42

The elevator of the Kershaw Building was packed full this morning. It seemed to stop at every other floor, making the trip up excruciatingly slow. Still, after alternating ice and heat all night long, Sabrina’s knees felt better than they’d felt in over a week—something for which she was truly grateful. At least she wouldn’t be hobbling through her interviews.

As the crowd thinned, Sabrina noticed another young woman about her age. She was dressed in a perfectly fitted blue dress and designer heels, and her hair could have been a photo taken straight from the pages of Vogue. Everything about her reverberated confidence, poise, and success.

At each stop, more people left the elevator, but the young woman made no move to do so. At the twenty-first floor, everyone got out but the two of them. The only remaining lit button on the elevator panel was twenty-five. She looked at Sabrina and smiled. “Looks like we’re both on our way to Grace Rose.”

“Yes.” It was bad enough that Sabrina suddenly felt underdressed and dumpy, but why couldn’t she think of one intelligent response? She finally managed to blurt, “Do you work there?”

“Not yet, but that’s my plan. What about you?”

Just then the elevator doors opened, relieving Sabrina from having to give a firm answer. She mumbled something about this summer then made for the woman at the desk. She looked up.

“Good morning, Ms. Rice, so good to see you again. Ms. Davenport is expecting you. Right this way please.”

As she walked away, Sabrina heard the other young woman say, “I’m Tessa Roseman, here about the intern position.” Sabrina cast one more sideways glance before following the receptionist down the hall to Candace Davenport’s office. Had all the interns been called back in for an interview? Or was this girl a possible replacement for her slot?

Somehow, she knew in the back of her mind that the answer was the latter. Had they decided that she didn’t have enough killer instinct after all? Or were they concerned about her health? Either way, Sabrina was not going to let one bit of a limp be apparent today. This was one thing her arthritis was not going to take from her.

The receptionist knocked once on the office door and then opened it. Candace was on the phone, but she waved for Sabrina to come inside and take a seat, holding up one finger to indicate she would be done with the call soon.

“As I explained to Mr. Sumners yesterday, in spite of the fact that he may consider Noonday With Leslie Franks less exciting than the Jerry Litton show, Noonday appeals to his target market. The majority of Leslie’s viewers are young mothers, which is obviously your chief demographic. I believe that you will all be more than pleased with the response.”

She went silent for a few seconds, occasionally nodding her agreement with whatever it was that was being said on the other end of the line. “Exactly. I’m so glad we are in complete agreement on this. Rosalee will call you back with the final numbers this afternoon.” She pressed the button on the phone, stood from behind her desk, and leaned forward to offer her hand. “Sabrina, so good to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you, as well.”

“So, I hope we didn’t throw you for too much of a loop with this second interview process. Occasionally it happens when there are changes with our clientele or our needs, so we have to redouble our efforts to make sure our interns are exactly what we need for an upcoming season. This year especially, our choices were particularly difficult, so we thought it wise to look at things with laser focus.”

“Not a problem at all.” Sabrina thought about the healing but still present sores on her nose. She thought about Tessa Roseman in all her perfection. Was she her direct competition? Well, she was here to make certain that whatever it took, she would retain her intern slot. “I’m thrilled to be back here.” And no one is going to take the right away from me. I’ll see to it this time.

Brandy groaned when she saw the name on the caller ID. “Grandma, it’s Mrs. Lauderdale calling again.”

“Well, answer it.” Grandma sounded as irritated as Brandy felt.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Lauderdale. And how are you today?” Brandy used her best smart-aleck voice, adding an equally fake smile, even though it was a phone call.

“I would be much better if I had your mandatory paper work sitting on my desk in front of me. There are several weeks’ worth of reports that are missing.”

“Sabrina would be better if you had all those, too, because it would mean that she hadn’t been sick and in the hospital. Which, unfortunately, she was. You’ll get the new stuff, ’cause she’s out and coaching me again.”

“So you’ve said before. I need to speak with your grandmother.”

By this time, Grandma had made it into the living room and was standing at the ready. Brandy handed her the phone, rolling her eyes in the process.

“Mrs. Lauderdale, what can I do for you?” Grandma listened for only a few seconds. “No, my granddaughter is not making up stories. That poor girl spent almost a week in the hospital and was sick as could be for a long time after that. She’s still not up to full speed. Now, you listen to me. I don’t ever want to hear you accuse my granddaughter of lying again, and especially about something like that. She’s been worried sick about Sabrina, and for you to even insinuate . . .”

