatter of people gossiping about their offices, the rumble of the M101 bus rolling down Lexington Avenue just outside the glass.

It was Harlem in the summertime: loud, hot, full of flavor, and completely alive.

Then, my phone vibrated.

It wasn't a short, casual text buzz. It was that sharp, double-pulse vibration that signified a new email.

All three of us froze. My hand hovered over the phone like I was looking at a live grenade.

Kelly’s eyes went completely round. She stopped chewing her muffin. "Don't you dare tell me that's who I think it is."

My heart did a sudden, violent flip against my ribs, knocking the wind right out of me. My fingers were actually shaking as I picked up the device and unlocked the screen. The white light reflected off my eyes, and for a second, the text blurred together into a big, terrifying blob.

"Miley," Gabriel said, his voice dropping its usual calm tone and picking up a sharp edge of excitement. "Well? What does it say?"

I blinked, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. I couldn't get the words out. My throat felt like it was full of cotton.

"Girl, if you don't speak right now, I am going to snatch that phone out of your hand and read it to the whole damn store!" Kelly hissed, leaning so far over the table she was practically in my lap.

"...It's E-Tech," I whispered, my voice cracking.

"AND?!" Kelly shouted.

I tapped the notification, my thumb sliding over the glass like it was wet ice. The sleek, minimalist black-and-white header of the email popped up, looking so clean and expensive it made my stomach hurt.

Subject: Internship Confirmation – E-Tech Corp. From: [email protected]

Dear Ms. Palmer,

We are pleased to inform you that your application for the Executive Internship program has been accepted. You will report directly to the CEO, Ms. Helisa Smith, effective Monday morning at 9:00 AM sharp.

Please ensure you have your identification ready for security upon arrival at our Harlem headquarters. Additional onboarding materials and dress code guidelines will follow in a separate correspondence.

Welcome to E-Tech Corp—Human Resources

Before I could even finish processing the words "Ms. Helisa Smith," Kelly let out a shriek so incredibly loud, so entirely piercing, that a girl at the table next to us literally dropped her blueberry muffin onto the floor.

"YOU GOT THE JOB! BITCH, YOU ARE WORKING FOR THE ICE EMPRESS!" Kelly screamed, jumping out of her seat and doing a mini-twerk right there next to the napkin dispenser. "I KNEW IT! I TOLD YOU! HARLEM’S FINEST IS IN THE BUILDING!"

"Kelly, sit down, oh my god, people are looking," I gasped, burying my face in my hands, though I couldn't stop the massive, terrified grin from breaking across my face.

My whole body felt like it was plugged into an electrical outlet.

"I think I’m actually gonna throw up. Right here. In this Starbucks."

Gabriel reached over, gently taking the phone from my hand to read the text himself.

A huge, genuine smile spread across his face, and he tapped my knuckles affectionately.

"Well... look at that. 'Report directly to the CEO.

' That is huge, Miley. Truly. And hey, at least the email font is incredibly elegant. "

"Elegant? Gabriel, she’s about to enter the lion's den!

" Kelly said, finally sliding back into her seat, though she was still vibrating with energy. "Miley... do you actually understand what this means? You’re about to be breathing the same oxygen as Helisa Smith. You’re going to see her in her natural, terrifying, pristine habitat. "

"Corporate?" I squeaked, looking down at my current outfit—an oversized gray hoodie that, upon closer inspection, definitely had a faint orange smudge near the pocket from some late-night chopped cheese action.