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FRIDAY
Deja sped down the crowded sidewalk in downtown San Jose and popped a Tylenol into her mouth.
A man with matted hair hanging down his shoulders extended a worn coffee cup toward her. “Can you spare a quarter, miss?”
Deja shivered, remembering when she’d been forced to panhandle on the streets. Regardless of what she had to do, she would make sure never to be in that position again. “Sorry. I can’t.” She inhaled a deep breath and opened the door to Thompson’s office building. With fancy leather furniture, electronic docking stations, and a small coffee shop, it was even ritzier than she’d expected.
“Deja, over here,” Raquel said.
Trying to relax her shoulders, Deja walked to the table where Raquel sat. “Hey. Did you already check in?”
Raquel nodded. “Mr. Thompson will be ready in a minute,” she said in a high-pitched, faux-professional voice. “You know these wealthy sons of bitches always have to keep us waiting.”
Deja tried to hide her amusement. “Do me a favor, and don’t call Mr. Thompson a son of a bitch, please.”
Raquel smirked. “If he hires us, I’ll call him whatever he wants me to. Our entire next year would be set. Say it with me.”
“No more weddings, no more weddings, no more weddings,” they chanted quietly before breaking into laughter. Being with Raquel always helped Deja relax.
“No more weddings until yours, of course.” Raquel raised an eyebrow.
“Huh?”
“Oh, don’t act naïve. Who is he?” Raquel leaned in close.
Deja’s heart pounded. “Who?”
“Late nights, long lunches, personal phone calls. Someone has a boyfriend... or a lover.” Raquel’s eyes danced with excitement.
Deja averted her gaze, shifting in her chair. She’d been so careful to keep her personal life to herself, but damn. Rodney’s phone calls were threatening to ruin all that. Landing the contract with Thompson would ensure she wouldn’t be tempted to accept any more money from Rodney, and hopefully, she could pay Kevin back in a different way. “Don’t worry, Raquel, I won’t be getting married any time soon. If ever.”
Raquel peered sideways at Deja. “Well, tell me. Who is—”
“Raquel Cruz?” the receptionist called. “Mr. Thompson is ready for you.”
“Great! We’re ready too,” Raquel said, way too excitedly.
Deja shook the tension off her shoulders, happy she’d dodged that conversation with Raquel. For now at least. Now on to the bigger obstacle: getting Gary Thompson interested in their company. She hadn’t been convinced about Raquel’s plan, but apparently, the woman had a sixth sense when it came to money.
Deja smoothed her hair then tugged down her skirt.
“Leave it up. You know Mr. T has a wandering eye. Didn’t you notice I brought the girls out for this?” Raquel ever so slightly shimmied her cleavage that spilled out of her V-neck red dress.
“Ladies, hello.” Mr. Thompson met them at the door of his office, his gaze going straight to Raquel’s cleavage.
“Hello, Mr. Thompson. Thanks for having us,” Raquel purred.
“By the looks of you two, it’s all my pleasure. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the side of the room with plush gray chairs in front of an enormous oak desk. A bookshelf, couch, and smaller table were arranged on the other side of the room.
“So ladies, tell me about your company.” Thompson sat in his chair, folding his fingers into a bridge.
Raquel handed Mr. Thompson the company’s brochure then launched into the proposal she’d been working on for the past few months.
Deja followed along on her brochure. The sensation of eyes on her caused her to glance at Thompson. With a slight smile on his lips, he seemed to be enjoying his view of Deja more than the presentation. Instead of averting his gaze out of embarrassment, the way most men who were caught staring at her did, his gaze slowly ventured from her eyes, to her breasts, then to her legs. He bit his bottom lip. Deja’s skin crawled. Every muscle in her body itched to get up and leave. But this contract was everything.
After a few more minutes, Thompson cleared his throat, interrupting Raquel mid-sentence. “This all sounds good. But I don’t think you two are ready for this large of a task.” He locked eyes with Deja and grinned. “What do you think?”
Deja wanted to speak but couldn’t. Raquel had made it clear that all Deja had to do was get Thompson’s attention—nothing more. But Deja knew men, and Thompson clearly wanted more. Regardless of how badly they needed the contract, she hadn’t expected she’d have to go that far to land it.
“We can definitely handle it. Any size, we’re ready,” Raquel said to fill the space.
Again, Thompson’s eyes locked on Deja. “What about you?”
Raquel tapped Deja’s knee, but Deja couldn’t muster an answer.
“Yes. Yes, she can.” Raquel’s voice oozed with enthusiasm.
Thompson ran his hand over his receding gray hair and rose from his chair. “I’ll think it over, then.”
“We have a few more items on the proposal that—” Raquel said.
“This is good for now.” Thompson strolled to the door and opened it.
Raquel gathered her materials, and the two women left the office. “Deja, what happened in there?”
Deja wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead. “I’m sorry. I just froze. But you did really good.”
Raquel stopped in the lobby. “We needed this, Deja. Really bad. You let me down. If I can’t depend on you to come through in the most important meeting we’ve ever had, I might have to rethink your position.”
Deja’s stomach churned. “I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again. I’m going to run to the bathroom, and I’ll meet you back at the office.”
Raquel shrugged. “Whatever.”
Deja hurried to the bathroom and dabbed a wet paper towel on her face. She’d really messed up the meeting and could almost hear Kevin’s voice demanding her to pay him back. Her mind flashed back to all the mornings her mom would come home completely exhausted after working the graveyard shift at the supermarket. Without a good education, connections, or experience, it had been one of the only jobs her mom could get. And like her mom, Deja didn’t have much to fall back on. It was a miracle that Raquel had hired her, and if she lost her job, she would be in a terrible position.
As she left the restroom, someone called Deja’s name. Thompson’s receptionist hurried toward her. “Ms. Johnson, I’m glad I caught you. Mr. Thompson said you forgot something in his office. Would you mind coming back?”
Deja’s stomach dropped. She should say no. But she needed this, and she now had a second chance. “It’s no problem. Thanks.” She slowly followed the receptionist back to Thompson’s office.
Mr. Thompson waited by the door. “Ms. Vu. Come in. I have something that might interest you.”
Deja bit her lip and forced herself to walk through the door.
Mr. Thompson closed the door behind her. He locked it.