Listening to her grandmother, Brandy’s fake smile turned real and it took every bit of strength not to reach over and hug the woman. Instead, she simply thought about the warm feeling she had inside her chest. It felt good.

Grandma shook her head as she listened to what was being said on the other end of the phone. “That’s because Sabrina is out of town right now. She’ll be back late tonight and I’m sure you’ll be able to reach her at her grandmother’s house tomorrow.” She paused for a moment. “You wouldn’t dare.” Grandma listened for another few seconds and then hung up the phone. “That lady is just looking for a fight, is what she is. I think she’s just mad that she’s actually having to do something.”

“What wouldn’t she dare?”

Grandma shook her head. “Don’t you worry about it. She’s doing nothing but blowing a bunch of hot air. No judge in the world would blame you because your coach got sick and then got a little behind on mindless paper work.”

“I hope not.” Brandy toyed with a button at the hem of her shirt. “Thanks, Grandma. For standing up for me like that.”

“Well, of course I’m going to stand up for you. I’m your grandmother and I love you to pieces.”

Brandy’s eyes stung, but she was certainly not going to succumb to any sort of sniveling. “I’m glad you’re on my side.”

“’Course I am. So are lots of people.”

Brandy started to say something like Yeah, right, but she didn’t. Instead, she choked out, “Like Sabrina.”

“Yep. And Louise Springer, too.”

“I guess so.” She paused, then said, “Sabrina is such a strong person.”

“You’re right. She has overcome so much and yet she still remains upbeat and positive, when it would out and out crush most people. You know what, though? I know Sabrina would say the same about you.”

Late that night, Brandy tossed and turned for as long as she could stand it. With less than a week to go before the Nashville race, her nerves were on edge. Now, even more than the last time, she knew she needed to succeed for Sabrina. After all she’d been through she couldn’t bear the thought of letting her down. Not this time.

She climbed out of bed, made quick work of getting dressed in her running gear, and slid open her window. Just a quick run. She knew if she woke up her grandmother she would be worried, or more likely all-out forbid it, but Brandy had to do something. She wouldn’t be gone long.

Instead of heading toward Sabrina’s house as usual, she turned toward town. She took off in a slow jog, picking random streets without giving it much thought. At least she didn’t give it much thought until she heard the car slowing behind her.

What were the odds that once again Janie would be out and about on the same street at the same time Brandy was running off some nerves? She forced herself to turn, preparing herself to face this challenge head on.

But this time, she didn’t see Janie’s car behind her. It was a family sedan that had pulled into the driveway just behind her.

She exhaled a sigh of relief and took off at a slightly faster pace. As her feet moved her forward, she couldn’t help but ask herself the question, What would I have done?

Resisted, of course. That’s exactly what she would have done. But then again, she’d done that the last time—at first. When it came right down to it, when it was time for the final decision, would she have held firm, or would she have caved in to pressure again? In fact, was that what this run was all about? Was she hoping for the small chance that she would once again run into Janie?

In that moment, she knew that she was. That’s why she’d come out tonight. The search for something that would, for just a little while, relieve her of the pressure.

She turned the next corner to move her closer to town, closer to any action that might attract one of her friends. They were likely around here somewhere. All she had to do was keep running and she’d find them. As she made the turn toward McDonald’s she saw several cars she recognized in the parking lot. A good time was less than a half block away. It would feel so good to— Stop!

Brandy locked her feet in place, refusing to take even one more step forward. Up ahead of her was the promise of almost instant relief. But she knew now that it came with too high a price. She pivoted and ran back the other way. With each step that hit the pavement, she reflected on the hard workouts she had put in, all the times she had wanted to quit, and all the sacrifices so many people had made to help her with her running. She would not take all that and make it nothing by throwing it away on a quick but temporary fix.

Just to remind herself, she aimed toward Sabrina’s house. That would keep her focused.

When she jogged past, all the lights were off and Sabrina’s car was back in the driveway. She had made it home from Atlanta, then. She’d already made some excuse about not coming to the race this weekend, probably afraid to.

This time, though, Brandy was going to prove herself worthy of sticking around for.